II 

Calendar No. 733 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3654 

[Report No. 118–313] 

To amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to require the timely 

appointment of agency transition officials, to ensure adequate performance and oversight of required transition-related preparation, to require 

new guidance for agencies and possible transition teams, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24, 2024 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 19 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to require 

the timely appointment of agency transition officials, to 

ensure adequate performance and oversight of required 

transition-related preparation, to require new guidance 

for agencies and possible transition teams, and for other 

purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agency Preparation 

5 for Transitions Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL TRANSITION COORDINATOR. 

7 Section 4(c) of the Presidential Transition Act of 

8 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL TRANSITION COORDINATOR.— 

10 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator shall 

11 designate an employee of the General Services Ad12 ministration who is a senior career employee to the 

13 position of Federal Transition Coordinator. 

14 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF THE FEDERAL TRANSITION CO15 ORDINATOR.—A Federal Transition Coordinator 

16 shall be responsible for— 

17 ‘‘(A) carrying out the duties and authori18 ties of the Administrator relating to Presi19 dential transitions under this Act, or any other 

20 provision of law, except for determining the ap21 parent successful candidate under section 3(c); 

22 ‘‘(B) serving as the Federal Transition Co23 ordinator with responsibility for coordinating 

24 transition planning across agencies, including 


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1 through the agency transition directors council 

2 established under subsection (e); 

3 ‘‘(C) ensuring agencies comply with all 

4 statutory requirements relating to transition 

5 planning and reporting; 

6 ‘‘(D) acting as a liaison to eligible can7 didates; 

8 ‘‘(E) regularly providing updates to agen9 cies not included on the agency transition direc10 tors council with information, including infor11 mation on briefing materials, key transition 

12 milestones, and succession planning; 

13 ‘‘(F) identifying best practices relating to 

14 Presidential transitions for transition teams, 

15 Federal agencies, and incumbent administra16 tions; 

17 ‘‘(G) identifying— 

18 ‘‘(i) the most significant challenges 

19 for Federal agencies that are posed by 

20 Presidential transitions; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) ways to mitigate the risks associ22 ated with such challenges during subse23 quent Presidential transitions; and 

24 ‘‘(H) other duties at the discretion of the 

25 Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPOINTMENT OF THE FEDERAL TRANSI2 TION COORDINATOR.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

4 before the date of each Presidential election, the 

5 Administrator shall appoint a Federal Transi6 tion Coordinator. 

7 ‘‘(B) NON-ELECTION PERIODS.—During 

8 any period during which there is not an indi9 vidual serving as Federal Transition Coordi10 nator pursuant to an appointment in accord11 ance with subparagraph (A), the Administrator 

12 shall designate an officer or employee to carry 

13 out any transition responsibilities until the ap14 pointment of the next Federal Transition Coor15 dinator. 

16 ‘‘(C) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.—The Ad17 ministrator shall report to Congress— 

18 ‘‘(i) when the Administrator has ap19 pointed a new Federal Transition Coordi20 nator; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) when the Administrator has des22 ignated an officer or employee to carry out 

23 transition responsibilities under subpara24 graph (B). 


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1 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the Ad3 ministrator from revoking an existing designation of 

4 an individual serving as Federal Transition Coordi5 nator and designating a new individual to serve as 

6 the Federal Transition Coordinator.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. WHITE HOUSE TRANSITION COORDINATING COUN8 CIL. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(d) of the Presidential 

10 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not later 

12 than 6 months before the date of a Presidential elec13 tion,’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘There is 

14 established a White House transition coordinating 

15 council for the purposes of facilitating the Presi16 dential transition. The White House transition co17 ordinating council shall, at a minimum, meet and 

18 perform the duties provided for in this Act.’’; 

19 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

21 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

22 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

23 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

24 and 

25 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) oversee the transition process for of2 fices within the Executive Office of the Presi3 dent and ensure that such offices produce rel4 evant transition briefing materials for eligible 

