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Obama signs defense bill, notes regrets

President Barack Obama signed a major defense bill Wednesday, notwithstanding public veto threats the White House issued with regard to earlier versions of the legislation.

Obama issued a written "signing statement" explaining his decision to approve the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act despite his objections to various aspects of the measure, including provisions that effectively thwart his efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects and give military members the right to refuse to take certain actions that violate their conscience.

"I have approved this annual defense authorization legislation, as I have in previous years, because it authorizes essential support for service members and their families, renews vital national security programs, and helps ensure that the United States will continue to have the strongest military in the world," Obama said. "Even though I support the vast majority of the provisions contained in this Act, which is comprised of hundreds of sections spanning more than 680 pages of text, I do not agree with them all....Though I continue to oppose certain sections of the Act, the need to renew critical defense authorities and funding was too great to ignore."

In signing the bill, Obama turned aside pleas from a coalition of liberal groups that he veto the measure in order assert his authority to close Guantanamo and return much of the war on terror to the law enforcement sphere.

The veto threats, the eventual signing and the accompanying statement were in many respects a replay of similar events about a year ago, when Obama ultimately signed a bill containing many of the same provisions after his White House indicated he strongly opposed some of them and worked with limited success to water them down.

Obama's signing statement this year tracks closely his one last year. However, he toned down some of his vows to reverse the parts of the bill he found objectionable. (You can compare the statements here and here.)

In last year's statement, issued as the administration was trying to enlist liberal activists in the president's re-election campaign, Obama said his administration had "worked tirelessly to reform or remove" the provisions he disagreed with, "will oppose any attempt to extend or expand them in the future, and will seek the repeal of any provisions that undermine the policies and values that have guided my Administration throughout my time in office."

This year's statement, issued after Obama's re-election, simply notes that he continues to oppose the provisions he considers wrong and will interpret them in ways that minimize interference with his powers. Gone is the sweeping language about tireless work to change the bill and opposing all attempts to extend the disputed provisions.

One new aspect of the bill is the "conscience" provision, which Republicans said would protect military servicemembers including chaplains from being forced to perform same-sex marriages or take other actions that might offend their religious beliefs. Critics fear the provision could condone acts of discrimination against gay servicemembers and religious proselytizing in the military.

Obama called that provision "unnecessary and ill-advised...as the military already appropriately protects the freedom of conscience of chaplains and service members." He said the Defense Department will "not permit or condone discriminatory actions that compromise good order and discipline or otherwise violate military codes of conduct." Obama added that his administration remains "fully committed" to implementing the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

During the 2008 campaign, candidate Obama criticized then-President George W. Bush for his extensive use of signing statements to declare his view that certain provisions of bills he signed were unconstitutional and would essentially be ignored by his administration. "I will not use signing statements to nullify or undermine congressional instructions as enacted into law," Obama said.

White House aides said following the signing of last year's bill and on other occasions that Obama never promised to avoid issuing any signing statements. In addition, the Obama aides claim his use of signing statements has been less frequent and more restrained than his predecessor.

Obama signed this year's defense authorization bill while traveling in Hawaii, after he resumed his family vacation Tuesday following Congressional passage of legislation to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff."

According to a pool reporter, a senior White House aide said the defense bill passed by Congress was brought to Hawaii with Obama, where he signed it on Wednesday.