Confirming a bill with an autopen causes controversy

President Obama recently signed a controversial bill. The bill renewed certain provisions of the Patriot Act that were going to end. Congress passed the bill recently, even though the President is really visiting Europe. He signed the bill with an autopen, a mechanical device which replicates signatures. The machine being used at all is causing a debate.

Still seeing government surveillance occurring

Unless a new bill was created and passed by Congress and finalized by the president, some Patriot Act provisions would have expired. Three provisions of the domestic security laws that allow for highly controversial surveillance procedures would have expired, according to the Christian Science Monitor, but Obama signed the bill at the last moment. Even though Senator Paul tried to rally against the bill, the government can still use the internet, business records and wiretaps without a warrant whenever they want. However, according to CNN, brouhaha in Congress has begun because the president used a robotic pen.

How the autopen works

An autopen was used to sign the document since the president is in France right now and the signature was needed. The autopen is a system that could be used. A person’s signature could be reproduced with it. The main difference between an autopen and genuine signature is almost extremely hard to tell. Some of the machines are extremely complex. Some aren’t complex at all though, states MSNBC. There are two corporations in the U.S. that make them, and a brief interview with Bob Olding, owner of one of those companies, is being reproduced on several news websites. Since the 1930s, the technology to do this hasn’t changed much, Olding said. ABS states that Olding owns Damillic Corp. He makes sure the goods are being used ethically by Damillic customers as part of company policy.

Nothing illegal about it

The Constitution says “he shall sign it” in reference to the president signing the bill. The signature is valid, the Department of Justice says. It simply has to be directed a document to be legal. The Justice Department told President Bush that an auto signature was legal in 2005 when looking into using an autopen for this same purpose. Donald Rumsfeld was found to have used an autopen to sign letters of condolences to the families of troops killed in action in 2004, and former V.P. Quayle admitted to using one in 1992. Signature and letter duplication machines were known as polygraphs in the 19th century, and Thomas Jefferson actually built one. Autopens are not that uncommon. They were used in the past by astronauts, business executives and government officials.

Citations

Christian Science Monitor

csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0527/Patriot-Act-three-controversial-provisions-that-Congress-voted-to-keep

CNN

whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/27/rise-of-the-machines-autopen-puts-bill-into-law/?hpt=T2

MSNBC

firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/27/6731197-the-great-presidential-autopen-hullabaloo

ABC

blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/robama-is-it-ok-for-a-president-to-autopen-a-bill-into-law.html

Damillic Inc

realsig.com/index.htm