Statement on Signing the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006

Today, I have signed into law H.R. 3010, the "Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006." This Act appropriates funds for key domestic programs, including programs to protect America's workers, help educate America's youth, and guard Americans against potential bioterrorism or epidemics.

The executive branch shall construe certain provisions of the Act that purport to require congressional committee approval for the execution of a law as calling solely for notification, as any other construction would be inconsistent with the constitutional principles enunciated by the Supreme Court of the United States in INS v. Chadha. These provisions include sections 103, 208, and language under the heading "Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Fund."

The executive branch shall construe provisions in the Act that purport to mandate or regulate submission of information to the Congress in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority to withhold information that could impair foreign relations, national security, the deliberative processes of the Executive, or the performance of the Executive's constitutional duties. Such provisions include language under the heading "Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary, General Departmental Management."

Certain provisions of the Act relate to race, ethnicity, or gender. The executive branch shall construe such provisions in a manner consistent with the requirement that the Federal Government afford equal protection of the laws under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

GEORGE W. BUSH

The White House, December 30, 2005.