ISSUE IN-DEPTH: FIRST STEPS FOR NEW PRESIDENT TO TAKE: Mandate sets priorities for Obama’s to-do list

New presidents traditionally go into their first term with a short honeymoon of goodwill, even among members of the opposition party in Congress. But President-elect Barack Obama heads toward his Jan. 20 inauguration with a compelling mandate for change that both he and Congress should take advantage of in the first 100 days of his administration.

During his eight years in office, the White House under George W. Bush enacted executive orders and administrative rules that were too often based on ideological grounds, not what’s best for the country. Many of these rules set his administration far apart from the sentiments of the majority of Americans as well as more moderate members of Congress from his own Republican Party. Some of them deserve to be overturned quickly.

Just as significantly, Bush used his veto power knowing that a group of extreme right-wing GOP members of the House —- including much of the Georgia delegation —- would kill several worthy, bipartisan measures. With a weakened Republican minority now in the House, some of that legislation ought to come up again quickly for reconsideration.

Here’s a list of those issues the president-elect and the new Congress should move forward on as soon as possible:

Children’s health insurance

Bush vetoed —- twice —- a measure that would reauthorize the federal and state program aimed at providing government-subsidized health insurance for the children of working-class families who aren’t covered on the job. The program is now guaranteed funding only through March. Congress should go back to one of the reauthorization bills that allowed states to increase the income limits on families applying for the program so that more children can be covered. That idea enjoyed broad, bipartisan support in Congress and among the nation’s governors, including many Republicans. Bush claimed too many families would give up coverage on the job for government-subsidized coverage for their children although there was no real evidence to suggest that would be a serious problem.

Moreover, the administration also promoted a rule that would have made it impossible to expand the program unless states could guarantee that all families under the existing income caps were covered. Obama can halt that rule-making procedure upon taking office.

Quickly acting to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and allowing for states to experiment with expanding their plans should be one of the highest priorities for Congress. It will set the stage for a much larger discussion later between Obama and Congress about how to insure all of the 45 million Americans who have no health coverage.

Family planning restrictions on the international level

One of Bush’s first acts as president was to sign an executive order restricting how U.S. money for family planning could be used overseas. The intent of the rule —- first ordered during the Reagan administration —- was to forbid any U.S. money going to abortion services in poor and undeveloped countries. The latest rule goes so far as forbidding money to international health groups that provide abortion counseling. This so-called gag rule ought to be lifted by Obama as soon as possible.

Oil drilling

The “drill, baby, drill” shoutout heard at Republican campaign rallies during the campaign was a short-sighted, oversimplified reaction to high gas prices and other energy issues. Obama has wisely concluded that expanded drilling on the continent —- including on some public lands —- needs to be considered, but it is just one part of what should be a more comprehensive approach to energy independence. But there is a pressing issue that needs to be dealt with first. The Bush administration’s Bureau of Land Management has targeted 360,000 acres of public land in Utah for oil and gas drilling —- much of it in highly sensitive areas that deserve protection. The new administration should slow down the bureau’s plans and start the discussion about a more comprehensive approach.

Medicaid rules

The current administration’s antipathy toward Medicaid manifests itself in a series of rules that had the effect of requiring states to pay more and the federal government to pay less for health care for the poorest of the poor. Those rules have shortchanged federal matching dollars for how much large public hospitals such as Atlanta’s Grady Memorial are paid for taking care of poor patients. Ultimately, reforming Medicaid will have to be a part of a comprehensive health care plan, but as soon as the new administration takes office, the rules threatening further reimbursement for public hospitals and nonprofits that have a heavy caseload of Medicaid patients should be suspended.

Spending for research on embryonic stem cells

Bush used his executive powers to limit spending by the National Institutes of Health that would have expanded medical research using stem cells taken from human embryos. Stem cells in the earliest stages of development have the potential to help millions of people suffering from Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain diseases. When Congress attempted to overturn the order and allow for research by strictly regulating the use of donated, frozen embryos that would otherwise be destroyed, Bush vetoed the measure. He argued that such use is tantamount to abortion, and a right-wing cheering squad in the House helped uphold the veto.

Numerous polls have shown that the American public believes embryonic stem cell research is necessary and can be carried out in ethical ways. (Obama’s Republican opponent in the presidential election, Sen. John McCain, was on record favoring it.) If the restrictions can be lifted by a new executive order, Obama should do so quickly. If not, Congress should reconsider the measure Bush vetoed and send it to the new president to sign.

Ensuring the rights of Gitmo detainees

The country’s unlawful treatment of suspected terrorists detained for years at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, must end, and quickly. Obama pledged during the campaign to do so, which would go a long way toward restoring international respect for the U.S. among both friends and foes. It won’t be easy. Many of the 250 detainees have been cleared for release —- essentially the government acknowledges it can’t make a good case against them —- but the Bush administration can’t find countries willing to take them. Legal scholars from both parties have been helping Obama create a hybrid plan —- something between a military tribunal and a traditional prosecution in federal courts —- that would ensure rights to a fair and open trial for those accused of specific crimes. Closing Guantanamo should become one of the administration’s highest priorities.

No Child Left Behind

The landmark education legislation passed in Bush’s first term was supposed to be reauthorized last year. While many educators and politicians are ambivalent about NCLB, Obama has expressed support for its focus on standards and accountability and its requirement that the performance of all students counts. Because it will require much more spending on the federal level, it may take longer to enact some of his more ambitious reforms.

Still, Obama and Congress can make some changes to NCLB that won’t cost billions and could be enacted quickly. The new president can signal his support for the U.S. Department of Education’s recent decision to impose a uniform measure of calculating high school graduation rates, thus ending one of the great shell games in education history. He can go further and call for national standards and assessments and stop allowing states to create their own. Under the current rules many states simply lowered their standards, allowing them to claim higher passing rates.

—- Mike King, for the editorial board (mking@ajc.com)