The Power of the President
Recommendations to Advance Progressive Change
By the Center for American Progress Staff and Senior
Fellows
Compiled by Sarah Rosen Wartell
November 16, 2010
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/11/executive_orders.html

[moderator: the full report may be found here:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/11/pdf/executive_orders.pdf]

Introduction and summary

The opportunity

Concentrating on executive powers presents a real
opportunity for the Obama administration to turn its
focus away from a divided Congress and the unappetizing
process of making legislative sausage. Instead, the
administration can focus on the president's ability to
deliver results for the American people on the things
that matter most to them:

Job creation and economic competitiveness Educational
excellence A clean energy future and energy independence
Quality affordable health care Consumer protection The
home foreclosure crisis Accountable government
delivering results at lower cost Sustainable security
for the nation

In addition, the key legislative accomplishments of
President Obama's first two years in office, most
notably health care and financial reform, now need to be
implemented effectively. Both the Affordable Care Act
and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act require hundreds of separate rule-
makings and other agency actions to implement the
legislative framework.

The public has made clear its disgust with Washington's
ways-the same sentiment that helped to bring President
Obama to office. It would be a welcome relief from
watching legislative maneuvering to see the work of a
strong executive who is managing the business of the
country through troubled times, doing more with less,
each day working to create a stronger economy and a more
effective government.

The Obama administration, of course, is already using
the capacity of the presidency to drive change in the
public and private sector. For example, it promoted the
forma1tion of Skills for America's Future, a new public-
private initiative in support of the president's goal of
5 million more community college graduates and
certificates by 2020. At the recent White House
Community College Summit, convened by Dr. Jill Biden,
industry, labor unions, community colleges, and other
training providers made commitments to help put this
initiative into action.

Similarly, President Obama's recent trip to India
provided an opportunity for him to win agreements that
will bring significant economic benefits to U.S. firms
and American workers. Trade transactions were announced
or showcased, exceeding $14.9 billion in total value
with $9.5 billion in U.S. export content, supporting an
estimated 53,670 U.S. jobs in the production of
aircraft, energy generation equipment, advanced
machinery, and telecommunications services, among
others.

There is much more the president can do. The list below
of ideas from the Center for American Progress's policy
experts offers just some of the many possible actions
the administration can take using existing authority to
move the country forward.

Specifically, in the energy and environmental arena, the
president can:

Reduce oil imports and make progress toward energy
independence. Progress toward reducing greenhouse gas
pollution by 17 percent by 2020. Conserve federal lands
for future generations. Manage public lands to support a
balanced energy strategy. Convene and engage hunters and
anglers in the development of a fish and wildlife
climate adaptation plan. Generate solar energy on U.S.
Air Force hangar roofs.

On the domestic economic policy front, President Obama
can:

Direct an assessment, strategy, and new policy
development to promote U.S. competitiveness. Launch the
new consumer financial protection bureau with an
aggressive agenda to protect and empower consumers.
Increase the capacity of small businesses to expand
hiring and purchases by accelerating the implementation
of the Small Business Jobs Act. Promote automatic
mediation to avoid foreclosure where possible and speed
resolution. Create a web portal to empower housing
counselors, reduce burdens on lenders, and speed up home
mortgage modifications. Help stabilize home values and
communities by turning "shadow REO" housing inventory
into "scattered site" rental housing. Promote practices
that support working families.

Elsewhere on the domestic policy front, the Obama
administration can:

Partner with the private sector in health care payment
reform. Focus on health care prevention in implementing
the Affordable Care Act. Streamline and simplify access
to federal antipoverty programs. Replace costly,
inhumane immigration detention policies with equally
effective measures.

In the education policy arena, the president can:

Launch an "educational productivity" initiative to help
school districts spend every dollar wisely to best
prepare our children for the 21st century. Ensure
students can compare financial aid offers from different
postsecondary institutions. Improve the quality,
standards, and productivity of postsecondary education.

In improving the performance of the federal government,
the president can:

Scrutinize federal spending programs and tax
expenditures to achieve greater returns on public
investment. Build the next-generation Recovery.gov web
site to track all public expenditures and performance in
real time. Use new information technology for faster,
more transparent freedom of information. Create a
virtual U.S. statistical agency. Collect data on lesbian
,gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans in federal
data surveys.

And in the foreign policy and national security arena,
the president and his administration can:

Rebalance our Afghanistan strategy with greater emphasis
on political and diplomatic progress. Promote domestic
revenue generation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Appoint
a special envoy for the Horn of Africa and the southwest
Arabian Peninsula region. Appoint a special commission
to assess contracting practices in national security and
foreign affairs. Use executive branch authority to
mitigate the impact of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
policy if Congress does not repeal it. Redouble support
for Palestinian state- and institution-building efforts.
Pursue dual-track policy on Iran while sharpening focus
on Iranian human rights issues. Reinvigorate the U.S.-
Turkey strategic alliance. Develop a comprehensive
policy on the Russia-Georgia conflict.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the important
policy objectives President Obama can pursue over the
next two years, but it illustrates the range of
important executive branch work beyond proposing and
negotiating legislation.

Statement from John D. Podesta

November 15, 2010

In the aftermath of this month's midterm congressional
elections, pundits and politicians across the
ideological spectrum are focusing on how difficult it
will be for President Barack Obama to advance his policy
priorities through Congress. Predictions of stalemate
abound. And some debate whether the administration
should tack to the left or to the center and compromise
with or confront the new House leadership.

As a former White House chief of staff, I believe those
to be the wrong preoccupations. President Obama's
ability to govern the country as chief executive
presents an opportunity to demonstrate strength,
resolve, and a capacity to get things done on a host of
pressing challenges of importance to the public and our
economy. Progress, not positioning, is what the public
wants and deserves.

The U.S. Constitution and the laws of our nation grant
the president significant authority to make and
implement policy. These authorities can be used to
ensure positive progress on many of the key issues
facing the country through:

Executive orders Rulemaking Agency management Convening
and creating public-private partnerships Commanding the
armed forces Diplomacy

The ability of President Obama to accomplish important
change through these powers should not be
underestimated. President Bush, for example, faced a
divided Congress throughout most of his term in office,
yet few can doubt his ability to craft a unique and
deeply conservative agenda using every aspect of the
policymaking apparatus at his disposal. And, after his
party lost control of Congress in 1994, President
Clinton used executive authority and convening power to
make significant progressive change. For instance, he
protected more great spaces in the lower 48 states than
any president since Theodore Roosevelt, established for
the first time significant protections for Americans'
medical privacy, and urged the creation of the Welfare-
to-Work Partnership that enlisted the help of 20,000
businesses in moving more than 1 million welfare
recipients into the workforce.

The upshot: Congressional gridlock does not mean the
federal government stands still. This administration has
a similar opportunity to use available executive
authorities while also working with Congress where
possible. At the Center for American Progress, we look
forward to our nation continuing to make progress.

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