Economy, Afghanistan, Gitmo top Week 1 for Obama

Hello! I'm Kristin Volk and this is a UPI White House Weekly. President Obama stepped into office focused on the economy and fulfilling campaign promises. In his first week, House Democrats passed an $819 billion economic stimulus package. That's despite Obama's attempts to win bipartisan support for the bill by making an unusual trip to Capitol Hill earlier this week to meet with Republicans. As promised, the President issued an order to close Guantanamo Bay and pledged to send as many as 30 thousand more troops to Afghanistan. Obama also dispatched his newly appointed Middle East envoy to the region after dangerous escalations in Gaza. Polls show most Americans approve of the way he is handling his job so far. The President also took a stance on fuel efficiency this week. He signed an executive order that will likely give states more control over this issue. The order calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider California's request to set more stringent greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards than required by federal law. Thirteen other states could take similar action. Besides the EPA waivers, Obama called for automakers to increase their efficiency standards nationwide. Critics fear that the move will set the American auto industry back even further. The President said it would be his policy to reverse the country's dependence on foreign oil. Obama made his first official visit to the Pentagon to discuss what he called "difficult decisions" surrounding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was accompanied by Vice-President Joe Biden. The President sat down with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but first expressed his thanks to the men and women fighting abroad. Obama made no policy announcements about Iraq, but the White House said a withdrawal plan would come relatively soon. After the meeting, the President did say that targeting extremists would be a top priority for the armed forces in Afghanistan.

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YouTube | January 29, 2009

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