Obama Administration Halts Bush
The Obama administration didn’t waste any time after the inauguration yesterday. Yes, the president was busy with the luncheon, motorcade and various balls last night, but he—or rather, his chief of staff, acting on his orders—managed to squeeze in some paperwork. Rahm Emanuel sent out a memo to federal agencies and departments ordering a halt to all pending federal regulations until the new president’s team reviews them.
Rahm Emanuel's memo could lead to the reversal of dozens of energy and environmental measures advanced in Bush's waning days, including standards addressing mountaintop mining, air pollution permits, logging in the West, an exemption for factory farms from Superfund reporting requirements and endangered species, E&E reports.
To read the memo, click here.
As the Washington Post points out, the order isn’t surprising:
The directive has become a first-day tradition among presidents, dating to Ronald Reagan in 1981, helping incoming administrations put their own philosophical stamp on the regulatory work that is a subtle but potent tool of presidential power. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton did the same thing.
The order doesn’t affect regulations already in place. At this point, nobody seems to have a final count on how many of the 100 or so rules the Bush administration issued since November have taken effect. Changing those would essentially require Obama to re-start the rule-making process, which can take months to years.
Congress, on the other hand, could put a stop to any rules submitted up to 60 legislative days ago; this little-used act requires a simple majority in the House and Senate, and the president’s signature. Because Congress took several lengthy breaks in the second half of 2008, the 60-day window could extend back as far as last summer.
For a detailed look at the Bush administration’s midnight regulations that affect wildlife and the environment, and the options for reversing them, check out Audubon magazine’s web exclusive.