By The Editorial Board
President Obama has often issued executive orders to get around recalcitrant Republicans in Congress or to clarify existing policy. Yet there are some areas where the president has been too reticent. The start of a new year is a good moment to point out some matters ripe for executive action.
We begin with Mr. Obama’s baffling refusal to issue an executive order banning discrimination by federal contractors based on sexual orientation or gender identity. A long-sought measure to outlaw such discrimination by all employers passed the Senate in November with Mr. Obama’s support, but it remains stalled in the House. Many federal contractors already have anti-discrimination policies in place. With a stroke of his pen, Mr. Obama could stop federal money from going to contractors that discriminate. There is no reason for further delay.
Mr. Obama should also use the government’s contracting clout to combat sweatshops overseas. He could issue an executive order to develop and enforce a code of conduct for overseas factories that make uniforms and other clothing for the government. A recent investigation by The Times found that many of these factories violate basic labor standards, by, for example, hiring underage workers. He should also issue an order directing officials to give preference to companies that offer good pay and benefits.
A proposal to do that was sidetracked in early 2010 amid objections from business groups and Republican lawmakers. But that was before Mr. Obama’s new focus on income inequality, and before protests by workers for companies that provide services at federal venues like the Smithsonian museums.
On guns, Mr. Obama has issued many executive orders and directives to combat illegal weapons and promote public safety. This month, for instance, he signed two executive orders to strengthen gun background checks. The first clarified that states must submit notice of involuntary outpatient mental health treatment as well as inpatient commitments to the national database of disqualified gun purchasers. The other confirmed that sharing the information does not violate medical privacy.
But he should go further. He can encourage more submissions of eligible mental health records by instructing that Justice Department grants be withheld from the 15 states with egregiously poor compliance records.
On another front, Mr. Obama should use his executive authority to end a longstanding misinterpretation of the Helms amendment, which prohibits foreign aid money from being used to “pay for the performance of abortion as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.”
That language clearly excludes cases of life endangerment, incest and rape. Yet Republican and Democratic administrations, including Mr. Obama’s, have treated it as an absolute abortion ban. As a result, help is denied to women and girls subjected to rape in armed conflicts. Women with life-threatening pregnancies are denied assistance as well, thwarting efforts to reduce unsafe abortions around the world. The misreading of the Helms amendment has also deterred foreign-aid recipients from providing factual information about abortion to the public. It is time Mr. Obama set matters right.
Original Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/13/opinion/missing-executive-actions.html?_r=1