RPC Must Read November 2, 2011

President Obama’s Executive Orders

With the presidential election a year out, PresidentObama has abandoned the idea of governing in favor of the campaign trail, most recently defined by his “We Can’t Wait” strategy.  Rather than working with Congress to enact positive solutions through the legislative process, the president has determined it is more convenient to enact his agenda through executive orders.  Despite this, more than 15 bipartisan, House-passed bills to help job creators await action in the Democrat-led Senate.

In the past week, the president has issued five Executive Orders. The RPC is providing members with information on each of these, and more can be found in a Reuters report published on November 1, 2011, and an ABC News piece from October 31, 2011. 

Homeowners

On October 24 in remarks in Las Vegas, NV, the White House announced its plan to modify the mortgage process for struggling homeowners. The plan would make it easier for homeowners to refinance their mortgages, reducing payments as a result of current low interest rates. Additionally, the plan extends the length of time unemployed workers may suspend payments on mortgages from four months to 12 months. Other similar attempts by the Obama Administration to deal with the housing crisis have failed. When the Obama Administration rolled out the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) in 2009, it was supposed to help up to 5 million borrowers. To date it has aided less than one-tenth of that amount.

Student Loans

On October 25, President Obama promoted his “pay as you earn” plan to change the manner in which students repay their loans by capping payments at a percentage of income. The plan would also consolidate and potentially lower interest payments. Outside analysis, however, has found that his plan will only save students $10 per month. If the president is hoping to address the rising cost of a college education, this is certainly not the means to that end. Instead this order increases the likelihood that taxpayers will be on the hook for more of the cost burden while the issue at hand goes unaddressed.

Veterans

On October 25, President Obama called on community health centers to hire 8,000 veterans over the course of the next 3 years. It is absolutely essential that we increase opportunities for these men and women.  Getting the economy moving and encouraging the private sector to create jobs, however, will do more to help alleviate the 9.1 percent national unemployment rate and the 11.7 percent unemployment rate among veterans who have served since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. With President Obama’s decision to remove the remaining 40,000 troops from Iraq by the end of the year, even more veterans are expected to be entering this difficult labor environment. 

Research and Exports

On October 28, President Obama issued two memorandums as a part of his “We Can’t Wait” agenda. The first of these asks federal agencies to move research and development from the lab to the marketplace more quickly. The second seeks to consolidate federal, and possibly state and local, information for businesses to access from one website, BusinessUSA. In its statement, the White House failed to offer an estimate of how many jobs would be created by taking these actions nor did it stipulate how it would be paid for.

Food and Drug Administration

On October 31, President Obama signed an executive order to address recent drug shortages by directing the Food and Drug Administration to institute some additional reporting requirements. Under the order, the FDA would be required to report where shortages occur, and to speed up regular reviews to ensure shortages do not occur in the first place.  Additionally, under this measure the FDA is to work with the Department of Justice to determine whether the shortages have been the result of illegal price gouging or inappropriate stockpiling.