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Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said he’s freezing the pay of senior White House staff employees who make more than $100,000 a year and imposing new ethics rules designed to diminish the influence of lobbyists.
Obama also said he is ordering federal agencies to make it easier for the public to get documents and information from the government.
“We are here as public servants, and public service is a privilege,” Obama said, addressing his White House staff and Cabinet on his first full day in office. “It’s not about advancing yourself or your corporate clients.”
The president’s directives were among his first official acts and preceded meetings with his top advisers on the two major challenges facing his administration: the faltering economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In all, Obama signed two executive orders and three presidential directives aimed at making government more open and accountable and taking steps toward fulfilling some of his campaign promises.
The president said that when top White House aides leave government, they are barred from lobbying “for as long as I am president, and there will be a ban on gifts by lobbyists to anyone serving in the administration.”
Lobbying Limits
A lobbyist who joins the Obama administration also is forbidden from working on issues they previously were involved with, he said. Any person who leaves the administration will be barred from lobbying the government for two years.
“We need to close the revolving door that lets lobbyists come into government freely and lets them use their time in public service” to promote their own interests when they leave, the president said.
Regarding the pay freeze, Obama said he is acting because “families are tightening their belts and so should Washington.”
There are more than 100 White House staff positions under the office of the president that pay more than $100,000 annually, including chief of staff, White House counsel and chief speechwriter.
Disclosure
To promote transparency in government, Obama said federal agencies and departments should err on the side of disclosing information rather than keeping it from the public when responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.
“For a long time there has been too much secrecy in this city, the old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed,” Obama said. “That era is now over.”
Later today, the new president is set to meet with economic advisers amid investor concern over a bank-rescue plan and the new administration’s efforts to confront what Obama has called “the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.”
He follows that with a session involving his military and national security advisers. Among them will be Army General David Petraeus, who commands U.S. forces in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The U.S. path forward in Iraq will be a major topic.
Obama, who according to spokesman Robert Gibbs went to the Oval Office at 8:35 a.m. and spent his first 10 minutes there alone, made telephone calls earlier to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Jordanian King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to the White House.
Originally Posted by Flaptail
"Throw plugs like we do that will cause them to suffer humility. Pogies make any fisherman look good when bass are around. Bait is easy."
While I applaud these things, I wouldn't go to crazy over them. My company, and I'm sure many others are in the midst of a wage freeze. My pay rate was frozen as of January 1 because of concerns about the economic climate. We froze the wages of every employee in the company, not just the high earning ones, because we thought it was more important to do that than to cut jobs.
As for the transparency of the government, I didn't see any firm plan in black and white. It looks like he is saying that he believes the govenment "should" be more transparent and "err on the side of caution when disclosing information".
Obama is doing and saying things that he knows are going to give him a lot of bang for the buck. Who doesn't want to hear that the government is going to be more transparent and the lobbyists will be reigned in and monitored closely, or the highest earners will not get raises? This is exactly what soccer moms and Joe six-pack want to hear. Whether it really happens remains to be seen.
Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them tools at their disposal that make it possible for them to access all the hope, all the promise, all the opportunity that America offers. - Marco Rubio
My company also froze wages this year but still said we are eligible Bonus' so we'll see.
I agree its a good step in that many, many companies are doing it this year and they need to feel the same pain we are.
However, in general I am always leery about not paying politiciations enough money which may mean that good people cannot afford to be a politician or make decisions based on their need for money. Its a fine line.
I also give credit were its due and this is just a beginning their is a long bumpy road ahead i just hope to God it gets better and that this POTUS can help lead us out of this mess.God Bless America!
Originally Posted by Flaptail
"Throw plugs like we do that will cause them to suffer humility. Pogies make any fisherman look good when bass are around. Bait is easy."
Obama has gotten more accomplished in 3 days than Bush did in any 3 months.
It helps that he has a bunch of sheep in the House and Senate. Not to mention no fear of the imlications of some of his mighty achievements. It seems to me that some of what he has done has been without much forward planning. I would prefer a slow,careful approach. But what the hell do I know. I voted for McCain
Yeah. It's a good thing for him that he has all the Democrats wrapped right around his little finger. Sounds like they're ready to be at his every beck and call.
It helps that he has a bunch of sheep in the House and Senate. Not to mention no fear of the imlications of some of his mighty achievements. It seems to me that some of what he has done has been without much forward planning. I would prefer a slow,careful approach. But what the hell do I know. I voted for McCain
Guess Bush should come back he was the king of forward planning.
Originally Posted by Flaptail
"Throw plugs like we do that will cause them to suffer humility. Pogies make any fisherman look good when bass are around. Bait is easy."
It helps that he has a bunch of sheep in the House and Senate. Not to mention no fear of the imlications of some of his mighty achievements. It seems to me that some of what he has done has been without much forward planning. I would prefer a slow,careful approach. But what the hell do I know. I voted for McCain
if obama did not do anything in the past few days, Conservatives would criticize him for doing nothing.. 'where is the change he preached?'
President Obama struck down a rule Friday that prohibits U.S. money from funding international family-planning clinics that promote abortion or provide counseling or referrals about abortion services.
This is good news, I feel much better that in the recession we are in, my tax dollars are going to go to abortions in other countries. Thats a good use of MY money.
Yes, if a women's center provided abortion counseling as part of their services, that would no longer preclude them from aid.
He also opened the door for federal funding for stem cell research.
Ya know, that stem cell stuff could grow into quite the industry if through stem cells we found that we could cure paralysis, and organ diseases.
Then you got that Hillary Clinton proclaiming that diplomacy must be the cornerstone of foreign policy.
Up is down, right is wrong, cats sleeping with dogs.
This is good news, I feel much better that in the recession we are in, my tax dollars are going to go to abortions in other countries. Thats a good use of MY money.
For starters, the principle purpose of the order is to allow support to groups that provide counseling and birth control to *prevent* the need for abortions.
Second, just because the Executive order has been made, it doesn't immediately provide money to those groups - only lifts the prohibition.
The Ann Coulter school...
Wade through a proposal and slice out the most inflamatory item, and then attribute that as the basis of policy.
Cite the most liberal element and claim that he is the representation of policy.
Quote numbers that don't hold up to checking
just noting that how in the hell could that be one of the priorities right now? it was PURELY a political move to pacify the Dem base. Same thing as the order to close Gitmo, no solution to the problem, just eliminate the centerpoint.
just noting that how in the hell could that be one of the priorities right now? it was PURELY a political move to pacify the Dem base. Same thing as the order to close Gitmo, no solution to the problem, just eliminate the centerpoint.
It's actually a policy move that began back with Reagan. Overturned by Clinton, reinstated by Bush Jr and now overturned again by Obama. Pro-choice Presidents strike it down, pro-life Presidents reinstate it. The reason it happens right after he takes office is because of it being the the anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade.
And this will continue happening if the next President is pro-choice. On the same exact day, he will strike it down again.
With regards to Gitmo, you can complain about Obama's actions, but it was happening either way. McCain campaigned that he, too, wanted to close Gitmo down. And since Obama has been in office, he has, on multiple occasions, supported Obama's decision to sign the Executive Order to close the prison down.
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