George W. Bush's first year in office

from http:/hNww.redpepper.org.uk

 

1. Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops.

2. Cut federal spending on libraries by $39 million.

3. Cut $35 million in funding for doctors to get advanced pediatric training.

4. Cut funding for research into renewable energy sources by 50%.

5. Revoked rules that reduced the acceptable levels of arsenic in drinking water.

6. Blocked rules that would require federal agencies to offer bilingual assistance to non-English speaking persons. This, from a candidate who would readily fire-up his Spanish-speaking skills in front of would-be Hispanic voters.

7. Proposed to eliminate new marine protections for the Channel Islands and the coral reefs of northwest Hawaii (please see San Francisco Chronicle, April 6, 2001).

8. Cut funding for research into cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks by 28%

9. Suspended rules that would have strengthened the government's ability to deny contracts to companies that violated workplace safety, environmental and other federal laws.

10. Approved the sending of letters by Interior Department appointee Gale Norton to state officials soliciting suggestions for opening up national monuments for oil and gas drilling, coal mining, and foresting.

11. Appointed John Negroponte -- an unindicted high-level Iran Contra figure to the post of United Nations Ambassador.

12. Abandoned a campaign pledge to invest $100 million for rainforest conservation.

13. Reduced by 86% the Community Access Program for public hospitals, clinics and providers of
care for people without insurance.

14. Rescinded a proposal to increase public access to information about the potential consequences resulting from chemical plant accidents.

15. Suspended rules that would require hardrock miners to clean up sites on public lands.

16. Cut $60 million from a Boy's and Girl's Clubs of America program for public housing.

17. Proposed to eliminate a federal program, designed and successfully used in Seattle, to help communities prepare for natural disasters.

18. Pulled out of the 1997 Kyoto Treaty global warming agreement.

19. Cut $200 million of work force training for dislocated workers.

20. Eliminated funding for the Wetlands Reserve Program, which encourages farmers to maintain wetlands habitat on their property.

21. Cut program to provide childcare to low-income families as they move from welfare to work.

22. Cut a program that provided prescription contraceptive coverage to federal employees (though it still pays for Viagra).

23. Cut $700 million in capital funds for repairs in public housing.

24. Appointed Otto Reich -- an un-indicted high-level Iran Contra figure -- to Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.

25. Cut the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency by $500 million.

26. Proposed to curtail the ability of groups to sue in order to get an animal placed on the Endangered Species List.

27. Rescinded the rule that mandated increased energy-saving efficiency regulations for central air conditioners and heat pumps.

28. Repealed workplace ergonomic rules designed to improve worker health and safety.

29. Abandoned campaign pledge to regulate carbon dioxide, the waste gas that contributes to global warming.

30. Banned federal aid to international family planning programs that offer abortion counseling with other independent funds.

31. Closed the White House Office for Women's Health Initiatives and Outreach.

32. Nominated David Lauriski -- an ex-mining company executive --- to post of Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health.

33. Approved a controversial plan by Interior Secretary Gale Norton to auction oil and gas development tracts off the coast of eastern Florida.

34. Announced intention to open up Montana's Lewis and Clark National Forest to oil and drilling.

35. Proposes to re-draw boundaries of nation's monuments, which would technically allow oil and gas drilling outside of national monuments.

36. Gutted the White House AIDS Office.

37. Renegotiated a free trade agreement with Jordan to eliminate workers' rights and safeguards for the environment.

38. Will no longer seek guidance from The American Bar Association in recommendations for the federal judiciary appointments.

39. Appointed recycling foe Lynn Scarlett as Undersecretary of the Interior..

40. Took steps to abolish the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

41. Cut the Community Oriented Policing Services program.

42. Allowed Interior Secretary Gale Norton to shelve citizen-led grizzly bear re-introduction plan scheduled for Idaho and Montana wilderness.

43. Continues to hold up federal funding for stem cell research projects.

44. Makes sure convicted misdemeanor drug users cannot get financial aid for college, though convicted murderers can.

45. Refused to fund continued cleanup of uranium-slag heap in Utah.

46. Refused to fund continued litigation of the government's tobacco company lawsuit.

47. Proposed a $2 trillion tax cut, 43% of which will go to the wealthiest 1 % of Americans.

48. Signed a bill making it harder for poor and middle-class Americans to file for bankruptcy, even in the case of daunting medical bills.

49. Appointed a Vice President quoted as saying, lf you want to do something about carbon dioxide emissions, then you ought to build nuclear power plants (Meet the Press)

50. Appointed Diana Roth to the Council of Economic Advisers. (There is no gender gap in pay, Boston Globe, March 28, 2001.)

51. Appointed Kay Cole James, an opponent of affirmative action, to direct the Office of Personnel Management.

52. Cut $15.7 million earmarked for states to investigate cases of child abuse and neglect.

53. Helped kill a law designed to make it tougher for teenagers to get credit cards.

54. Proposed elimination of the Reading is Fundamental program that gives free books to poor children.

55.1s pushing for development of small nuclear arms to attack deeply buried targets and weapons. This would violate the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

56. Proposes to nominate Jeffrey Sutton, the attorney responsible for a recent case weakening the Americans with Disabilities Act, to federal appeals court judgeship.

57. Proposes to reverse regulation protecting 60 million acres of national forest from logging and road building.

58. Eliminated funding for the We the People education program which taught school children about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and citizenship.

59. Appointed John Bolton, who opposes nonproliferation treaties and the UN, to Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.

60. Nominated Linda Fisher, an executive with Monsanto, for the number-two job at the Environmental Protection Agency.

61. Nominated Michael McConnell, leading critic of the separation of church and state, to a federal judgeship.

62. Nominated Terrence Boyle, an ardent opponent of civil rights, to a federal judgeship.

63. Canceled 2004 deadline for automakers to develop prototype high mileage cars.

64. Nominated Harvey Pitts, a lawyer for a teen sex video distributor, to head SEC.

65. Nominated John Walters, a strong opponent of prison drug treatment programs, to be Drug Tsar. (Washington Post, May 16, 2001.)

66. Nominated J. Steven Giles, an oil and coal lobbyist, for Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

67. Nominated Bennett Raley, who advocates repealing the Endangered Species Act, for Assistant Secretary for Water and Science

68. Is seeking the dismissal of class-action lawsuit filed in the US against Japan by Asian women forced to work as sex slaves during WWII.

69. Earmarked $4 million in new federal grant money for HIV and drug abuse prevention programs to go only to religious groups and not secular equivalents.

70. Reduced the Low Income Home Assistance Program by 40%; it aided low-income individuals who need assistance paying energy bills.

71. Nominated Ted Olson, who has repeatedly lied about his involvement with the Scaiffe-funded Arkansas Project to bring down Bill Clinton, for Solicitor General.

72. Nominated Terrance Boyle, a foe of civil rights, to a federal judgeship..

73. Proposes to ease permit process, including environmental considerations, for refinery, nuclear and hydroelectric dam construction. (Washington Post, May 18, 2001.)

74. Proposes to give government the authority to take private property through eminent domain for power lines.

75. Proposes that $1.2 billion in funding for alternative renewable energy come from selling oil and gas lease tracts in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve.

76. Plans on serving genetically engineered foods at all official government functions.

77. Forced out Forest Service chief Mike Dombeck and appointed a timber industry lobbyist.


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