Budgetary Magic: Funding of Obamacare

From reading and listening to all the learned pundits it seems remarkable that no one has really ever tried to show in some concrete way how the 111 Congress and the Obama Administration were able to say with a straight face that they passed ObamaCare and balanced the budget all at the same time.  Remember they wanted to give 43 million people health insurance and not increase the federal deficit...  the problem was how to pay for it.

Here is how they were able to do it:

• Make the drug companies reduce the prices of their drugs by $80 billion (coercision?)
• Take $500 million from Medicare and Indian health service (deception?)
• Force 300 million buy health insurance for $900 million (constitutional?) (tax)
• Increase payroll taxes
• Force 50 states to use Medicaid to subsidize the future regional health pools (constitutional?)
• Regulate the insurance industry to force them to reduce costs 
• Force the insurance industry to accept more people

The CBO was able to certify that the budget would not be busted because ObamaCare was going to push all the costs to the states and citizens of this country which meant the cost to the federal government would not result in a deficit..  The only thing that the federal government will now pay is the cost of regulating the insurance industry and the enforcement efforts by the IRS.

The consequences of this White House and Congressional shell game was to shift the cost burden onto the shoulders of the citizens and the states.  They did not reduce costs -  they just rearranged the cost pools until the burden was off Uncle Sam.  We will either pay for this legislation through payroll taxes, income taxes, or being forcibly required to pay for federally mandated health insurance's coverage which the consumer will have no choice except to write the check.  The federal government will dictate everything - the cost of insurance, what will be covered by insurance policies, etc.

Eventually the insurance industry will no longer exist; we will be left with only the federal government selling us our insurance policies.  I am not looking forward to the day that we have to stand in line to buy insurance policies like we have to purchase car tags.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Boehner and Obama Tangle

Big Oil's $4B tax break in doubt as Obama, Boehner tangle

President Obama once again calls for the subsidies to end as high gas prices erode Republican opposition.

By Steve Hargreaves, senior writer

CNNMONEY.COM — 04/29/11

President Obama repeated his call Tuesday for an end to $4 billion in oil industry tax breaks as gas prices approach $4 a gallon and after a top lawmaker indicated a possible shift in Republican policy.
In a letter to congressional leaders, the president said the oil industry is profitable enough without the tax incentives and that the money should be spent on alternative energy sources and conservation.
"CEOs of the major oil companies have made it clear that high oil prices provide more than enough profit motive to invest in domestic production without special tax breaks," said Obama. "As we work together to reduce our deficits, we simply can't afford these wasteful subsidies."
This week those profits are going to be front and center. BP is expected to report earnings on Wednesday. Exxon is slated to announce its results on Thursday. Some analysts expect the company's profits to jump 50% from last year. Chevron (Symbol : CVX

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) is scheduled to make its earnings announcement on Friday.
The oil industry and many of its supporters in Congress have long argued that the tax breaks encourage domestic oil production and provide jobs for millions of Americans. Republicans in particular have resisted efforts to eliminate these tax breaks, something many Democrats have been trying to do since at least 2008.
But on Monday night, Speaker of the House John Boehner indicated he might be open to taking some of those breaks off the table.
"I don't think the big oil companies need to have the oil depletion allowances, but for small, independent oil and gas producers, if they didn't have this, there'd be even less exploration in America than there is today," Boehner said on ABC's (Symbol : DIS

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) World News Tonight. "It's certainly something we need to be looking at."
Depletion allowances let oil companies treat the oil in the ground as capital equipment, and they can write off a certain percentage for each barrel that comes out.
On Tuesday the speaker appeared to backtrack from those comments, with an aid telling CNN (Symbol : TWX

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) that "what the President has suggested so far would simply raise taxes and increase the price at the pump."
Nonetheless, Obama took the chance to pounce, saying in his letter that he was "heartened that Speaker Boehner yesterday expressed openness to eliminating these tax subsidies."
This all comes as the price of gasoline surges above $4 a gallon in many states, making it increasingly difficult politically to defend Big Oil.
As gas prices approach their record highs set in 2008 they are threatening to derail the nation's nascent economic recovery.

