Dr. F. A. Young, Esq.
Executive Director
PeaceZone Empowerment Network

. . . . I know The President has a powerful 'trump card'. It is the Executive Order. We must request he use the power of the Executive Order to redirect the economic support provided in the TARP and to make sure the Recovery and Reinvestment Act is clarified so the flow of funds and creation of programs do not favor one distressed locale or impoverished sector of the population more than another: ’bail out’ and recovery and reinvestment programs for the inner cities and rural communities must be on par with that provided American Indians (Indian Reservation Lands), Wall Street, banks, hedge funds, and Main Street’s business owners and stockholders!

We should all carefully review what an Executive Order (EO) is and how they have been used and how they can be used as a very effective means to clarify and accomplish the intentions of the laws and programs that are already on the books and put the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to use to benefit ‘we the people’ and further new programs addressing the domestic problems relating to the Health, Education and Welfare of all Americans - not just the middle class American or Indians on the Federal Reservations. One can not let the inhabitants of the new 21^st Century Reservations – the poor of Appalachia, the rural south, the inner cities be short changed  and left to suffer from benign neglect!  

You will be surprised what past Presidents have accomplish through an Executive Order.  When a President uses this very powerful 'trump card', which is authorized by the US Constitution, it is a game changer. Today Republicans and Democrats are playing legislative games and fiddling as the economy and our communities crumbles!   

An Executive Order (EO) is a legally binding order given by the President, acting as the head of the Executive Branch, to Federal Administrative Agencies. EOs are generally used to direct federal agencies and officials in their execution of congressionally established laws or policies. However, in many instances they have been used to guide agencies in directions contrary to congressional intent. Past Presidents have also used the Executive Order when faced with resistance from both sides of the political aisle or faced with resistance by ‘states rights’ advocates to existing and newly enacted Federal Civil Rights laws and Regulations.

I posit that the President could use EOs to effectively correct misuse of the TARP funds and clarify the use of the new Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds in light of the emergency domestic needs of the people and the nation. Strange how the TARP legislation bailing out Wall Street was rushed through and provided on certain premises and then the game was changed and funds diverted with no explanation! This can be rectified! The President can issue an Executive Order!

Executive Orders do not require Congressional approval to take effect but they have the same legal weight as laws passed by Congress. The President's source of authority to issue Executive Orders can be found in the Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution which grants to the President the "Executive Power." Section 3 of Article II further directs the President to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." To implement or execute the laws of the land, Presidents give direction and guidance to Executive Branch agencies and departments, often in the form of Executive Orders.

Follow this link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/executive_orders/ It takes you to the White House briefing room and you can read Executive Orders President Obama has already issued. Then ponder how he could use this power to bring ‘green love’ to the inner cities and support programs we are all fighting for! We must let him know we have his back and he need not fear any man! I think he is feeling quite alone right now and definitely understanding and realizing the support he does not have!  There are haters on both sides of the aisle that would love to be able to place the blame of the nation’s failure on him. It appears to be mutiny on the bounty!

The following text is excerpted from Executive Order 1289 issued by former President Clinton. http://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayEO.cfm?id=EO_12898_

EXECUTIVE

ORDER EO 12898

Effective Date: February 11, 1994

Responsible Office: Office of Mission to Planet Earth

Subject: FEDERAL ACTIONS TO ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN MINORITY POPULATIONS AND LOW-INCOME POPULATIONS

TEXT

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1-1. IMPLEMENTATION.

1-101. Agency Responsibilities. To the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, and consistent with the principles set forth in the report on the National Performance

Review, each Federal agency shall make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities

on monitoring populations and low-income populations in the United States and its territories and possessions, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands.

1-102. Creation of an Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (a) Within 3 months of the date of this order, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency ("Administrator") or the Administrator's designee shall convene an interagency Federal Working Group on Environmental Justice ("Working Group"). The Working Group shall comprise the heads of the following executive agencies and offices, or their designees: (a) Department of Defense; (b) Department of Health and Human Services; (c) Department of Housing and Urban Development; (d) Department of Labor; (e)  Department of Agriculture; (f) Department of Transportation; (g) Department of Justice; (h) Department of the Interior; (i) Department of Commerce; (j) Department of Energy; … and (r) such otherGovernment officials as the President may designate. The Working Group shall report to the President through the Deputy Assistant to the President for Environmental Policy and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy.

