E.O.13494

Economy in Government Contracting

January 30, 2009·Barack Obama·74 FR 6101

Directs that costs incurred by federal contractors to persuade their employees, or employees of other entities, for or against unionizing or collective bargaining be treated as unallowable expenses that cannot be billed to or reimbursed by the government. Costs for maintaining ordinary labor-management relations, such as labor-management committees and neutral employee publications, remain allowable. Lists examples of unallowable persuasion-related costs, including preparing materials, hiring legal counsel or consultants, holding meetings, and related activities by managers or supervisors during work hours. Instructs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, within 150 days, to issue rules and regulations implementing the order while minimizing compliance costs and avoiding interference with unreimbursed contractor advocacy. Requires other federal contracting agencies to cooperate with the Council. Applies to contracts arising from solicitations issued after the Council's implementing rules take effect, and states it creates no enforceable legal rights for outside parties.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13493

Review of Detention Policy Options

January 22, 2009·Barack Obama·74 FR 4901

Establishes a Special Interagency Task Force on Detainee Disposition to review lawful options for the apprehension, detention, trial, transfer, release, or other disposition of individuals captured in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations. The task force is co-chaired by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, with members including the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, plus other officials they designate. It is administratively housed within the Department of Justice, which provides funding and support. The task force must report its findings to the President within 180 days, with periodic preliminary reports along the way, unless the co-chairs decide an extension is needed. It is to be dissolved once its work is complete. The order states it creates no enforceable legal rights and applies only as consistent with existing law and available funding.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13492

Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained At the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities

January 22, 2009·Barack Obama·74 FR 4897

Directs that detention facilities for individuals held at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base be closed within one year, with remaining detainees returned home, released, transferred to a third country, or moved to another U.S. facility. Establishes an interagency review, coordinated by the Attorney General with the Secretaries of Defense, State, and Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to assess each detainee's case and determine whether they should be released, transferred, prosecuted, or otherwise handled, including possible prosecution in federal courts. Directs the Secretary of State to pursue diplomatic efforts to facilitate transfers. Requires the Secretary of Defense to review detention conditions within 30 days to ensure compliance with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and to correct any deficiencies. Halts new charges and pending military commission proceedings under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 while the review is underway. States it does not create enforceable legal rights and applies only within existing law and available funding.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13491

Ensuring Lawful Interrogations

January 22, 2009·Barack Obama·74 FR 4893

Revokes Executive Order 13440 and any inconsistent directives issued to or by the Central Intelligence Agency between September 11, 2001, and January 20, 2009, concerning detention or interrogation. Requires that anyone in U.S. custody during an armed conflict be treated humanely under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, and limits interrogation techniques to those authorized in Army Field Manual 2-22.3, applying equivalent approval processes to non-Defense Department agencies. Bars reliance on Justice Department legal interpretations of interrogation law issued between 2001 and 2009. Orders the CIA to close any detention facilities it operates and requires agencies to give the International Committee of the Red Cross notice of and access to detained individuals. Establishes a Special Interagency Task Force, chaired by the Attorney General with other senior officials, to review interrogation practices outside the military and transfer policies to other nations, reporting to the President within 180 days. States that it does not diminish existing legal obligations or create enforceable rights for individuals.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13490

Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel

January 21, 2009·Barack Obama·74 FR 4673

Requires every full-time political appointee joining the executive branch on or after January 20, 2009 to sign an ethics pledge as a condition of employment. The pledge bars accepting gifts from registered lobbyists, restricts appointees for two years from working on matters tied to former employers or clients, imposes additional restrictions on former lobbyists entering government, extends post-employment communication bans, and prohibits departing appointees from lobbying covered officials for the rest of the administration. It also requires hiring decisions to be based on qualifications. The order defines key terms, allows the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to grant waivers in the public interest, directs agency heads and the Director of the Office of Government Ethics to establish implementing rules and reporting requirements, and authorizes enforcement through debarment proceedings or civil actions brought by the Attorney General, including injunctions and recovery of proceeds from violations.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13489

Presidential Records

January 21, 2009·Barack Obama·74 FR 4669

Sets new procedures governing how the National Archives and Records Administration handles executive privilege claims over presidential records under the Presidential Records Act. When the Archivist intends to disclose records, he must notify the incumbent and former presidents and flag material that may raise a substantial question of executive privilege, then wait 30 days before release absent a privilege claim. If the incumbent president wishes to invoke privilege, the Attorney General and White House Counsel review the matter and, if privilege is invoked, the Archivist must withhold the records unless directed otherwise or ordered by a final court order. If a former president claims privilege, the Archivist consults the Attorney General and White House Counsel and generally follows the incumbent president's instructions unless a final court order says otherwise. It applies to NARA, the Archivist, the Attorney General, the Counsel to the President, and incumbent and former presidents, and it revokes Executive Order 13233 of November 1, 2001.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13488

Granting Reciprocity on Excepted Service and Federal Contractor Employee Fitness and Reinvestigating Individuals in Positions of Public Trust