The tax breaks in question

The Obama administration is targeting nine tax breaks, according to a paper from the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Four account for the lion's share of the money:
Domestic manufacturing tax deduction: This is the largest single tax break, and would save over $1.7 billion a year if eliminated.
The tax deduction, passed in 2004, is designed to keep factories in the United States. Companies that manufacture here can deduct 9% of their income from operations that are attributed to domestic production.
But some question if that incentive is really appropriate for oil companies. "What are they going to do, move the oil field to the North Sea," said one staffer at the Center for American Progress said in an interview earlier this year.
No, but higher costs in the United States may make them move the drill rigs to the North Sea or some other place.
Eliminating the tax breaks "would actually discourage new energy projects and new hiring in one of the nation's most dependable job-creating industries," the American Petroleum Institute said in a statement at the time, noting the industry currently supports over 9 million jobs.
The percentage depletion allowance: This lets oil companies deduct about 15% of the money generated from a well from its taxes. Eliminating it would save about $1 billion a year.
The deduction essentially lets oil companies treat oil in the ground as capital equipment. For any industry, the value of that equipment can be written down each year.
But critics say oil in the ground is not capital equipment, but a national resource that the oil companies are simply using for their own profit.
The foreign tax credit: This provision gives companies a credit for any taxes they pay to other countries. Altering this tax credit would save about $850 million a year.
Foreign governments can collect money from oil companies through royalties -- fees for depleting their national resources -- and income taxes.
A royalty would be deducted as a cost of doing business, and would likely shave about 30% off a company's tax bill. Categorized as income tax, it is 100% deductible.
Foreign governments long ago grew wise to the U.S. tax code. To reduce costs for everyone involved and attract business, they agreed to call some royalties income taxes, allowing oil companies to take the 100% deduction on a bigger slice of their bill.
Intangible drilling costs: This lets the industry write off about $780 million a year for things like wages, fuel, repairs and hauling costs.
All industries get to write off the costs of doing business, but they must take it over the life of an investment. The oil industry gets to take the drilling credit in the first year.

Obama is not providing any Leadership!

Obama unveils $3.73 trillion budget for 2012 - Yahoo! News

Obama's new budget projects that the deficit for the current year will surge to an all-time high of $1.65 trillion. That reflects a sizable tax-cut agreement reached with Republicans in December. For 2012, the administration sees the imbalance declining to $1.1 trillion, giving the country a record four straight years of $1 trillion-plus deficits.

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Man charged with 3 counts of murder in Va. attacks - Yahoo! News

Man charged with 3 counts of murder in Va. attacks - Yahoo! News

MANASSAS, Va. – A Salvadoran man who was ordered deported nearly a decade ago but never left has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in a series of shootings and a knife attack in a Virginia suburb of Washington, authorities said Friday. Jose Oswaldo Reyes Alfaro, an illegal immigrant, was charged in the pair of attacks blocks apart Thursday night that left three people dead and three others injured, Manassas Police Chief Doug Keen said.

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My Way News - Ariz. governor countersues federal government

My Way News - Ariz. governor countersues federal government

PHOENIX (AP) - Gov. Jan Brewer sued the federal government Thursday for failing to control Arizona's border with Mexico and enforce immigration laws, and for sticking the state with huge costs associated with jailing illegal immigrants who commit crimes. The lawsuit claims the federal government has failed to protect Arizona from an "invasion" of illegal immigrants. It seeks increased reimbursements and extra safeguards, such as additional border fences. Brewer's court filing serves as a countersuit in the federal government's legal challenge to Arizona's new enforcement immigration law. The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to invalidate the law.

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Republicans Seek Spending Cuts In Debt Ceiling Fight - Investors.com

Republicans Seek Spending Cuts In Debt Ceiling Fight - Investors.com

News the federal deficit will hit a record in 2011 pushed Congress one step closer Wednesday to its first major battle of the year: raising the debt ceiling. The national debt stands at just over $14 trillion and will soon hit the statutory limit of $14.3 trillion. If Congress doesn't raise it soon, the Treasury won't be able to issue debt above that ceiling, which would lead to substantial spending cuts and the eventual possibility of default. Many Republicans are insisting on major spending cuts in return for raising the ceiling. Democrats scoff at the idea. Meanwhile, Tea Party activists are gearing up to fight over the issue. Red Ink Is Expensive

The budget deficit will hit a record $1.48 trillion in fiscal 2011, the Congressional Budget Office predicted Wednesday. Over the next decade, an additional $6.7 trillion in red ink is expected. Meanwhile, the unfunded liability for Social Security and Medicare is $19.1 trillion in present-value terms. With the long-term fiscal picture looking dire and anti-deficit fervor among voters stronger than ever, many GOP lawmakers are demanding major cuts in exchange for voting to raise the debt limit. "We can't afford to kick this can down the road any longer," said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. "We need both spending cuts and spending caps in any deal to raise the debt ceiling." The GOP-led House will likely do just that. But Democrats still control the Senate and White House. It's unclear how a standoff would play out politically.

