President-elect Obama is ready to reverse about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders, according to the Washington Post. These include polices on climate change, stem cell research, and reproductive rights. But which will be first to go?
Executive Orders can range widely in their authorities, but it is a useful legislative tool for issuing regulations without going through Congress. One of the first uses of Executive Order came from President George Washington when he announced Thanksgiving Day in 1789. This stands in sharp contrast to an Executive Order issued in 1862 to free slaves most known by Americans as the Emancipation Proclamation.
In an appearance on FOX News, John Podesta, co-chairman of Obama's transition team revealed that all of President Bush's Executive Orders were under review for being overturned, though he noted it was too early to hand over a list of to-do items.
“I’m not going to preview decisions that he has yet to make. But I
would say that as a candidate, Senator Obama said that he wanted all
the Bush executive orders reviewed, and decide which ones should be
kept, and which ones should be repealed, and which ones should be
amended. And that process is going on. It’s been undertaken,” said Podesta.
Although no plans for regulatory changes have been finalized, Obama has signaled some of his priorities. Quickly, he intends to reverse Bush’s controversial August 2001 limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research that pleased religious conservatives to the destruction of days-old human embryos.
Obama is also expected to lift a rule that bars international family planning groups that receive US aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, even in countries where the procedure is legal. The rule is a Reagan-era regulation, known as the Mexico City policy, that had been rescinded by Clinton and reinstated by Bush.
Environmental regulations, including some that have not even gone into effect yet, are also likely to be changed at the start of Obama’s term. One that he has been clear about is California’s desire to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles.
Previously, California had sought permission from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require stricter emissions standards than the EPA required but was denied. The decision drew much criticism and became the foundation for an investigation into whether the EPA's Director had been pressured by the White House.
All presidents use executive orders and other directives to shape public policy and deliver on campaign promises, but it appears that Obama will use the power to quickly and decisively advance his agenda. This is a contrast to his predecessor, who waited until March 2006 to issue a policy directive on counterterrorism, instead relying on a Clinton directive from June 1995.
“There’s a lot that the president can do using his executive
authority without waiting for congressional action, and I think we’ll
see the president do that to try to restore the — a sense that the
country is working on behalf of the common good, that we’re going to
try to restore wages, give people the right kind of ways that they can
build on their own lives, and when they work hard that they’ll be
rewarded for it,” said Podesta.
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