Fox News is reporting that late yesterday President Obama signed a bill that would send payments to the families of fallen soldiers during the government shutdown.

The article reports:

Carney claimed the bill was “not necessary,” noting that charity group The Fisher House Foundation had just entered into an agreement with the Pentagon a day earlier to provide the benefits in the short-term. 

“The legislation is not necessary,” Carney said, adding that the Defense Department had already agreed to reimburse the Fisher House. 

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who pushed the bill in the Senate, blasted the White House over Carney’s remark. 

“Now, we’re learning the president has taken his political obstinacy to a new low and believes the legislation Congress has passed to right this wrong is ‘not necessary,'” he said in a written statement. “Not only is this legislation necessary it’s the moral obligation of this nation and it’s the spoken will of Congress that we deliver immediate assistance to the families of fallen service members.

There is a part of this story which has been widely ignored. The President agreed to reimburse Fisher House after the government reopens. The President does not have the Constitutional authority to do that–only the House of Representatives is allowed to incur a debt. Under the U.S. Constitution the President does not have the authority to promise to pay Fisher House back. Has anyone in Washington read the Constitution?