Meanwhile, Tea Party activists oppose any debt-limit increases. "We think voting for the debt ceiling is a dangerous thing to do," said Mark Meckler, co-coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots. "It's time to cut up the credit card." A few Tea-infused members, such as Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., are steadfastly refusing to vote for a debt-limit hike. But more Republicans, like Flake, see a chance for driving a hard bargain. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., recently said in a speech on the House floor: "When Congress is asked to increase the statutory debt limit, which will likely happen in the next few months, I will vote no, unless — and let me be completely clear here — there is a firm commitment to deal with the larger issue or the vote itself is tied to a plan to put America on a path to financial responsibility."

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Paul gets CPAC crowd on their feet

Paul gets CPAC crowd on their feet – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

"There is truly a revolution going on in this country. We live in a time where we don't just need a change in attitude and a change in ideas," Paul also said.

"We need to change our philosophy about what this country is all about. " Paul, who ran a quixotic presidential bid in 2008 that caught fire with many fiscal conservatives and libertarians, added the crisis in Egypt is further proof American needs to disentangle from its foreign engagements.

"We need to do a lot less, a lot sooner, not only in Egypt, but around the world," he said. "The people don't like us propping up our dictators no more than we would like it if a foreign country propped up a dictator here."

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'Al-Qaida on brink of using nuclear bomb'

'Al-Qaida on brink of using nuclear bomb'

Al-Qaida is on the verge of producing radioactive weapons after sourcing nuclear material and recruiting rogue scientists to build "dirty" bombs, according to leaked diplomatic documents. A leading atomic regulator has privately warned that the world stands on the brink of a "nuclear 9/11". Security briefings suggest that jihadi groups are also close to producing "workable and efficient" biological and chemical weapons that could kill thousands if unleashed in attacks on the West. Thousands of classified American cables obtained by the WikiLeaks website and passed to The Daily Telegraph detail the international struggle to stop the spread of weapons-grade nuclear, chemical and biological material around the globe.

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House seen blocking healthcare funds | Reuters

House seen blocking healthcare funds | Reuters

(Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives is likely to vote to block funding for President Barack Obama's signature healthcare overhaul when it takes up a budget plan next week, House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said on Tuesday. "I expect to see one way or other the product coming out of the House to speak to that and to preclude any funding to be used for that," Cantor said at a news conference, referring to an effort to block implementation of the health-care law.

House Republicans aim to pass a spending measure next week that would immediately cut at least $32 billion from the government's $3.7 trillion budget in an effort to trim budget deficits that could hit an estimated $1.5 trillion this year. Details of the Republican spending-cut package will be made public on Thursday ahead of a wide-ranging debate on the House floor next week.

Cantor's office said the language blocking funding for the healthcare law is expected to be offered as an amendment during the House debate next week. Republicans, trying to make good on a campaign pledge for a more open legislative process, plan to debate a number of amendments to the spending bill.

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Climate Change Claims Melt Away - Investors.com

Climate Change Claims Melt Away - Investors.com

In 2007, the U.N. said the Himalayan glaciers will be gone by 2035 due to man-made global warming. Yet four years later, some are advancing. What's retreating is the global warming narrative. Global warming alarmists felt a tingle in their legs when the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a report claiming "Glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world and, if the present rate continues, the likelihood of their disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high if the earth keeps warming at the current rate." The announcement was enough to set off celebrations by greenshirts everywhere. Turns out, though, that the claim was nonsense. It was not based on scientific research but on one scientist's guesswork, which was lifted from a telephone interview. It was carelessly — or intentionally? — included in the report. Despite its mistakes and clear political bias, the IPCC survives.

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Fwd: House Speaker Boehner warns against debt default | Reuters

House Speaker Boehner warns against debt default | Reuters

With the Treasury Department rapidly coming closer to bumping up against its statutory borrowing limit of $14.3 trillion, some of Boehner's fellow Republicans in Congress have suggested that no further borrowing should be authorized until deep cuts are made in federal spending.

