The Barack Obama signature benefits from the use of autopen, a machine that places a realistic signature of the president’s to paper and photographs. Starting with Harry Truman,
occupants of the White House have made use of the electronic device.
It has been reported that President Kennedy employed autopen extensively, but the device was a well-kept secret until the Gerald Ford administration publicly revealed it.
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In the past, the autopen signature was normally used for letters, personal correspondence, and some documents, but only recently has it been used for legislation. President Bush authorized the practice to sign legislation,
but President Obama has been the first president to use it for that reason.
The practice worked out when Obama took the advantage of autopen to sign the so-called “fiscal cliff” bill into law in 2013 to supposedly avoid financial turmoil. The law raised taxes on families earning more than $450,000 annually, gave tax cuts to most families, and extended benefits for the unemployed.
Congress had to work on the bill during the last days of 2012. Obama was in Hawaii at the time and the bill apparently needed to be signed immediately, so instead of flying back to Washington, he turned to autopen for the Barack Obama signature.
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The first time Obama depended on autopen occurred when he was in Europe during a G-8 summit, and the second time, he was in Indonesia and needed to
sign an emergency spending bill. Republicans questioned the constitutionality of using autopen for legislation during those instances, but haven’t pursued the matter.
The question often comes up when average Americans receive a letter from the president whether or not it is the actual signature. It many cases, it might not matter, but presidents usually sign letters personally when dealing with the loss of soldiers overseas.
Controversy arose in 2012 when letters written to the families of Navy SEALs killed in action in Afghanistan were suspected of having the electronic autopen version of the Barack Obama signature.
Parents of one of the SEALs said the signatures were identical to the signatures on letters sent to other families of fallen soldiers and must have been electronically written. The White House insisted that the president personally signs all letters sent to families of fallen service personnel.
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