Obama Ready To Quickly Reverse Bush Executive Orders...

Wow...most of the things that Obama plans on doing sure sound expensive. I wonder how he is going to do that while cutting the taxes of 95% of households and providing healthcare.

The short answer...he can't.

Ah yes...change, indeed.

I really had high hopes that he would be different than I feared. Not so much.

 

It would be better to do nothing?

The programs that are reversing Bush's executive orders don't seem that big. But I didn't see the full list.

 

GO GO OBAMA...erase that man's trash.

DD

 

Some of Bush's executive orders and changes to rules in federal agencies have little to do with $$$ and everything to do with how regs and laws are enforced (or not).

You may not agree, based on what I read of your politics, but how Bush has re-written federal rules, weakened environmental protections, and pandered to the oil industry has been to the detriment of our nation.

I wouldn't mind seeing him punished for some of the "criminal" re-interpretation of existing federal law.

Things like this:

Bush’s Last-Minute Rule Making Has Environmental Implications
By Tom Zeller Jr.
OMB New rules from a variety of agencies are being considered by the Office of Management and Budget.

Last May, the White House chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, sent a memo to regulatory agencies advising them to pull together any proposed rule changes they might wish to pursue by June 1, with an aim toward making them final by Nov. 1.

This, Mr. Bolten explained, was to avoid a mad dash for midnight regulations — those last-minute tweaks to federal rules made in the twilight of a departing administration.

Of course, room would be made for “extraordinary circumstances,” Mr. Bolten wrote.

OMB Watch, a nonprofit group monitoring the activities of the White House Office of Management and Budget, noted last month, “it appears there are a lot of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ to be found.”

Indeed, The Washington Post reports today that as many as 90 new regulations are in play — and many of them appear aimed at easing environmental rules governing everything from commercial fishing to power production.

Writes The Post:

A rule put forward by the National Marine Fisheries Service and now under final review by the O.M.B. would lift a requirement that environmental impact statements be prepared for certain fisheries-management decisions and would give review authority to regional councils dominated by commercial and recreational fishing interests.

…

Two other rules nearing completion would ease limits on pollution from power plants, a major energy industry goal for the past eight years that is strenuously opposed by Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups.

One rule, being pursued over some opposition within the Environmental Protection Agency, would allow current emissions at a power plant to match the highest levels produced by that plant, overturning a rule that more strictly limits such emission increases. According to the E.P.A.’s estimate, it would allow millions of tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, worsening global warming.

A related regulation would ease limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants near national parks.

A third rule would allow increased emissions from oil refineries, chemical factories and other industrial plants with complex manufacturing operations.

Midnight regulations, of course, are nothing new, and the Clinton administration made a name for itself with a raft of last-minute rules of its own. Many were aimed at strengthening environmental regulations and reducing greenhouse emissions.

In any event, despite Mr. Bolten’s memo to agencies, few observers expected anything less than a rush to tweak things this time around, as the Bush administration prepares to take its leave.

Speaking to The Times’s John M. Broder last year, Susan E. Dudley, the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which oversees rule-making throughout the regulatory branch, put it this way: “Every administration does it. It doesn’t matter the party the president comes from or who controls Congress. While I’d like to say this administration won’t, I have to accept that we’ll likely see an increase in activity toward the end of our time here.”

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2...onmental-implications/?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

 

There's much to be done...

Can Barack Obama undo Bush's tangled legal legacy?

By Marisa Taylor and Michael Doyle
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON -- When Barack Obama becomes president in January, he'll confront the controversial legal legacy of the Bush administration.

From expansive executive privilege to hard-line tactics in the war on terrorism, Obama must decide what he'll undo and what he'll embrace.

On one hand, civil libertarians and other critics of the Bush administration may feel betrayed if Obama doesn't move aggressively to reverse legal policies that they believe have violated the Constitution and international law.

On the other hand, Obama risks alienating some conservative Americans and some — but by no means all — military and intelligence officials if he seeks to hold officials accountable for those expansive policies.

These are some of the legal issues confronting him:

* How does he close the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba? He's pledged to shutter it, but how quickly can he do so when it holds some detainees whom no administration would want to release?

* Obama has declared coercive interrogation methods such as waterboarding unconstitutional and illegal, but will his Justice Department investigate or prosecute Bush administration officials who ordered or condoned such techniques?

* Will the new administration press to learn the full extent of the Bush administration's electronic eavesdropping and data-mining activities, and will it curtail or halt some of them?

