Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Administration brags about actions bypassing Congress, promises more

The White House this weekend recapped how it has skirted a defiant Congress on climate change, fuel efficiency and a host of other issues so far this year. President Obama touted his efforts to circumvent Congress during his "Year of Action" in his weekly address Saturday, and the White House issued a new report detailing its actions so far and top administration officials bragged about their efforts during a press call last week. "In my State of the Union Address, I said that in this year of action, whenever I can act on my own to create jobs and expand opportunity for more Americans, I will," Obama said in his weekly speech. "And since January, I've taken more than 20 executive actions to do just that." That includes launching a new website to make climate change data more accessible; directing U.S. EPA and the Transportation Department to develop the next phase of fuel-efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for trucks; adding public lands to the California Coastal National Monument; and launching new regional "hubs" to prepare farmers for the effects of climate change. Dan Pfeiffer, Obama's senior adviser, said Friday that Obama would work with Congress when he can, "But he's not going to wait for it. So whether it's with his pen or his phone, the president's been driving his agenda forward."  And there's more where that came from, he said. "This doesn't stop just because we're a few months into the year. We're going to keep going all the way to the end, because the president has instructed us to every day look for ways to try and advance his agenda in ways big and small."...more

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