In signing the Energy Policy Act into law in August, 2005, President Bush added an amendment of his own that may keep nuclear violations a secret from Congress. He used a practice known as the "signing statement."

Charlie Savage, the Boston Globe reporter who uncovered this practice in an article last week, told PRI's Open Source that signing statements are "laying out a record of the president's legal interpretation of the law as he signs the bill."

The signing statement added to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 may be used to hush those in the Department of Energy or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission who might expose violations.

The Atomic Energy Act was passed in 1954. An employee of the NRC who witnesses an activity that violates that law -- for example, endangering the public by failing to perform proper maintenance -- might not testify about it for fear of losing their job.

In 1974 a law was passed that protects employees who testify against their employers before Congress regarding violations, or who refuse to engage in such violations. Only contractors and licensees of the NRC were restricted from firing whistle-blowers.

The EPACT expands this protection. It adds the DOE and the NRC to a list of employers who are forbidden to fire or otherwise punish an employee whistle-blower who tells Congress about possible wrongdoing, including violations of the Atomic Energy Act.

However, the Globe reports that the president added a "signing statement" to the EPACT:

"The president or his appointees will determine whether employees of the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can give information to Congress."

In other words, the administration can prevent the whistle-blower employee from testifying at all.

The Globe article, "Bush challenges hundreds of laws: President cites powers of his office," explains that the president has quietly reserved for himself the authority to disobey laws enacted since he took office, "asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution."

Bush's signing statement reversed the expanded protection of the EPACT at the president's discretion. But the energy bill is not the only legislation passed by Congress only to be amended silently by president Bush. Savage states in his article:

"Far more than any predecessor, Bush has been aggressive about declaring his right to ignore vast swaths of laws -- many of which he says infringe on power he believes the Constitution assigns to him alone as the head of the executive branch or the commander in chief of the military."

Does Congress know about this practice? "It certainly has come to their attention now," Savage told Open Source. "Senator Arlen Specter, [R-PA] Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that next month he'll have an oversight hearing into what has been going on here."

For more information:
Energy Policy Act 2005, Title VI, "Nuclear Matters," section 629, "Whistleblower Protection"

Energy Reorganization Act 1974, Sec. 211, "Employee Protection" (originally Sec. 210, amended by P.L. 102-486, October 24, 1992).

Atomic Energy Act 1954.

Nuclear Regulatory Legislation, 107th Congress, 1st Session (NUREG-0980) (includes text of the above two Acts).