* The Bush administration exerted tight control over the Justice Department by hiring more Republican-leaning political appointees and ousting those who were viewed as disloyal. Will Obama give the department more ideological independence?

Undoing some policies will take time.

With 316 conservative appointments to the federal courts over the last eight years, Obama could attempt to tilt the courts back to the center or even to the left with his nominees. He could alter the Supreme Court's bent by replacing two or three justices who'll probably retire soon.

Civil libertarians, who feel emboldened by a Democrat in the White House, tick off a long list of what they think Obama should do as soon as he takes office. Not only should Guantánamo be closed, they say, Obama should revoke the immunity for telecommunications companies that cooperated with secret eavesdropping, ban the use of secret prisons by the CIA and investigate and perhaps prosecute administration officials for authorizing controversial interrogation methods.

Anthony D. Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has led many of the challenges to the Bush administration's terrorism policies, said Obama could take action on most of these fronts "on day one" by issuing executive orders, such as closing Guantánamo.

"Unless he acts quickly, he runs the risk of showing the American people that their hope and optimism may have been misplaced, and reinforcing people's deep-seated cynicism that it's politics as usual in D.C.," he said.

Although Obama is likely to ban waterboarding and other aggressive techniques soon after taking office, prosecuting administration officials not only would be legally challenging because legislation has granted them immunity but also would be seen by Republicans as highly divisive.

Negotiating that minefield may be among the most difficult legal dilemmas Obama faces early in his administration because of pressure from the left and the right.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/campaign-2008/story/761721.html

 

Expanded Federal funding for stem cell research = expensive.

Requiring 36mpg as a minimum by 20-16 = tons of R&D = Expensive

It is not better to do nothing, but to say that you can do all of these things and decrease the tax bill of 95% of the taxpayers is a farce.

 

While I agree that many of Bush's policies were misguided and did not end well, I seriously doubt that you can point me to a single criminal statute that he violated.

Unless you can do so, this comment makes you look like a complete tool.

 

Hence, the quotation marks around the word criminal.

Come back when you develop the capacity for abstract thought, tool.

 

improved fuel efficiency could be a huge money saver. Decreasing our demand on foreign oil, developing technology which we could sell, increasing jobs which will put money in the hands of the workers and economy, and revitalize the auto industry.

Re-establishing federal stem cell research is a worthwhile cost.

 

Executive orders don't provide money for anything - all spending bills have to originate in Congress. Executive orders can only limit or direct the use of already authorized money. Rescinding a bunch of executive orders has no effect on the budget.

 

Here's a good start introduced in the House on September 26, 2008.

110th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. RES. 1509

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the next president of the United States should immediately work to reverse damaging and illegal actions taken by the Bush/Cheney Administration and collaborate with Congress to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 26, 2008

Ms. BALDWIN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and Select Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the next president of the United States should immediately work to reverse damaging and illegal actions taken by the Bush/Cheney Administration and collaborate with Congress to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power.

Whereas over the past several years, serious questions have been raised about the conduct of high ranking Bush/Cheney Administration officials in relation to some of the most basic elements of our democracy: respect for the rule of law, the principle of checks and balances, and the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights;

Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration misled the American public and the U.S. Congress regarding the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and alleged, despite all evidence to the contrary, a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda, and this deceit dragged our country into a preemptive and unjustified war that has taken the lives of more than 4,000 United States troops, injured 30,000 more, and will cost our nation more than a trillion dollars;

Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration undermined national security by manipulating and exaggerating evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities despite no real evidence that Iran had the intention or capability of attacking the United Sates, and then deliberately downplayed the December 2007 National Intelligence Estimate that reported with `high confidence' that Iran stopped developing nuclear weapons in 2003 because of international pressure;

Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration has undertaken a broad assault on civil liberties through the suspension of habeas corpus and claiming the power to declare any person an `enemy combatant,' blatantly ignoring the Geneva Convention protections that the United States helped create, ratify, and which carry the weight of law;

Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration endorsed the torture and rendition of prisoners in violation of stated American policy and values, as well as international law, and then destroyed videotapes which may have substantiated such torture;

Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration violated the Fourth Amendment and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 by spying on Americans without a court order or oversight;

Whereas the Bush/Cheney Administration abused the state secrets privilege in recent legal challenges regarding warrantless wiretapping, torture, and rendition, and this administration's use of the state secrets privilege has been to the detriment of the rights of private litigants harmed by egregious misconduct, as well as Americans' trust in the judicial system;

Whereas Bush/Cheney Administration officials have consistently impeded congressional investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas;