(b) The Working Group shall: (1) provide guidance to Federal agencies on criteria for identifying disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on minority populations and low-income populations;

(2) coordinate with, provide guidance to, and serve as a clearinghouse for, each Federal agency as it develops an environmental justice strategy as required by section 1-103 of

this order, in order to ensure that the administration, interpretation and enforcement of programs, activities and policies are undertaken in a consistent manner;……………

1-103. Development of Agency Strategies. …….. The environmental justice strategy shall list programs, policies, planning and public participation processes, enforcement, and/or rulemakings related to human health or the environment that should be revised to, at a minimum: (1) promote enforcement of all health and environmental statutes in areas with minority populations and low-income populations; (2) ensure greater public

participation; (3) improve research and data collection relating to the health of and environment of minority populations and low-income populations; and (4) identify differential patterns of consumption of natural resources among minority populations and

low-income populations. In addition, the environmental justice strategy shall include, where appropriate, a timetable for undertaking identified revisions and consideration of economic and social implications of the revisions………………

Also click this link http://www.nj.gov/transportation/business/civilrights/pdf/usdotfhwa.pdf  to down load the Order establishing policies and procedures for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to use in complying with the above Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations (EO 12898), dated February 11, 1994.

The following is excerpted from Executive Order 12232 and provides a fine example of how President Carter used the power. President Obama should be encouraged to follow suit and specifically show love to the HBCUs!

Jimmy Carter Historically Black Colleges and Universities

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution of the United States of America, and in order to overcome the effects of discriminatory treatment and to strengthen and expand the capacity of historically Black colleges and universities to provide quality education, it is hereby ordered as follows:

1-101. The Secretary of Education shall implement a Federal initiative designed to achieve a significant increase in the participation by historically Black colleges and universities in Federally sponsored programs. This initiative shall seek to identify, reduce, and eliminate barriers which may have unfairly resulted in reduced participation in, and reduced benefits from, Federally sponsored programs…… (click for the EO)

Below are a sampling of Fair Housing-Related Presidential Executive Orders. They provide insight into how the EO has been used by past Presidents; a courageous President can do some courageous things. Familiarize yourself with them:

Executive Order 11063 prohibits discrimination in the sale, leasing, rental, or other disposition of properties and facilities owned or operated by the federal government or provided with federal funds.

Executive Order 11246, as amended, bars discrimination in federal employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Executive Order 12892, as amended, requires federal agencies to affirmatively further fair housing in their programs and activities, and provides that the Secretary of HUD will be responsible for coordinating the effort. The Order also establishes the President's Fair Housing Council, which will be chaired by the Secretary of HUD.

Executive Order 12898 requires that each federal agency conduct its program, policies, and activities that substantially affect human health or the environment in a manner that does not exclude persons based on race, color, or national origin.

Executive Order 13217 requires federal agencies to evaluate their policies and programs to determine if any can be revised or modified to improve the availability of community-based living arrangements for persons with disabilities.

I invite all who are of the mind set to draft Executive Orders and email them to the President. Show him that we know he has a power he can use and ‘we the people’ will support his use of it this power for the purposes of making sure bail out funding goes to the creation of jobs in our inner cities and funding educational and training programs for our young adults and re-training for our old! We the People are not without Power. We have a President who is begging for our input. Read his lips! Check him on youtube, he is telling you to bring it to him make your needs known! Step up to the plate! 

The Executive Order is the only way the President can step outside the constraints of the ‘Washington political box’ and the oppression of political horse trading that would destroy any initiatives he has that would truly benefit the socially and economically disenfranchised. Wall Street and Main Street have their powerful voices in Washington and they are not looking out for Back Street! If you do not get aggressive and make moves for your community then you will get nothing!

Reality Check: The President on  Thursday, February 19^th issued an Executive Order that established the White House Office of Urban Affairs. Go down load it from this link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Executive-Order-Establishment-of-the-White-House-Office-of-Urban-Affairs/   The President as opened the door for you to the White House. Read - make your moves!  Visit: http://change.gov/page/s/ofthepeople   Go on the record with your views.

Many individuals and organizations have the big mike. Kindly give voice to the use of the Executive Power on your shows and websites make it a shout out to the people, a call to the Black Congressional Caucus, and all politicians to draft and submit their own version of an Executive Order they would like the President to issue. Let them know ‘we the people’ now know the President does not have to be held hostage to a congress and senate that would paralyze him and any efforts to get ‘bail out’ funding to the poorest of the poor - Back Street. 

Black Law students should be all over the case – show your President you can bring it! Do not wait for politicians and the Black Congressional Caucus to anything for you. They are all on the plantation! Who's gonna take the weight?  While you are at it show some love to the Historically Black Colleges & Universities and click here and read my blog.

Peace, Power & Blessings

Dr. F. A. Young, Esq., Executive Director

PeaceZone Empowerment Network

www.peacezone.net