Obama to Push New Spending in State of the Union - WSJ.com

Obama to Push New Spending in State of the Union - WSJ.com: "President Barack Obama will call for new government spending on infrastructure, education and research in his State of the Union address Tuesday, sharpening his response to Republicans in Congress who are demanding deep budget cuts, people familiar with the speech said.

Mr. Obama will argue that the U.S., even while trying to reduce its budget deficit, must make targeted investments to foster job growth and boost U.S. competitiveness in the world economy. The new spending could include initiatives aimed at building the renewable-energy sector—which received billions of dollars in stimulus funding—and rebuilding roads to improve transportation, people familiar with the matter said. Money to restructure the No Child Left Behind law's testing mandates and institute more competitive grants also could be included.

While proposing new spending, Mr. Obama also will lay out significant budget cuts elsewhere, people familiar with the plans say, though they will likely fall short of what Republican lawmakers have requested.

In arguing that U.S. competitiveness is at stake, Mr. Obama plans to use his nationally televised speech to try to frame the spending debate with Republicans that is expected to dominate Congress in the coming months. 'We seek to do everything we can to spur hiring and ensure our nation can compete with anybody on the planet,' Mr. Obama said Friday after touring a General Electric Co. plant in Schenectady, N.Y. He cited clean-energy manufacturing, infrastructure and education as keys to competitiveness.

Previewing the expected theme of his speech, Mr. Obama on Friday appointed GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt to lead a new President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Commenting on the new advisory panel, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said that unless its 'first recommendations are to reverse the damage the policies of the last two years have done to the business climate, job creation and the exploding national debt, I fear it will do more to create good public relations for the White House than good jobs for struggling Americans.'

Republicans are casting the White House's pivot toward competitiveness as an excuse for bigger government and more spending. They say a surge in federal spending and a $1.3 trillion budget deficit are impeding job creation, and dramatic spending cuts are needed immediately.

In the House, Republicans are pushing to cut $100 billion from the annual budget as soon as this year. A coalition of House Republicans proposed Thursday cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over a decade, pushing nondefense discretionary spending down to 2006 levels for 10 years.

'Today's the day we finally stop kicking the can down the road,' Rep. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) said as the proposal was introduced Thursday.

White House officials have said that spending cuts of the magnitude proposed by Republicans could stall the economic recovery. Still, Mr. Obama is expected to pair his calls for investment with an admonition that the country must embark on targeted spending cuts. Late last year, he called for a two-year wage freeze for all federal civilian employees to save $5 billion. He's expected to push for spending cuts on Tuesday, particularly in duplicative or dysfunctional federal programs.

Details of those cuts couldn't be learned Friday evening. Programs he has gone after in the past include agricultural subsidies, defense programs such as C-17 military transport planes, and an alternate engine for the Pentagon's Joint Strike Fighter.

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John Kerry Invokes Giffords’ Shooting to Push For “Clean Energy” Legislation…

Weasel Zippers » Blog Archive » John Kerry (D-Lurch) Invokes Giffords’ Shooting to Push For “Clean Energy” Legislation…: "Congresswoman ‘s Gabrielle Giffords’ (D-Ariz.) shooting in Tucson, Ariz., last weekend has brought up several questions about the partisan nature of our current political climate. But today Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said in a speech at the left-leaning policy think tank Center for American Progress that working in a bipartisan manner on infrastructure and clean energy could help overcome the “divisive political rhetoric” in the wake of the Tucson tragedy.

“In the weeks and months ahead, the real issue we need to confront isn’t just what role divisive political rhetoric may have played on Saturday — but it’s the violence divisive, overly simplistic dialogue does to our democracy every day,” Kerry said

“The frustrating reality is that our American political system is increasingly paralyzed and Balkanized into a patchwork of narrow interests that have driven the larger ‘national good’ far from the national dialogue altogether,” he said.

He added that while building and investing in America has always been a bi-partisan issue, currently “partisan paralysis” has kept us from rebuilding the infrastructure investment made through the years from politicians on both sides of the line.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Talk radio under siege - On Media - POLITICO.com

Talk radio under siege - On Media - POLITICO.com:



As ... reported on the main site today, conservative media figures’ fears that the left will use Tucson to clamp down on them are not entirely unfounded.

