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 against pollution 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 and sitting 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 odds with 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.