Bush Exercises Pocket Veto of Defense Appropriations Bill

President George W. Bush issued a statement Friday that he is withholding his approval of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008, exercising his "pocket veto" authority since the Senate bill landed on his desk after Congress adjourned. In a statement from the White House, President Bush urges "...Congress to address the flaw in section 1083 as quickly as possible so I may sign into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008."

Section 1083, according to White House statements, will lead to freezing "...billions of dollars of Iraqi assets at a crucial juncture in that nation's reconstruction efforts and because it would undermine the foreign policy and commercial interests of the United States."

Section 1083 amends Chapter 97 of title 28, United States Code, and adds language that permits a person to bring suit against a foreign government was "was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism at the time the act" for which an action is brought against that government - in essence opening up the government formed under the United States' occupational forces to lawsuits for acts committed during the Saddam Hussein era.

Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed his dismay at the President's intended veto. While the stressing the Bill's importance to national defense, Senator Levin did not address President Bush's reasons for the veto, which includes the potential freezing of tens of billions of dollars in Iraqi assets for months by merely filing of a claim. The White House says that Section 1083 "...cannot become law even for a short period of time."

"This bill is important to our men and women in uniform," Levin said. "It contains a 3.5 percent pay raise, authorization for well-deserved bonuses, and the Wounded Warrior legislation that will do so much to ensure that our service members and veterans get the care and treatment that they need and deserve."

The version of the Bill that went to the House did not contain the change in how assets are frozen in the event a lawsuit is brought against a foreign government. The amendment appears to have been added by a House member during the joint House-Senate Conference committee to resolve differences in their versions of the Senate and House versions of the bill.

Neither of the original bills contained this amendment to the United States Code, which governs lawsuits brought by United States citizens against foreign governments, and is completely unrelated to the purpose of the massive defense appropriations bill that has been in the works since May.