Rep. Jim Clyburn wants to bring back the Fairness Doctrine – a move aimed directly at talk radio – while Media Matters CEO David Brock asked Rupert Murdoch to rein in or possibly even fire Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.

It’s hard not to read today’s news that Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee plans to ban state employees from appearing on talk radio during work hours within the same frame, though Ben Smith points out that likely has more to do with local beef than the current national debate about 'tone.'

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

New, big challenges confront Obama the candidate

New, big challenges confront Obama the candidate: "Obama owns the slow-to-recover economy and is the face of a Washington he once campaigned against. Polls show his diverse voting coalition from 2008 cracked and his support among independents weakened. His path to Electoral College victory in 2012 is tougher. And he doesn't have George W. Bush's unpopularity paving the way for a Democratic victory.

But the upsides are huge, too.

His personal popularity is still high and he has the White House bully pulpit. He's a proven record fundraiser and he has no primary challenger. The brain trust of Obama's first campaign will run the second. Also, there's no obvious Republican rival in a crowded GOP field.

This president has accomplished more in two years than many of his predecessors did in two terms.

After preaching bipartisanship as a candidate, Obama the president leveraged huge Democratic majorities in Congress to produce a series of legislative achievements: the health care overhaul, new financial rules and an economic stimulus measure. He declared an end to the combat mission in Iraq and, while bolstering U.S. forces in Afghanistan, he has pledged to start pulling troops home.

It's a record that could help or hurt his prospects depending on the whims of an electorate that has shown itself impatient with spotty progress amid economic turmoil.

The issue is certain to dominate the campaign.

'This will be about the economy,' said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. 'It was when we were last playing presidential politics, and it will be when we start again.'

Economists predict the unemployment rate won't fall considerably before the election. White House officials privately acknowledge that they don't expect a complete economic turnaround. They're banking on good economic news—like the Friday report that unemployment slipped to 9.4 percent in December—will continue over the next year, allowing Obama to argue that he's overseeing a rebirth and, thus, shouldn't be fired.

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House Republicans Push Bill to Shut Down White House 'Czars' - FoxNews.com

House Republicans Push Bill to Shut Down White House 'Czars' - FoxNews.com: "House Republicans have President Obama's 'czars' in their crosshairs once again, introducing a bill this week that would effectively shut down their offices
.

The bill, authored by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., is a revamped version of a proposal that went nowhere in the last Congress. But with Republicans in charge of the House this year and a particularly combative Republican in charge of the committee that will be considering the measure, the proposal might have a fighting chance this time around.

'We're hopeful for this one,' Scalise spokesman Stephen Bell told FoxNews.com.

Though the definition of a 'czar' is muddy at best, it generally refers to top-level administration officials who don't have to go through the Senate confirmation process. The Scalise bill aims to be a bit more specific than that, defining a 'czar' as the 'head of any task force, council, policy office within the Executive Office of the President' or similar office, appointed 'without the advice and consent of the Senate.'

Scalise's office estimates that 39 officials in the Obama administration fall under this description. The bill would order Congress to cut off all funding for them and the offices they control. Presumably, the president could afterward try to reinstate them by seeking Senate confirmation.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

Hoyer: Tea Party People Come From Unhappy Families

Hoyer: Tea Party People Come From Unhappy Families: "On the eve of his demotion by voters from House Majority Leader to House Minority Whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Hoyer offered this insight into the psychology of the Tea Party movement:

There are a whole lot of people in the Tea Party that I see in these polls who don’t want any compromise. My presumption is they have unhappy families. All of you have been in families: single-parent, two-parents, whatever. Multiple parent and a stepfather. The fact is life is about trying to reach accommodation with one another so we can move forward. That is certainly what democracy is about. So if we are going to move forward compromise is necessary.

So, there you have it. The Tea Party movement is not motivated by, as its members claim, record-high levels of spending and debt by the federal government and the possible economic consequences of that. It is not upset by the various federal bailouts of recent years. It is not riled up by a stagnant economy with 9.8% unemployment. No, they go to rallies because it is easier than going home apparently.

Now, Hoyer may have been making a joke. It wasn’t entirely clear from the way he said it, though, and no reporter in the room laughed.

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The $Dollar is playing second fiddle.......