5 candidates; 

6 ‘‘(E) during any year during which a Pres7 idential election is not being held, designate em8 ployees within the Executive Office of the Presi9 dent who shall develop, in coordination with the 

10 Archivist of the United States, a plan for em11 ployees serving in positions in the executive 

12 branch to identify, on at least an annual basis, 

13 Presidential records (as defined in section 2201 

14 of title 44, United States Code), including elec15 tronic records, to be transferred to and main16 tained and preserved by the Archivist in the 

17 event of a possible Presidential transition; and 

18 ‘‘(F) not later than 180 days before the 

19 date of each Presidential election, the employees 

20 designated under subparagraph (E) shall sub21 mit to Congress the most recent plan developed 

22 under subparagraph (E) through a written re23 port or a briefing with relevant committees.’’; 

24 and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) MEETING FREQUENCY.—The White House 

2 transition coordinating council shall meet— 

3 ‘‘(A) as soon as practicable during a year 

4 during which a Presidential election is being 

5 held, but not later than the day before the first 

6 regular meeting of the agency transition direc7 tors council under subsection (e)(4)(B) during 

8 such year; and 

9 ‘‘(B) to host an exercise described in para10 graph (2)(C) as soon as is practicable after the 

11 date on which the Administrator determines a 

12 sole apparent successful candidate for the office 

13 of the President, but not later than the date on 

14 which the apparent successful candidate for the 

15 office of President is inaugurated.’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 4. MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING. 

20 Section 4(g)(1) of the Presidential Transition Act of 

21 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended by striking ‘‘shall 

22 include, at a minimum,’’ and all that follows and inserting 

23 the following: ‘‘shall include— 

24 ‘‘(A) at a minimum— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the conditions of access to em2 ployees, facilities, and documents of agen3 cies by transition staff; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the conditions of access to infor5 mation and briefing material critical to na6 tional security, which shall be established 

7 in consultation with the relevant agencies; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(iii) the conditions of access to any 

10 interagency emergency preparedness and 

11 response exercises under subsection 

12 (d)(2)(C); and 

13 ‘‘(B) a provision allowing access described 

14 in subparagraph (A) to commence or continue 

15 for the eligible candidate and the members of 

16 the transition team of the eligible candidate 

17 during the period beginning on the day after 

18 date of the Presidential election and ending at 

19 the time at which the Administrator determines 

20 the apparent successful candidate under section 

21 3(c).’’. 

22 SEC. 5. FREQUENCY OF THE AGENCY TRANSITION DIREC23 TORS COUNCIL. 

24 Section 4(e)(4)(B) of the Presidential Transition Act 

25 of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘6 months’’ and inserting ‘‘270 

2 days’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘inaugurated,’’ and all that fol4 lows and inserting the following: ‘‘inaugurated, not 

5 less than once per month, which shall include— 

6 ‘‘(i) a meeting during the period be7 ginning on the day after the Presidential 

8 election and ending 3 days after the date 

9 of the Presidential election; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) if the Administrator does not de11 termine the apparent successful candidates 

12 in accordance with section 3(c) on or be13 fore the date that is 3 days after the date 

14 of the Presidential election, not later than 

15 1 day after such determination.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE AGENCY TRANSITION DIRECTORS 

17 COUNCIL. 

18 Section 4(e)(2) of the Presidential Transition Act of 

19 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘, includ21 ing guidance and templates for providing briefing 

22 materials and information both in digital and phys23 ical formats’’ after ‘‘candidates’’; 

24 (2) in subparagraph (C)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘November 1’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘October 15’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘, which may be updated 

4 with additional information as needed after Oc5 tober 15’’ before the semicolon at the end; 

6 (3) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

7 the end; 

8 (4) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period 

9 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(F) provide guidance to agencies on how 

12 the agencies should engage with and provide in13 formation to apparent successful candidates, 

14 should there be multiple apparent successful 

15 candidates, as described in section 3(c)(2); 

