Thread: Bush sneaks through host of laws to undermine Obama

Bush sneaks through host of laws to undermine Obama

The lame-duck Republican team is rushing through radical measures, from coal waste dumping to power stations in national parks, that will take months to overturn, reports Paul Harris in New York

Paul Harris The Observer, Sunday 14 December 2008

After spending eight years at the helm of one of the most ideologically driven administrations in American history, George W. Bush is ending his presidency in characteristically aggressive fashion, with a swath of controversial measures designed to reward supporters and enrage opponents.

By the time he vacates the White House, he will have issued a record number of so-called 'midnight regulations' - so called because of the stealthy way they appear on the rule books - to undermine the administration of Barack Obama, many of which could take years to undo.

Dozens of new rules have already been introduced which critics say will diminish worker safety, pollute the environment, promote gun use and curtail abortion rights. Many rules promote the interests of large industries, such as coal mining or energy, which have energetically supported Bush during his two terms as president. More are expected this week.

America's attention is focused on the fate of the beleaguered car industry, still seeking backing in Washington for a multi-billion-dollar bail-out. But behind the scenes, the 'midnight' rules are being rushed through with little fanfare and minimal media attention. None of them would be likely to appeal to the incoming Obama team.

The regulations cover a vast policy area, ranging from healthcare to car safety to civil liberties. Many are focused on the environment and seek to ease regulations that limit pollution or restrict harmful industrial practices, such as dumping strip-mining waste.

The Bush moves have outraged many watchdog groups. 'The regulations we have seen so far have been pretty bad,' said Matt Madia, a regulatory policy analyst at OMB Watch. 'The effects of all this are going to be severe.'

Bush can pass the rules because of a loophole in US law allowing him to put last-minute regulations into the Code of Federal Regulations, rules that have the same force as law. He can carry out many of his political aims without needing to force new laws through Congress. Outgoing presidents often use the loophole in their last weeks in office, but Bush has done this far more than Bill Clinton or his father, George Bush sr. He is on track to issue more 'midnight regulations' than any other previous president.

Many of these are radical and appear to pay off big business allies of the Republican party. One rule will make it easier for coal companies to dump debris from strip mining into valleys and streams. The process is part of an environmentally damaging technique known as 'mountain-top removal mining'. It involves literally removing the top of a mountain to excavate a coal seam and pouring the debris into a valley, which is then filled up with rock. The new rule will make that dumping easier.

Another midnight regulation will allow power companies to build coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks. Yet another regulation will allow coal-fired stations to increase their emissions without installing new anti-pollution equipment.

The Environmental Defence Fund has called the moves a 'fire sale of epic size for coal'. Other environmental groups agree. 'The only motivation for some of these rules is to benefit the business interests that the Bush administration has served,' said Ed Hopkins, a director of environmental quality at the Sierra Club. A case in point would seem to be a rule that opens up millions of acres of land to oil shale extraction, which environmental groups say is highly pollutant.

There is a long list of other new regulations that have gone onto the books. One lengthens the number of hours that truck drivers can drive without rest. Another surrenders government control of rerouting the rail transport of hazardous materials around densely populated areas and gives it to the rail companies.

One more chips away at the protection of endangered species. Gun control is also weakened by allowing loaded and concealed guns to be carried in national parks. Abortion rights are hit by allowing healthcare workers to cite religious or moral grounds for opting out of carrying out certain medical procedures.

A common theme is shifting regulation of industry from government to the industries themselves, essentially promoting self-regulation. One rule transfers assessment of the impact of ocean-fishing away from federal inspectors to advisory groups linked to the fishing industry. Another allows factory farms to self-regulate disposal of pollutant run-off.

The White House denies it is sabotaging the new administration. It says many of the moves have been openly flagged for months. The spate of rules is going to be hard for Obama to quickly overcome. By issuing them early in the 'lame duck' period of office, the Bush administration has mostly dodged 30- or 60-day time limits that would have made undoing them relatively straightforward.

Obama's team will have to go through a more lengthy process of reversing them, as it is forced to open them to a period of public consulting. That means that undoing the damage could take months or even years, especially if corporations go to the courts to prevent changes.

At the same time, the Obama team will have a huge agenda on its plate as it inherits the economic crisis. Nevertheless, anti-midnight regulation groups are lobbying Obama's transition team to make sure Bush's new rules are changed as soon as possible. 'They are aware of this. The transition team has a list of things they want to undo,' said Madia.

Final reckoning
Bush's midnight regulations will:

• Make it easier for coal companies to dump waste from strip-mining into valleys and streams.

• Ease the building of coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks.

• Allow people to carry loaded and concealed weapons in national parks.

• Open up millions of acres to mining for oil shale.

• Allow healthcare workers to opt out of giving treatment for religious or moral reasons, thus weakening abortion rights.

• Hurt road safety by allowing truck drivers to stay at the wheel for 11 consecutive hours.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/de ... egulations

While there have been TV reports about how graciously Bush is handling the transition, consulting with the Obama team, I feel this is another one of the lies that are being fed to Americans. I begin to worry that perhaps the people that are citizens of this country are an aggravation and hinderance to the huge corporate profits that are lost by paying a legal worker a living wage.
Besides shades of treasonous behavior by this gang, there is the apparent stupidity of disconnecting the taxpaying American worker from contributing to the economy (by replacing them with illegals with fake IDs who do not pay taxes); then there is the continual printing of Treasury obligations, backed by nothing more than the American taxpayer's ability to pay (which is getting less and less because of job loss)--and currently the bidding for these obligations has gone nuts, as the latest auction had produced negative interest rates paid to noteholders. None of this makes any sense except for the quiet destruction of our society, just for profit for a select few.
Personally, I am ready to throw shoes.

I really don't see where any of this is going to present a challenge to obama.

the messiah himself has stated that he plans to instantly begin overturning an already lengthly list.....growing by the day....through nothing more than Executive Order.

As I've said before, once obama gets his foot in the door, all pretense of how our government is supposed to work, is history.

There is a saying which goes along the lines of "When people tell you who they are, you need to believe them" and why so many are still deluding themsleves as to the true nature of this individual, is beyond me.

obama has told us who he is......are people in such denial that this country is capable of falling that they refuse to believe him, for pete's sake?

What more can you expect from this traitor.He started things and Obama will finish them .The founding fathers are spinning in their graves right now.

Originally Posted by Rebelrouser

What more can you expect from this traitor.He started things and Obama will finish them .The founding fathers are spinning in their graves right now.

I am afraid there is too much truth in your statement

Im sorry but we need clean coal and I should be able to carry my gun anywhere. You shut down the clean coal industry like Obama wants to do and you will see energy prices that are out of control.

LuvMyCountry wrote:

Im sorry but we need clean coal and I should be able to carry my gun anywhere. You shut down the clean coal industry like Obama wants to do and you will see energy prices that are out of control.

I've got no problem with the following:

• Allow healthcare workers to opt out of giving treatment for religious or moral reasons, thus weakening abortion rights.

Someone who is against abortion shouldn't be forced to perform one.

• Hurt road safety by allowing truck drivers to stay at the wheel for 11 consecutive hours.

Not a big problem with me. Many Americans are forced to work 11 hours a day to survive. I would have a problem if it were over 12 hours straight.