Whereas Bush/Cheney Administration claims that senior presidential advisers are immune from congressional subpoenas have impeded congressional oversight, undermined the rule of law, damaged our democracy, and have been rejected by a United States district court;

Whereas United States Attorneys pursued politically motivated prosecutions in violation of the law, and allegedly at the direction of the Bush/Cheney Administration;

Whereas Bush/Cheney Administration officials in the Department of Justice systematically violated the law and committed misconduct in basing hiring decisions for career prosecutor positions, detailees to senior Department offices, and immigration judgeships on the applicants' political affiliations and views;

Whereas it appears Bush/Cheney Administration officials intentionally revealed the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert agent of the CIA for political retribution, and then intentionally obstructed justice by disseminating false information through the White House press office;

Whereas President Bush has shown contempt for the legislative branch and disregard for the law through the excessive expansion of presidential power in misusing signing statements that declare his intent to ignore provisions of legislation he has signed into law;

Whereas Bush/Cheney Administration officials have systematically shielded from access and destroyed public documents relevant to the conduct of the administration by utilizing nongovernmental email accounts for official communications;

Whereas Vice President Cheney has consistently placed self-interest over serving the American people, exemplified by his claim that the Office of the Vice President is not an entity within the executive branch for the alleged purpose of shielding the activities of his office from public scrutiny;

Whereas President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other Bush/Cheney Administration officials have been presented with ample opportunities to collaborate with Congress and reverse the above listed damaging and abusive actions;

Whereas despite these opportunities, they instead choose to show contempt for the Constitution and the legislative branch, compelling Americans and Congress to look to the next administration for executive branch accountability;

Whereas on November 4, 2008, Americans will elect the next president of the United States;

Whereas on January 20, 2009, the next president of the United States will stand before the American people and take an oath of office, swearing to `. . . preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States';

Whereas this commitment and obligation is so fundamental to our democracy that our Nation's founders proscribed this oath in our Constitution;

Whereas no President or Congress has the authority to override that document, whereby `We the People' conferred upon the branches of government limited and defined power, and provided for meaningful checks and balances; and

Whereas the actions taken by the next president of the United States will impact the conduct of future presidents, perhaps for generations: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the next President of the United States should take the necessary steps to do the following:

(1) AFFIRM OUR NATION'S COMMITMENT TO UPHOLDING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES- The next president must immediately and publicly reaffirm our Nation's commitment to the rule of law, the principle of checks and balances, respect for the legislative process, and the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

(2) FULLY INVESTIGATE BUSH/CHENEY ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS' ALLEGED CRIMES AND HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY ILLEGAL ACTS- The next President must cooperate fully with congressional oversight efforts to establish an independent investigation, as well as to address potential statute of limitation concerns, in order to hold all Bush/Cheney Administration officials accountable for any crimes they may have committed.

(3) HOLD ACCOUNTABLE BUSH/CHENEY ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS WHO SHOWED OR SHOW CONTEMPT FOR THE LEGAL DUTY TO COMPLY WITH CONGRESSIONAL SUBPOENAS- The next President must fully support Congress' constitutionally rooted right of access to the information it needs to perform its legislative and oversight functions enunciated in Article I of the Constitution.

(4) HOLD ACCOUNTABLE BUSH/CHENEY ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS WHO DISCLOSED THE IDENTITY OF ANY COVERT INTELLIGENCE AGENT- The next President must cooperate fully with congressional efforts to ensure that the disclosure of the identity of any United States intelligence agent could give rise to criminal liability.

(5) HOLD ACCOUNTABLE BUSH/CHENEY ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS WHO PURSUE POLITICALLY MOTIVATED PROSECUTIONS- The next President must cooperate fully with congressional efforts to restore faith in the American justice system by investigating and censuring any officials who engage in misconduct in Federal office.

(6) ENSURE THAT ANY BUSH/CHENEY ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL GUILTY OF A WAR CRIME IS PROSECUTED UNDER THE WAR CRIMES ACT AND THE ANTI-TORTURE ACT- The next President must cooperate fully with congressional efforts to repeal the redefinition of grave abuses of Common Article 3 included in the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which limits the scope of the original War Crimes Act and makes this repeal retroactively operable to the beginning of the invasion of Iraq. The next President must also cooperate fully with congressional investigations into the lack of prosecutions under the War Crimes Act and the Federal Anti-Torture Act despite countless allegations of serious violations.