16 ‘‘(G) develop working groups and sub17 committees to address any emergencies that 

18 arise during a Presidential transition; and 

19 ‘‘(H) after the inauguration as President 

20 of the apparent successful candidate for the of21 fice of President, working with the Federal 

22 Transition Coordinator to identify lessons 

23 learned from the Presidential transition.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. MEMBERSHIP OF AGENCY TRANSITION DIRECTORS 

2 COUNCIL. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(e) of the Presidential 

4 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘, 

7 which shall include not less than 1 senior career 

8 employee who shall oversee transition respon9 sibilities for the Executive Office of the Presi10 dent, including the production of relevant tran11 sition briefing materials for eligible candidates 

12 from each office or component of the Executive 

13 Office of the President’’ after ‘‘by the Presi14 dent’’; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘sec16 tion 901(b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) 

17 or (2) of section 901(b)’’; 

18 (C) in subparagraph (D)— 

19 (i) by inserting ‘‘, as defined under 

20 section 3502 of title 44, United States 

21 Code, that is’’ after ‘‘any other agency’’; 

22 and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

24 (D) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 

25 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

26 (E) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(F) the co-chairpersons of the council es2 tablished under paragraph (5)(A).’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(5) COUNCIL FOR NON-ATDC AGENCY TRANSI5 TION DIRECTORS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Co-Chairpersons 

7 of the agency transition directors council shall 

8 establish and operate a council for small and 

9 independent agency transition directors (re10 ferred to in this paragraph as the ‘council’). 

11 ‘‘(B) ADVISORY BODY.—The council shall 

12 serve as the principle advisory body to the Co13 Chairpersons of the agency transition directors 

14 council relating to the priorities, needs, and 

15 functions of the council, as they relate to small 

16 and independent agencies. 

17 ‘‘(C) MEMBERS.—The council shall be 

18 composed of the Agency Transition Directors 

19 designated under subsection (f)(1)(A) from 

20 each agency that does not have a representative 

21 who is a member of the agency transition direc22 tors council. 

23 ‘‘(D) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.—The Co-Chair24 persons of the agency transition directors counVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:01 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3654.RS S3654

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1 cil shall select from among the council members 

2 2 co-chairpersons of the council. 

3 ‘‘(6) GUIDANCE.—The Federal Transition Co4 ordinator shall consult with the co-chairpersons of 

5 the council established under paragraph (5)(A), to 

6 provide relevant guidance and information to the 

7 council on issues relating to Presidential transitions. 

8 ‘‘(7) OMB REPRESENTATIVE ON THE AGENCY

9 TRANSITION DIRECTORS COUNCIL.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

11 before the date of a Presidential election, the 

12 Director of the Office of Management and 

13 Budget shall designate an employee of the Of14 fice of Management and Budget who is a senior 

15 career employee to serve on the agency transi16 tion directors council, who shall work with the 

17 Deputy Director for Management of the Office 

18 of Management and Budget in carrying out the 

19 transition duties of the Office of Management 

20 and Budget. 

21 ‘‘(B) LESSONS LEARNED.—After the inau22 guration as President of the apparent success23 ful candidate for the office of President, the 

24 employee designated under subparagraph (A) 

25 shall assist the Federal Transition Coordinator 


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1 by contributing any lessons learned by the Of2 fice of Management and Budget from the Presi3 dential transition.’’. 

4 (b) IMPLEMENTATION FOR 2024 ELECTION.—As 

5 soon as is practicable after the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

7 shall designate an employee of the Office of Management 

8 and Budget to serve on the agency transition directors 

9 council in accordance with paragraph (7) of section 4(e) 

10 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as added by 

11 subsection (a) of this section. 

