Case docket
Presidential signing statements and signing remarks on the pandemic relief acts
Presidential Signing Statements — 8 court filings in the archive from Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents (DCPD), filed between March 18, 2020 and November 15, 2021. Among them: 4 memoranda or briefs.
Case facts
| Court | Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents (DCPD) |
|---|---|
| Filings | 8 public filings |
| Filed | 2020-03-18 – 2021-11-15 |
| Document types | memoranda or briefs (4) |
| Original PDFs | 1 of 8 |
Case summary
This page collects seven documents from the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, dated between March 18, 2020 and November 15, 2021, in which Presidents Trump and Biden signed the pandemic relief statutes or spoke at the signings. Four are signing statements: on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201; on the CARES Act, H.R. 748; on the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, H.R. 7010; and a statement on the intention to sign the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Three are remarks delivered at signings, of the CARES Act, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The CARES Act statement objects on constitutional grounds to four sets of provisions, including the reporting duty of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery.
Case at a glance
| Parties | The President of the United States, as author; the documents address the Congress, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery and the Secretary of Agriculture |
|---|---|
| Court and docket | Agency / no docket. The documents are published in the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, each carrying a DCPD number |
| Program | The Paycheck Protection Program, unemployment benefits and the wider relief appropriations of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the CARES Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 |
| Claims | Not applicable. These are statements and remarks made on signing legislation, several of them asserting constitutional objections to enacted provisions |
| Disposition or status | Complete as a set for the acts covered. Each bill named was approved and assigned a public law number: H.R. 6201 as Public Law 116-127, H.R. 748 as Public Law 116-136 and H.R. 7010 as Public Law 116-142 |
| Status checked | 2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read |
What does the CARES Act signing statement object to?
Four sets of provisions. It treats the requirement that the Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General consult Congress on hiring for the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee as hortatory but not mandatory; it declines to read section 4018(e)(4)(B) as permitting the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery to report to Congress without presidential supervision; it refuses to treat spending decisions as dependent on congressional committee approval; and it treats provisions requiring legislative recommendations as advisory.
What does the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act statement say?
That the act gives restaurants, hotels and other small businesses greater flexibility in using Paycheck Protection Program loans, that it was signed without delay as essential to protecting jobs, and that because of the proxy voting system the House used, the President urged Congress to pass the act anew through traditional in-person voting.
What is the December 27, 2020 document?
A statement on the intention to sign the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, in which the President said he would send Congress a redlined version of the bill item by item with a formal rescission request under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and that he was signing to restore unemployment benefits and stop evictions.
Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.
Filings
8 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.
- Statement on Signing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act — March 18, 2020Memorandum or brief
- Remarks on Signing the CARES Act and Exchange With Reporters — March 27, 2020
- Statement on Signing the CARES Act — March 27, 2020 (Constitutional Statement)Memorandum or brief
- Remarks on Signing the PPP and Health Care Enhancement Act — April 24, 2020PDF
- Statement on Signing the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act — June 5, 2020Memorandum or brief
- Statement on Intention to Sign the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 — December 27, 2020Memorandum or brief
- Remarks on Signing the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 — March 11, 2021
- Remarks on Signing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — November 15, 2021
Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.