Obama Sets Sights On Reversing Bush Policy
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday November 10, 2008
AMID reports that the US president-elect, Barack Obama, is already making plans to reverse Bush Administration policies, he used the Democratic Party's weekly radio broadcast to assure the country he intended "to hit the ground running" when he takes office on January 20.
His transition advisers have compiled a list of about 200 Bush Administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues.In some instances, Senator Obama would be quickly delivering on promises made during his two-year campaign, while in others he would be embracing Clinton-era policies upended by President George Bush during his eight years in office."The kind of regulations they are looking at" are those imposed by Mr Bush for "overtly political" reasons, said Dan Mendelson, associate administrator for health in the Clinton administration.While Senator Obama said at a news conference last week that his priority would be to stimulate the economy and create jobs, his advisers say that focus will not delay key shifts in social and regulatory policies. But Democratic leaders in Congress plan to delay consideration of a number of expensive campaign promises, including proposals to reform the health-care system and fund a strategy to reduce US dependence on foreign oil. They will place top priority on attempts to spark the staggering economy. Democrats said they would open the 111th Congress with an economic stimulus plan that would include cutting middle-class taxes. This would be followed by less ambitious agenda items that have been blocked by the Bush Administration, such as lifting a ban on federal funding for stem cell research. "Obviously, we're not going to do health care in the first month or two," the House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, said on Friday. He also cited an overhaul of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation as an issue that would have to wait until later in the year, if not the next, as leaders sought to build consensus on the more controversial issues. In his weekend radio broadcast, Senator Obama said he had held meetings with his transition economic advisory board following figures showing unemployment had risen to its highest level in 14 years after job losses this year approached 1.2 million.Senator Obama, who will start the week with a meeting with Mr Bush at the White House, said he understood that "we only have one president at a time [but] we don't have a moment to lose"."Tens of millions of families are struggling to figure out how to pay the bills and stay in their homes," he said.
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
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