Executive orders: A plethora of paper

Faced with legislative roadblocks in Congress, President Clinton has frequently used executive decree to further policy objectives.

• Environment: In September 1996, Clinton transformed 1.7 million acres of southern Utah into a national monument using executive authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act.
• Health care: In February 1998, Clinton applied a "patients' bill of rights" to nine million federal employees and family members and 75 million people covered by Medicare, Medicaid and other government health plans.
• Child safety: In April 1997, Clinton issued an executive order to all federal agencies to reduce environmental health and safety risks to children from air, food, water, soil and manmade products.
• Families: In February 1995, the president signed an executive order to improve child support collection by allowing the government to cross-match state information about deadbeat parents with federal employment records.
• Labor: In March 1995, Clinton used an executive order--later overturned by an appellate court--to prevent federal agencies from entering into contracts with employers that permanently replaced striking workers.