January 16, 2009·George W. Bush·74 FR 4111

Directs federal agencies to give reciprocal recognition to prior favorable fitness or suitability determinations when hiring individuals for excepted service positions or as federal contractor employees, so long as the gaining agency's criteria match Office of Personnel Management suitability standards, the prior determination met the same standards, and the individual had no break in employment. Allows exceptions when a new position requires a higher level of investigation, new adverse information arises, or the individual's record shows conduct incompatible with the new role. Requires periodic reinvestigation of individuals in positions of public trust under standards set by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, and requires agencies to report investigation and fitness-determination results to that office. Leaves agency heads discretion to set their own fitness criteria and determine equivalency. States it does not affect Executive Orders 10450 or 13467, creates no enforceable legal rights, and applies to individuals newly appointed or hired beginning 90 days after issuance.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13487

Establishment of a Temporary Organization To Facilitate United States Government Support for Afghanistan

January 16, 2009·George W. Bush·74 FR 4097

Establishes a temporary Afghanistan Support Office within the Department of State, created under a federal law allowing temporary organizations for specific projects. The office is tasked with supporting other federal agencies in preventing Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorists, helping Afghanistan move toward self-sufficiency, and maintaining a diplomatic presence there. Its work includes helping build the Afghan government's civilian capabilities, such as expanding central services, developing a private-sector economy, and improving governance over its territory and borders, plus any other related tasks assigned by the Secretary of State. The office will be led by a director chosen by the Secretary, operate from both Washington, D.C., and Afghanistan, and its staff may be accredited as members of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. It will terminate after the maximum period allowed under the relevant law unless the Secretary ends it earlier, and it creates no enforceable legal rights for outside parties.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13486

Strengthening Laboratory Biosecurity in the United States

January 9, 2009·George W. Bush·74 FR 2289

Establishes a Working Group on Strengthening the Biosecurity of the United States, housed administratively within the Department of Defense, to address security and personnel assurance at facilities that handle biological select agents and toxins. The group is co-chaired by the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services and includes the Secretaries of State, Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, Energy, and Homeland Security, along with the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Director of the National Science Foundation, with room for other agency heads to be added. It is directed to review existing laws, regulations, and practices governing physical, facility, and personnel security at federal and nonfederal facilities, gather input from government and other sources, and submit a report to the President within 180 days with findings and recommendations, including options for oversight mechanisms and comparisons to security practices in other fields. Agency heads must support the group's work and cover their own representatives' costs. The Working Group terminates 60 days after submitting its report.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13485

Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Transportation

January 9, 2009·George W. Bush·74 FR 2287

Sets an order of succession within the Department of Transportation, listing the Administrators of the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Maritime Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, and Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, along with two regional Federal Aviation Administration officials and a Federal Highway Administration resource center director, to act as Secretary of Transportation if the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary for Policy, and other officials previously designated are unable to serve. Excludes anyone already serving in an acting capacity in a listed office, and requires eligibility under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. Preserves presidential discretion to depart from the order. Supersedes a 2002 presidential memorandum on the same subject and applies only to internal executive branch management, creating no enforceable rights.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13484

Amending the Order of Succession Within the Department of Agriculture

January 9, 2009·George W. Bush·74 FR 2285

Amends Executive Order 13241 to revise the order of succession within the Department of Agriculture, setting out the sequence of officials who would act as Secretary of Agriculture if the position becomes vacant or the Secretary is unavailable. The updated list runs from the General Counsel through the Chief Financial Officer, various Assistant and Under Secretaries, the Director of the Kansas City Commodity Office of the Farm Service Agency, and State Executive Directors of the Farm Service Agency for Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, ranked by seniority. It also updates a cross-reference to the expanded list and adds a provision stating that no listed individual may act as Secretary unless eligible under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. The order states it is meant only to improve internal executive branch management and creates no enforceable rights for outside parties.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13483

Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay

December 18, 2008·George W. Bush·73 FR 78587

Sets updated pay rates for various federal employee categories, effective at the start of the first pay period on or after January 1, 2009 (with military pay effective that date directly). Covers the General Schedule for federal civilian employees, the Foreign Service Schedule, Veterans Health Administration schedules, Senior Executive Service pay ranges, the Executive Schedule, pay for the Vice President and Congress, judicial salaries, uniformed services and cadet pay, locality-based pay adjustments, and administrative law judges' pay, all detailed in attached schedules. Directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to implement locality-based payments and publish notice in the Federal Register. Supersedes the prior pay-adjustment order, Executive Order 13454 of January 4, 2008.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13482

Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on Friday, December 26, 2008

December 12, 2008·George W. Bush·73 FR 76501

Directs that all executive branch departments and agencies close and excuse their employees from duty on Friday, December 26, 2008, the day after Christmas. Allows agency heads to keep certain offices, installations, or employees on duty if needed for national security, defense, or other public reasons. Specifies that the day is treated as covered by Executive Order 11582 and relevant federal pay and leave statutes for purposes of employee compensation and leave. States that the order does not create any legally enforceable rights or benefits for any party against the federal government.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13481