12 SEC. 8. INTERIM AGENCY LEADERSHIP FOR TRANSITIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(f) of the Presidential 

14 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

16 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and adjust17 ing the margin accordingly; 

18 (2) by inserting before subparagraph (A), as so 

19 redesignated, the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) ELECTION YEARS.—’’; 

21 (3) in paragraph (1)(A), as so designated— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘6 months’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘270 days’’; and 

24 (B) by inserting ‘‘, who shall serve as the 

25 Agency Transition Director for the agency and 


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1 whose term as Agency Transition Director shall 

2 last until not later than the date that is 90 

3 days after the date of the inauguration as 

4 President of the apparent successful candidate 

5 for the office of President,’’ after ‘‘a senior ca6 reer employee of the agency’’; and 

7 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(2) OVERSIGHT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

9 TRANSITION IN NON-ELECTION YEARS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date of each inauguration day— 

12 ‘‘(i) the head of each agency which 

13 has a representative who serves on the 

14 agency transition directors council shall 

15 designate an employee of the agency who is 

16 a senior career employee to serve as the 

17 representative of the agency at the annual 

18 meetings of the agency transition directors 

19 council described in subsection (e)(4)(A); 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the head of each agency which 

22 does not have a representative who serves 

23 on the agency transition directors council 

24 shall designate an employee of the agency 


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1 who is a senior career employee to oversee 

2 issues relating to Presidential transitions. 

3 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—An employee designated by 

4 the head of an agency under subparagraph (A) 

5 shall serve as the official responsible for the 

6 transition operations of the agency until the 

7 date on which the head of the agency designates 

8 an employee as an Agency Transition Director 

9 under paragraph (1)(A) with respect to the 

10 next Presidential election. 

11 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

12 this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the 

13 head of an agency from designating— 

14 ‘‘(A) the individual who is serving as the 

15 Agency Transition Director for the agency 

16 under paragraph (1)(A) for purposes of para17 graph (2)(A); or 

18 ‘‘(B) the individual who the head des19 ignated for purposes of paragraph (2)(A) as the 

20 Agency Transition Director for the agency 

21 under paragraph (1)(A).’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

23 3(c)(2)(B) of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 

24 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘the senior career employee of 

2 each agency’’ and inserting ‘‘the Agency Transition 

3 Director of each agency’’; and 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)(1)’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘subsection (f)(1)(A)’’. 

6 SEC. 9. REPORTS ON POLITICAL APPOINTEES APPOINTED 

7 TO NONPOLITICAL PERMANENT POSITIONS. 

8 Section 4(b) of the Edward ‘‘Ted’’ Kaufman and Mi9 chael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Improvements Act 

10 of 2015 (5 U.S.C. 3101 note) is amended by adding at 

11 the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION.—The Director of the Office 

13 of Personnel Management shall make a version of 

14 each report required under paragraph (1) and each 

15 report required under paragraph (2) available to the 

16 public, which may exclude information in accordance 

17 with subsection (c).’’. 

18 SEC. 10. REPORTS AND GUIDANCE BY TRANSITION OFFI19 CIALS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Presidential 

21 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (i), in the subsection heading, 

23 by inserting ‘‘BY THE PRESIDENT’’ after ‘‘RE24 PORTS’’; and 

25 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(j) OTHER REPORTS REGARDING TRANSITIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

3 ‘‘(A) the term ‘incoming administration’ 

4 means the apparent successful candidate for the 

5 office of President, the apparent successful can6 didate for the office of Vice President, a mem7 ber of the transition team, or any other em8 ployee or contractor of the apparent successful 

9 candidate for the office of President or the ap10 parent successful candidate for the office of 

11 Vice President who is performing duties relat12 ing to the Presidential transition; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘outgoing administration’ 

14 means an individual who, during the period be15 ginning on the date of a Presidential election 

16 and ending on the date of the inauguration with 

17 respect to the Presidential election (unless the 

18 individual serving as President on the date of 

19 such Presidential election is inaugurated as 

20 President at such inauguration), serves as the 

21 President, the Vice President, or an officer or 

22 employee in the executive branch of the Federal 

23 Government. 

24 ‘‘(2) EXERCISES.—Not later than November 1 

25 of each year during which a Presidential election is 


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1 held, the White House transition coordinating coun2 cil shall submit to Congress a report, which may 

