obama team to review constitutionality of executive orders

Hey this could pan out well( we'll see)

http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/200...rders-under-review-by-obamas-transition-team/

Bush Executive Orders Under Review by Obama Transition Team

<!-- Share --> by Fin Gomez
AP-File

On Fox News Sunday, John Podesta, the head of the transition team for the incoming administration tells host Chris Wallace, that they are currently reviewing President Bush’s executive orders which include the hot-button issues of stem cell research, and oil drilling.
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“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that he wanted all the Bush executive orders reviewed, and decide which ones should be kept, and which ones should be repealed, and which ones should be amended.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,” Podesta said in an appearance on FOX News Sunday.
“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,” he continued.
Podesta added that Obama is working on building a Cabinet that is diverse. That includes reaching out to Republicans and independents — part of the broad coalition that supported Obama during the race against Republican John McCain.
As for new legislation to aid the economy, Podesta said it is up to Bush to help move any such proposal in a postelection session of Congress.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Re: obama team to review constitutionality of executive orde

Barack Obama's Executive Orders

New President to Put His Stamp on the USA Sooner Rather Than Later


Barack Obama, following the traditional practice of incoming Presidents, plans to put his own stamp on the United States by issuing a series of executive orders that will have the force of law. The choice of the executive orders is illuminating.

Some of the first executive orders will no doubt be pleasing to some of Barack Obama's feminist supporters and will anger pro life supporters. Barack Obama will lift the restrictions on foreign aid to abortions that were imposed by President George W. Bush. Obama will also lift restrictions for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Neither of these proposed executive orders is unexpected. President Clinton, when he first entered office, issued similar executive orders to lift abortion restrictions imposed by both President Reagan and the first President Bush.

President George W. Bush had imposed some restrictions on embryonic stem cell research because such procedures destroy human embryos, which pro life supporters regard as taking human life. Breakthroughs in adult stem cell research have subsequently obviated the need for embryonic stem cell research that many find ethically suspect. Nevertheless Barack Obama will issue the executive order that will open up embryonic stem cell research.

Far more controversial, because it will affect far more people, is a proposal to issue an executive order to reverse President Bush's opening of offshore areas and certain land areas such as Utah to oil exploration. While, due to the current economic slowdown, the price of oil and gas has declined since the summer highs, unrestricted oil exploration still enjoys wide spread support. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has gained a lot of political mileage with his "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" campaign.

More experts suspect that the current decline in the price of oil and gas is only temporary. When that price starts to rise, Barack Obama's executive order restricting oil exploration will almost certainly come back to haunt him.

 

Re: obama team to review constitutionality of executive orde

Obama to use executive orders for immediate impact

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER – 2 days ago


WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Obama plans to use his executive powers to make an immediate impact when he takes office, perhaps reversing Bush administration policies on stem cell research and domestic drilling for oil and natural gas.


John Podesta, Obama's transition chief, said Sunday Obama is reviewing President Bush's executive orders on those issues and others as he works to undo policies enacted during eight years of Republican rule. He said the president can use such orders to move quickly on his own.


"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," Podesta said. "I think that he feels like he has a real mandate for change. We need to get off the course that the Bush administration has set."


Podesta also said Obama is working to build a diverse Cabinet. That includes reaching out to Republicans and independents — part of the broad coalition that supported Obama during the race against Republican John McCain. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been mentioned as a possible holdover.


"He's not even a Republican," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said. "Why wouldn't we want to keep him? He's never been a registered Republican."


Obama was elected on a promise of change, but the nature of the job makes it difficult for presidents to do much that has an immediate impact on the lives of average people. Congress plans to take up a second economic aid plan before year's end — an effort Obama supports. But it could be months or longer before taxpayers see the effect.


Obama could use his executive powers to at least signal that Washington is changing.


"Obama's advantage of course is he'll have the House and the Senate working with him, and that makes it easier," said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. "But even then, having an immediate impact is very difficult to do because the machinery of government doesn't move that quickly."


Presidents long have used executive orders to impose policy and set priorities. One of Bush's first acts was to reinstate full abortion restrictions on U.S. overseas aid. The restrictions were first ordered by President Reagan and the first President Bush followed suit. President Clinton lifted them soon after he occupied the Oval Office and it wouldn't be surprising if Obama did the same.


Executive orders "have the power of law and they can cover just about anything," Tobias said in a telephone interview.


Bush used his executive power to limit federal spending on embryonic stem cell research, a position championed by opponents of abortion rights who argue that destroying embryos is akin to killing a fetus. Obama has supported the research in an effort to find cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's. Many moderate Republicans also support the research, giving it the stamp of bipartisanship.


On drilling, the federal Bureau of Land Management is opening about 360,000 acres of public land in Utah to oil and gas drilling. Bush administration officials argue that the drilling will not harm sensitive areas; environmentalists oppose it.


"They want to have oil and gas drilling in some of the most sensitive, fragile lands in Utah," Podesta said. "I think that's a mistake."


Two top House Republicans said there is a willingness to try to work with Obama to get things done. But they said to expect Republicans to serve as a check against the power held by Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress.


"It's going to be a cheerful opposition," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind. "We're going to carry those timeless principles of limited government, a strong defense, traditional values, to the American people."


Pence, of Indiana, is expected to take over the No. 3 leadership post among House Republicans.


In other transition matters, Obama's new chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, would not say whether Obama would return to the Senate for votes during the postelection session this month. Obama's presence would be extraordinary, given his position as president-elect, especially if Congress takes up a much-anticipated economic stimulus plan.


"I think that the basic approach has been he's going to be here in Chicago, setting up his economic, not only his economic team, but the policies he wants to outline for the country as soon as he gets sworn in, so we hit the ground running," Emanuel said.


Also, Emanuel would not commit to a Democratic proposal to help the auto industry with some of the $700 billion approved by Congress to for the financial bailout.


Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a letter Saturday to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that the administration should consider expanding the bailout to include car companies.


Podesta appeared on "Fox News Sunday," as did Pence, and CNN's "Late Edition," where Reid also was interviewed. Emanuel spoke on ABC's "This Week" and CBS' "Face the Nation."

 

Re: obama team to review constitutionality of executive orde

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