Providing An Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice

December 9, 2008·George W. Bush·73 FR 75531

Establishes an order of succession for the office of Attorney General under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, to apply if the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General, and any officers the Attorney General has designated under 28 U.S.C. 508 are all unable to serve. The order specifies that the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, then the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, then the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia would act as Attorney General, in that sequence, until one of the higher-ranked officials becomes available. It excludes anyone already serving in one of these roles in an acting capacity, requires eligibility under the Vacancies Reform Act, and preserves the President's discretion to depart from this order. It supersedes a December 8, 2006 presidential memorandum on the same subject and states it creates no enforceable legal rights.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13480

Exclusions From the Federal Labor-management Relations Program

November 26, 2008·George W. Bush·73 FR 73991

Amends Executive Order 12171 to update the lists of federal agency subdivisions excluded from the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program because their primary function involves intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work. It determines that applying standard labor-management rules to these units would conflict with national security needs. The order revises the exempted subdivisions within the Departments of Energy, Homeland Security, Justice, Transportation, and the Treasury, reflecting agency reorganizations. Specific offices named include the National Nuclear Security Administration, various Department of Homeland Security intelligence, security, and enforcement offices (including Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and Federal Emergency Management Agency units), the Justice Department's National Security Division and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, a Federal Aviation Administration security division, and Treasury units such as the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The order states it creates no enforceable legal rights for any party.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13479

Transformation of the National Air Transportation System

November 18, 2008·George W. Bush·73 FR 70241

Directs the Secretary of Transportation, working with the Senior Policy Committee established under the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act, to implement the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), a modernized national air traffic system meant to meet civil aviation, security, economic, environmental, and defense needs. Requires the Secretary to convene the Committee quarterly, set up a support staff within the Department of Transportation within 60 days, and establish an advisory committee within 180 days. Assigns supporting roles to the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of Homeland Security, and directs the NASA Administrator to carry out related duties consistent with Executive Order 13419. Requires other agency heads to provide information and personnel as needed, and has the Office of Management and Budget issue implementing instructions. Requires the Committee to report progress to the President at least every two years and to review related agency budget proposals.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13478

Amendments To Executive Order 9397 Relating To Federal Agency Use of Social Security Numbers

November 18, 2008·George W. Bush·73 FR 70239

Amends Executive Order 9397, a 1943 order concerning federal use of Social Security numbers, to update its language. Changes a requirement that agencies use Social Security numbers from mandatory to permissive, removes a reference to exclusive use, updates outdated legal citations, and replaces references to the former Bureau of the Budget with the Office of Management and Budget and to the former Social Security Board with the Social Security Administration. Adds new provisions stating the order will be implemented subject to available appropriations and applicable law, and clarifies that it creates no enforceable legal rights or benefits for any party against the United States or its officers and employees. States the overall policy that federal agencies handling personal identifiers should protect them against unlawful use. The order applies to federal agencies generally.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13477

Settlement of Claims Against Libya

October 31, 2008·George W. Bush·73 FR 65965

Implements the August 2008 claims settlement agreement between the United States and Libya by declaring all claims covered under Article I of that agreement to be settled. Bars United States nationals from pursuing such claims in any domestic or foreign forum except through procedures the Secretary of State establishes, and requires termination of any pending lawsuits by U.S. nationals on these claims. Similarly bars foreign nationals from asserting such claims in U.S. courts and requires termination of their pending U.S. lawsuits, while leaving open other remedies they may pursue in foreign courts or through foreign governments. Directs the Attorney General to enforce these provisions, including by seeking dismissal with prejudice of covered claims. Defines terms such as "United States national," "foreign national," "person," and "entity" for purposes of the order, and states that it creates no enforceable legal rights against the United States or its officials.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13476

Facilitation of a Presidential Transition

October 9, 2008·George W. Bush·73 FR 60605

Establishes a Presidential Transition Coordinating Council, chaired by the White House Chief of Staff, made up of senior White House officials and agency heads including the Attorney General, Director of National Intelligence, and Administrator of General Services. The Council is directed to assist the transition teams of major-party presidential candidates and the President-elect on an equal, nonpartisan basis, including gathering information on past transitions from outside experts. It directs the General Services Administration to coordinate orientation for prospective appointees, the White House Office of Presidential Personnel to update appointment records, and executive agencies to prepare briefing materials for incoming political appointees. It also calls for a Transition Directory of federal publications and for transition agreements between agencies and candidate teams as needed. The order supersedes Executive Order 13176, states it creates no enforceable legal rights, and expires February 20, 2009, unless extended by the President.Read the full summaryShow less

E.O.13475

Further Amendments To Executive Orders 12139 And 12949 In Light of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008

October 7, 2008·George W. Bush·73 FR 60095

Amends Executive Orders 12139 and 12949, which govern who may approve applications for electronic surveillance and physical searches under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to reflect changes made by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008. It adjusts internal cross-references, adds the Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the list of officials who may make such certifications, and specifies that, unlike other listed officials, the Deputy Director need not be an official appointed by the President with Senate confirmation to qualify. The order states it creates no enforceable legal rights or benefits for any party against the government or its officers and employees.Read the full summaryShow less