(7) AFFIRM THAT IT IS THE SOLE LEGAL RIGHT OF CONGRESS TO DECLARE WAR- The next President must cooperate fully with congressional efforts to tighten the standards for when a declaration of war is required for military action.

(8) CRIMINALIZE LYING TO CONGRESS AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ABOUT THE REASONS FOR GOING TO WAR- The next President must cooperate fully with congressional efforts to strengthen Federal perjury laws to prohibit the issuance of false statements, concealment, or false documentation in any matter related to a presidential request for a declaration of war.

(9) RESTORE THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AS AN ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLE OF OUR DEMOCRACY- The next President must reaffirm our Nation's treaty obligations under the Geneva Conventions and ensure all individuals held by the United States have access to the courts to petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

(10) ENSURE TORTURE IS UNIFORMLY PROHIBITED UNDER UNITED STATES LAW- The next president must cooperate fully with congressional efforts to codify anti-torture language and approve uniform standards for interrogation techniques applicable to individuals under control or custody of the United States Government.

(11) ENSURE RENDITION IS UNIFORMLY PROHIBITED UNDER UNITED STATES LAW- The next president must cooperate fully with congressional efforts to outlaw torture `outsourcing' by prohibiting the direct or indirect transfer or return of persons by the United States for the purpose of detention, interrogation, trial, or otherwise to a country listed by the Secretary of State as supporting torture, cruel, or degrading treatment used in detention or interrogation of individuals.

(12) IMMEDIATELY CLOSE THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETENTION CAMP- The next President must do everything in his power to ensure that all suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo are immediately tried in fair judicial proceedings and are not subjected to trial by secret evidence. He must also engage the international community to ensure the release of innocent detainees.

(13) ENSURE THAT AMERICANS CAN BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THEIR GOVERNMENT- The next President must guarantee that the state secrets privilege shall not constitute grounds for dismissal of a case or claim and instead require independent judicial review of claims of state secrets privilege by executive branch officials.

(14) IMMEDIATELY TAKE AFFIRMATIVE STEPS TO PROTECT ALL BUSH/CHENEY ADMINISTRATION DOCUMENTS- The next president must also publicly reaffirm that the Office of the Vice President is part of the executive branch.

(15) PUBLICLY REVIEW POTENTIAL ABUSES OF THE PRESIDENTIAL PARDON PROCESS- The next president must collaborate fully with Congress to investigate the granting of presidential pardons and articulate comprehensive standards to guide future presidential pardons.

(16) REFORM THE USE OF PRESIDENTIAL SIGNING STATEMENTS- The next president must commit to providing all signing statements for publication, affirm Congress' right to participate in court proceedings regarding the constitutionality of any presidential signing statements, and ensure that Congress can obtain testimony from administration officials who may attempt to claim executive privilege to explain or justify any signing statements.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:h.res.1509:

 

In lots of places this will save money. Any time a uni lab is working with a federal stem cell line, they have to have double the equipment for everything going as far as having refrigerators plugged into separate electric meters. It's absurd in the extreme when you see it in action.

 

The R&D spending of Japanese, Korean and American automakers is private industry not federal R&D spending.

 

Fighting a war in Iraq = Expensive
Ending the war = I just saved a bunch of money by switching my car insurance to Geico.

Also, if nothing is done right now, it is possible we will all have to pay a much greater price in the future.

 

Most of this stuff is procedural and won't impact the budget but will make a difference to the average family. I'd rather our government not subsidize chemical releases and place the burden of dealing with the medical costs on individuals. I'd rather not have stupid policies that disregard endangered species and cost the government a bunch more fighting lawsuits and redoing things after a judicial order. I'd prefer we address climate change instead of pretending it doesn't exist while subsidizing it's further deterioration.

I'd really prefer not to have any thing close to government sanctioned torture or illegal eavesdropping or intentional noncompliance with judicial procedure. I'd really prefer we not have extraordinary rendition as standard policy.

I understand where you're coming from here, but you're a little off. This administration has thrown so much sand in the gears of government and so much crap at what this country should stand for that it is imperative we reverse some of this... even if it did cost a lot of money, I think most of the things we're talking about would cost us not only more money in the long run, but the soul of our country if allowed to continue.

 

have you considered the economic consequences of

• pulling out of Iraq,
  increase tax on those who earn > $250K,
  halt the expansion of tax loopholes to corporations,
  let the Bush tax cut expire , etc.?

 

I hope he breaks the bank.

 

from what I have heard his tax increase will not pay for the tax breaks and EIC increases.

 

Stand back haters, let the grown ups get to work cleaning up this mess.