The Polk administration should also be credited with the establishment of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and the authorization of the Smithsonian Institution, a national foundation for all areas of science.
At issue is the Authorization for Use of Military Force, passed just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
At the time of the authorization of the three-dollar piece, the Whig administration of Millard Fillmore was still in office, but two weeks later, Fillmore was succeeded by Democrat Franklin Pierce, and Mint Director George N. Eckert yielded his place to Thomas M. Pettit.
Other relatives or visitors can ask for minor information at any time with the authorization of the patient's representative.
"We're not surprised" at the strike authorization vote, she said.
But the authorization expires at the end of the year, and it is expected to come to another vote in Parliament just before then.
After raising objections, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and other Democrats succeeded in getting the provision pulled from the authorization bill, at least temporarily, Congressional officials said.
Their letter asked Mr. Comey to provide written answers to questions about his role at the Bush Justice Department in the authorization of the coercive interrogation methods and about whether he considers waterboarding to be torture.
Last week, MoveOn put out a similar ad, though with the focus aimed at launching an investigation into the authorization of torture and with former vice president Dick Cheney included among the targets.
In addition, it should also provide an opportunity to reflect on the more fundamental question of whether, over eight years after most of the men who are still held at Guantánamo were first seized, the Authorization for Use of Military Force is a valid reason for detention at all, when the Geneva Conventions and the criminal justice system should suffice.