My Way News - World Bank issues its 1st yuan bonds in Hong Kong: "HONG KONG (AP) - The World Bank is issuing its first bonds denominated in China's yuan in Hong Kong, joining a growing number of borrowers tapping the new debt market as Beijing gradually promotes of its tightly controlled currency abroad.

The World Bank said buyers of its 500 million yuan ($76 million), two-year bond were mainly Hong Kong-based financial institutions, companies and wealthy individuals. It said the money will go into its general fund, rather than being raised for a specific purpose.

The yuan is not traded on global currency markets but Beijing has loosened controls and allows Hong Kong banks to use it. Hong Kong is Chinese territory but has its own currency and a Western-style legal system and often is used as a site for mainland companies to interact with foreign investors.

Beijing began allowing foreign companies to issue yuan debt last year. The Asian Development Bank, Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and McDonald's Corp. have sold yuan-denominated debt to finance activities in China.

Buyers of such bonds hope to gain from both interest payments and the growing strength of the yuan, which is rising against the U.S. dollar.

China is set to gain a bigger say in the World Bank after a restructuring last year to boost the voting power of developing countries. If approved, China will be the third-biggest voting power after the United States and Japan.The World Bank provides low-interest loans and technical assistance to developing countries.

Beijing is promoting Hong Kong as a platform for yuan-based international banking. Hong Kong banks started handling yuan in 2004 and now offer services ranging from deposits to credit cards to trade financing that allows foreign companies to pay Chinese business partners in yuan.

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Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness

In House, new Republican majority plans to act fast to undo Obama's agenda

In House, new Republican majority plans to act fast to undo Obama's agenda: "Almost as soon as they take control of the House at noon Wednesday, Republicans will embark on a 20-day plan aimed at undoing major aspects of President Obama's agenda as they seek to take advantage of the weeks before the Senate's return and the president's State of the Union address.

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Obama ready to deploy executive powers against GOP Hill | Washington Examiner

Obama ready to deploy executive powers against GOP Hill | Washington Examiner: "President Obama challenged congressional Republicans to embrace the 'shared responsibility' of governance even as the White House appears ready to use unilateral executive powers to battle Capitol Hill. With Republicans taking over the House and increasing their number in the Senate, Obama faces the possibility of having his agenda stalled with limited room to maneuver -- making for tough sledding in the two years leading up to his 2012 re-election bid.

In response, Obama is expected to make more frequent use of executive orders, vetoes, signing statements and policy initiatives that originate within the federal agencies to maneuver around congressional Republicans who are threatening to derail initiatives he has already put in place, including health care reforms, and to launch serial investigations into his administration's spending.

'There is going to be an effort on the president's part to use [executive powers] to satisfy his base and institutionalize what he can,' said John Kenneth White, professor of politics at the Catholic University of America.

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency begins regulating greenhouse gas emissions at some energy plants and factories -- a move Obama pushed for after his cap-and-trade environmental legislation stalled in Congress.

The move angered many Republicans, who are vowing to block the new regulations they say threatens the nation's fragile economic recovery and who objected to an end-run around the legislative process.

'It's unclear what recourse Republicans have, but I think you will see a lot of battles where Obama's nominees are held up over regulatory decisions that are not directly related,' said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist and former Senate staffer. 'The legislative branch really feels they should control the laws that affect people.'

Obama said during his 2008 campaign that he wouldn't use signing statements, codicils presidents can attach to bills challenging

or refusing to enforce parts of a law, the way his predecessor, President George W. Bush, did. But since taking office, Obama issued signing statements on budgetary matters, foreign aid, commission appointments and more -- along with a memorandum promising to use 'restraint' whenever exercising that power.

The administration defended Obama's use of such powers, including making recess appointments, as a proper exercise of his authority and often as a response to Republican obstructionism. On signing statements, press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama used them to highlight 'what problems might be inherent in a piece of legislation, without asking that the federal government disallow or ignore congressional intent.'

Obama also hasn't hesitated to make policy through executive order, including freezing federal workers' pay, launching an investigation of the BP oil spill and cracking down on Somali outlaws.

'He is the manager in chief, and things like signing statements and however you thwart the will of Congress, sure -- there are lots of things that go on other than passing new laws and giving out money that are all part of managing this incredible enterprise,' said Stephen Hess, a Brookings Institution expert on the presidency.

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