4 Obama and the Environmental Future in the u.S. Conflict in Congress Affects the Issues of Energy and Global Warming

 

 

 

While environmentalist are euphoric about Obama's goals on energy and global warming, the person who is the Chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee may determine whether the President-elect is able to achieve the promised goals.

Environmental Conflicting Views

As Chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep*. John D. Dingell has supported the auto companies' fight againstpollution and fuel economy standards which they considered unrealistic. According to the Los Angeles Times, Dingell, who represents a district near Detroit and at a time when the auto industry is already facing near bankruptcy because of declining car sales, high gas prices and turmoil in the economy.

Rep. A. Waxman has announced that he wants to replace Dingell as Chairman of the Committee, which will be responsible for making Obama's environmental issues into law. He has frequently attacked the Bush administration's performance on environmental issues.

Pros and Cons of the Chairmanship

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes no secret of being sympathetic to Waxman's position on the environment and there have been conflicts between her and Dingell in the past.

Most importantly, Pelosi joined with Waxman in a fight against a Dingell global warming bill that would have prohibited California and other states from taking tougher action than the federal government to reduce green house gas emissions. Dingell supported that provision because he said it was easier for auto companies to comply with uniform national standards than a patchwork of state lows. This was seen by Pelosi and Waxman as a shot against California's landmark law to cut tailpipe emissions.

However, Dingell does have his own supporters. Rep. Mike Doyle maintains there is no basis for removing Dingell. And Phil Schiliro, who manages congressional relations and was once a Waxman aide, reminds everyone that they must be concerned about the survival of the U.S. auto industry. If Dingell loses his chairmanship, it could be a blow to the future of Detroit.

While environmentalist are delighted at the thought of a Waxman chairmanship of the Committee, seniority in the House of Representative andsitting committee chairs are rarely replaced. It may be Obama's first domestic issue and could unite or divide the party before he even takes office.

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* Rep - a member of  Republican party

I. Find the equivalents in the text:

Защитник окружающей среды; Комитет по Энергетике и Торговле Палаты Представителей Соединенных Штатов Америки; допустимые нормы загрязнения и стандарты экономичности топлива; экономический кризис; утвердить допустимые нормы загрязнения окружающей среды; плюсы и минусы; должность председателя; спикер Палаты Представителей Конгресса США; законопроект, касающийся глобального потепления; выбросы парникового газа; мера; соответствовать, мешанина законов разных штатов; право защиты; выбросы выхлопных газов; занимающие должности по праву старшинства (стажа); председатели постоянных комитетов;  вступить в должность.

II.     Answer the questions:

 

1) What is the President-elect?

2) Who are the main opponents in the article? Do they have supporters?

3) What is the core of the conflict?

4) Whose part would you support and why?

 

 

 

5

 

Obama, Libya and the authorization conflict

 

The president does not need authorization from Congress before launching a military offensive — so said Vice President Dick Cheney and other advisers to President George W. Bush in the summer of 2002 as that administration prepared to use force to topple Saddam Hussein.

When Bush’s spokesman Ari Fleischer said the president would consult with members of Congress before any attack on Iraq, a reporter asked “does ‘consult’ mean ask permission?” Fleischer replied with a non-answer, saying, “the president will consult with Congress because Congress has an important role to play.”

At the urging of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and others, Bush did, in the end, seek a vote by Congress to authorize his attack on Iraq and he got that authorization in October 2002.

In the case of Libya, President Barack Obama has consulted with congressional leaders, but sought no authorization for his military operation against Col.* Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

No permission needed?

At a press conference in Chile on Monday Obama gave no indication that he thought any congressional authorization was needed.

In his two major statements on Libya the president made only one passing reference to Congress, saying “I've acted after consulting with my national security team, and Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress.”

Obama’s stance is striking: not only hasn’t he addressed the question of congressional authorization, but acting without it appears to be at oddswith what he stood for when he ran for president.

 “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation,” Obama told the Boston Globe** in 2007.

Obama has not argued that Gadhafi is “an actual or imminent threat” to the United States, only to the Libyans who oppose him.

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*Col. –  colonel

** the Boston Globe – the newspaper in Boston

I.       Find the equivalents in the text:

Санкция Конгресса; предпринять военную наступательную операцию; свергнуть; официальный представитель администрации Буша; избежать прямого ответа; добиваться резолюции; позиция Обамы поразительна;  войти в противоречие; разрешить в одностороннем порядке; непосредственная угроза.

 

Obama cites 'international legitimacy'

He argued that “the way that the United States took leadership and managed this process ensures international legitimacy.” Alluding to the Iraq war, he said “in the past there were times when the U.S. acted unilaterally or did not have full international support.”

He pledged that “we will not deploy any U.S. troops on the ground” and emphasized that the American role would be growing smaller “in a matter of days and not in matter of weeks” as other nations take part in enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya.

He portrayed the relatively limited U.S. role as a cost-saving measure, saying that “our military is already very stretched” and argued that air strikes by France and other nations “relieves the burden on U.S. taxpayers.”

In a letter to congressional leaders Monday, Obama claimed that his actions in Libya "are in the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive."

He said he was giving Congress notice under the provisions of the 1973 War Powers Act.

But his letter didn't note that the 1973 law allows the president to use military force only when there is an attack on the United States or when Congress has voted to declare war or to authorize military operations.

Obama’s military offensive without congressional authorization raises familiar questions about when a president can and cannot order bombs to be dropped, missiles to be launched and troops to be landed on foreign soil.

II.     Find the equivalents in the text:

Международный правопорядок; в считанные дни; зона, запрещенная для полетов; воздушный налет; облегчать бремя; в соответствии с конституционными полномочиями; Главнокомандующий; глава исполнительной власти; уведомить; в соответствии с положениями; закон о полномочиях в условии военного времени.

III.   Answer the questions:

1)             What do you know about Saddam Hussein?

2)             What do you know about Col.* Moammar Gadhafi?

3)             Who is Commander in Chief and Chief Executive in the USA? And in Russia?

4)             What is the point of conflict between President Obama and Congress?

5)             What do you think of the war in Libya and the ways to stop in?

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