Obama Mulls 200 Changes He Could Make Using Executive Authority

Barack Obama’s lawyer-laden transition team has prepared a list of 200 possible regulatory and policy changes he could quickly adopt using his executive authority. They include hot-button issues such as funding for stem cell research and abortion counseling.

Obama has already indicated he plans to reverse a Bush administration limit on stem cell funding, the Washington Post reports. He also plans to lift a gag rule that barred international family planning groups that receive U.S. aid from counseling on abortion, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards told the newspaper.

Obama has also said he intends to reverse a Bush administration decision that barred California from implementing automobile emissions that are tougher than federal standards. He also will likely block oil drilling on land near national parks in Utah, the Wall Street Journal reports.

"There's a lot the president can do using his executive authority without waiting for congressional action," said John Podesta, head of Obama's transition team, on Fox News Sunday. The New York Times quoted from the interview.

“We need to get off the course that the Bush administration has set,” Podesta said.