Obama may use executive orders to quickly reverse some Bush environmental policies
President-elect Obama’s aids and advisors have been taking to the airwaves the last few days to lay out plans for his transition into office. John Podesta, co-chair of Obama’s transition team appeared on Fox News Sunday and discussed the possibility of Obama immediately overturning a number of President Bush’s executive orders in order to quickly begin implementing his own policies. Some of the executive orders that may be targeted for change deal with environmental issues.
Specifically, this could include a recent decision by the Bush administration to open up 360,000 acres of public land in Utah to oil and gas drilling. Podesta noted, “They want to have oil and gas drilling in some of the most sensitive, fragile lands in Utah. I think that’s a mistake.”
Possibly even more impactful, Obama will likely reverse the Bush administration’s decision last year to deny California permission to regulate CO2 emissions from cars under the Clean Air Act.
These are powerful changes that Obama will be able to effect without the permission of Congress. Of course, anything that falls outside of authority already granted to the executive branch from Congress or the constitution, will require congressional legislation.
Some of the other, non-environmental related orders that Obama may alter include those regarding stem cell research, reproductive rights, food and drug regulation, and enforcement of immigration policies.
- Similar Posts:
- Obama could face political and legal hurdles to undoing Bush executive orders
- Bush administration issues new regulations for oil shale extraction in American West
- Gore won’t play official role in Obama’s administration
Comments
Please contribute to the discussion by commenting below or posting in the forums. No need to agree with the post or other commenters, but please be constructive and respectful.
-
Private Leaders
