Health Information Technology and Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act)
It has long been legislative practice in Washington, DC to package many large spending bills together in an omnibus package that gets passed with one vote by all members, rather than debate and vote on each measure independently. These practices are especially popular when one party has the near invincible majority in both houses, not to mention an overwhelmingly popular president in the White House. Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is essentially an omnibus spending bill under the guise of a "stimulus package". The bundling of the HITECH Act, which radically alters the framework for implementing and managing electronic health records and general health care policy, into a spending bill sold to the American people as an "investment" in modernizing the national infrastructure and creating jobs is clever and near the top of early administration accomplishments.
Obama's first 100 days could easily be described by the phrase penned by Latin poet Hoarce carpe diem, popularly translated to mean "seize the day". The complete excerpt from the original poem reads, carpe diem quam minimum credula "seize the day and have no trust in tomorrow". I believe this completely captures Obama's mindset as he proactively spearheads efforts from the Oval Office to regain control during a time of economic crisis and reinstate confidence in the capitalist system. The purpose driven and institutionally significant changes embedded in the fine print of the ARRA shows quite clear that Obama and his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel seek to swiftly and indefinitely create a system that functions in a fundamentally different manner across all aspects of society and government.
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