Why Presidents Use So Many Pens to Sign Bills Into Law

Why Presidents Use So Many Pens to Sign Bills Into Law Presidents often use several pens to sign a bill into law, a tradition dates back nearly a century  and continues to this day. President Donald Trump, for example, used several bill-signing pens on his first day in office when he put his signature on his first executive order,  instructing federal agencies to uphold the Affordable Care Act while also  working to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens on American citizens and companies. Trump used so many pens and handed them out as souvenirs on Jan. 20, 2017, the day he was sworn into office, that he joked to staff: â€Å"I think we’re going to need some more pens, by the way ... The government is getting stingy, right?† Oddly enough, before Trump,  President Barack Obama  used nearly two dozen pens to sign that same legislation into law in  2010. Thats a lot of pens. Unlike his predecessor, Trump uses gold-plated pens from  A.T. Cross Co.  based in Rhode Island. The companys suggested retail price for the pens is $115 apiece. The practice of using several pens isnt universal, however. Obamas predecessor, President George W. Bush, never used more than one pen to sign a bill into law. Tradition   The first president to use more than one pen to sign a bill into law was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served in the White House from March 1933 until April 1945. According to Bradley H. Pattersons To Serve the President: Continuity and Innovation in the White House Staff, the president used several pens to sign bills of high public interest during signing ceremonies in the Oval Office. Most presidents now use multiple pens to sign those bills into law. So what did the president do with all those pens? He gave them away, most of the time. Presidents gave the pens as commemorative souvenirs to members of Congress or other dignitaries who had been active in getting the legislation passed.  Each pen was presented in a special box bearing the presidential seal and the name of the president who did the signing,  Patterson writes. Valuable Souvenirs Jim Kratsas of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum told National Public Radio in 2010 that presidents have been using multiple pens so they can distribute them to lawmakers and others who were instrumental in shepherding the legislation through Congress at least since President Harry Truman was in office. As Time magazine put it: The more pens a President uses, the more thank-you gifts he can offer to those who helped create that piece of history. The pens used by presidents to sign important pieces of legislation are considered valuable and have shown up for sale in some cases. One pen showed up for sale on the Internet for $500. Examples Most modern presidents use more than one pen to sign landmark legislation into law.   President Bill Clinton used four pens to sign the  Line-Item Veto. He gave the pens to former Presidents  Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush, according to an account of the signing by Time magazine.Obama used 22 pens to sign health care reform legislation into law in March of 2010. He used a different pen for each letter or half letter of his name. This is gonna take a little while, Obama said. According to the Christian Science Monitor, it took Obama 1 minute and 35 seconds to sign the bill using those 22 pens.​President Lyndon Johnson used 72 pens when he signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

5 Arabic Words in the News

5 Arabic Words in the News 5 Arabic Words in the News 5 Arabic Words in the News By Daniel Scocco An article in this morning’s newspaper contained the following Arabic words: bidoon djellabah Salafists Shiite Sunni â€Å"He was identified as a member of the country’s large stateless population known as bidoon.† 1. bidoon The word does not appear in either the OED or M-W. I found this definition in an article at PBS: Bidoon refers to a diverse group of people [in Kuwait] who at the time of independence were not given Kuwaiti nationality. The term comes from the Arabic phrase  bidoon jinsiya, â€Å"without nationality.† A Wikipedia article spells the word Bedoon and defines it as â€Å"an ethnic group in Gulf Arab states and Iraq.† â€Å"[He] was wearing jeans, a knee-length djellabah robe [sic] and a loose towel over his head† 2. djellabah I didn’t find this word in either the OED or M-W, but I did find it at Dictionary.com: djellabah: a loose hooded cloak, typically woolen, of a kind traditionally worn by men in North Africa. â€Å"French authorities say Salhi had links to radical Salafists- who preach an ultraconservative form of Islam† 3. Salafists A Salafist is an adherent of Salafism. I found this definition of Salafism in an article at PBS: Salafism  is an ideology that posits that Islam has strayed from its origins. The word salaf is Arabic for â€Å"ancient one† and refers to the companions of the Prophet Mohammed. Arguing that the faith has become decadent over the centuries, Salafists call for the restoration of authentic Islam as expressed by an adherence to its original teachings and texts. â€Å"The Sunni extremists of Islamic State consider Shiites to be heretics† 4. Sunni The OED defines Sunni this way: The orthodox Muslims who accept the Sunna as of equal authority with the Quran, considered collectively. Note: The OED defines Sunna as â€Å"the body of traditional sayings and customs attributed to Muhammad and supplementing the Quran.† â€Å"Authorities said he flew into Kuwait’s international airport at dawn on the day of the noontime attack at one of the emirate’s oldest Shiite mosques.† 5. Shiite In this sentence, Shiite is the adjective form of Shia, a Muslim sect whose name derives from Shiat Ali, â€Å"the party of Ali.† When Muhammad died in 632 CE without naming a political successor, some of his followers thought his son-in-law Ali should be their leader; others declared for his father-in-law, Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr served as the first caliph (632-634); Ali served as the fourth caliph (656- 661). Today, the majority of Muslims are Sunnis- somewhere between 85% and 90%. Shiites represent only about 10% of Muslims, but in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan, they are in the majority.   Note: Caliph is from an Arabic word meaning successor. After the death of Muhammad, it became the title given in Muslim countries to the chief civil and religious ruler. The last caliph in Istanbul was killed by Mongol conquerors in 1258. The Ottoman caliphate was abolished by Kemal Ataturk in 1924. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults50 Musical Terms Used in Nonmusical Senses