3 contain a classified annex, on the plans of the coun4 cil for hosting exercises described in subsection 

5 (d)(2)(C), which shall include a summary of— 

6 ‘‘(A) the topics to be covered by the exer7 cises; 

8 ‘‘(B) scheduled dates for the exercises; and 

9 ‘‘(C) plans for ensuring emergency pre10 paredness prior to a determination by the Ad11 ministrator that a single candidate for the of12 fice of President should be treated as the sole 

13 apparent successful candidate in accordance 

14 with section 3(c), including during any period 

15 of multiple potential apparent successful can16 didates as described in section 3(c)(2), if appli17 cable. 

18 ‘‘(3) GAO REPORTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

20 days after the date on which the Administrator 

21 determines the sole apparent successful can22 didate for the office of President in accordance 

23 with section 3(c) with respect to each Presi24 dential election, the Comptroller General of the 

25 United States, in consultation with the agency 


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1 transition directors council, shall submit to 

2 Congress a report on the Presidential transition 

3 process and make a version of the report avail4 able to the public. 

5 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A report under sub6 paragraph (A) shall include— 

7 ‘‘(i) a review of the efficiency, effec8 tiveness, and security of activities required 

9 in this Act of the outgoing administration 

10 and the incoming administration, includ11 ing— 

12 ‘‘(I) briefings of members of the 

13 incoming administration by members 

14 of the outgoing administration; 

15 ‘‘(II) migration of technology 

16 platforms; 

17 ‘‘(III) information-sharing be18 tween agencies or between the out19 going administration and the incom20 ing administration; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) the services and facilities 

22 provided by the Administrator to fa23 cilitate an efficient transfer of power 

24 before and after the date of the appli25 cable Presidential election; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the cost of the services and facili2 ties provided by the General Services Ad3 ministration, the National Archives and 

4 Records Administration, the Office of Gov5 ernment Ethics, and the Department of 

6 Justice to facilitate an efficient transfer of 

7 power before and after the date of the ap8 plicable Presidential election; 

9 ‘‘(iii) an assessment of the major chal10 lenges and achievements of service-pro11 viding agencies in the delivery of core tran12 sition services to agencies, the outgoing ad13 ministration, and the incoming administra14 tion; 

15 ‘‘(iv) if the apparent successful can16 didate for the office of President is not 

17 serving as President on the date of the ap18 plicable Presidential election, a description 

19 of any known or reported delays in services 

20 provided by any agency to the incoming 

21 administration; and 

22 ‘‘(v) recommendations, if any, for 

23 changes to the Presidential transition proc24 ess. 

25 ‘‘(4) NEW ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 60 days 

2 before the date of a Presidential election, the 

3 Archivist of the United States shall develop 

4 guidance for a President-elect and the transi5 tion team of the President-elect relating to com6 plying with chapters 22 and 31 of title 44, 

7 United States Code, when creating documents 

8 for use on or after inauguration day, which 

9 shall include guidance for identifying and label10 ing all documents created before inauguration 

11 day that the President-elect intends to use or 

12 transfer after inauguration day. 

13 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days 

14 after the date of the inauguration as President 

15 of an apparent successful candidate for the of16 fice of President who was not serving as Presi17 dent on the date of the most recent Presidential 

18 election, the Archivist of the United States shall 

19 publish a report on the status of the procedures 

20 for transition management of the incoming ad21 ministration and the outgoing administration, 

22 which shall include— 

23 ‘‘(i) a description of the process of the 

24 incoming administration for— 


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1 ‘‘(I) identifying documents cre2 ated on or before the date of the inau3 guration that are intended for use on 

4 or after inauguration day and are 

5 subject to chapter 22 of title 44, 

6 United States Code; and 

7 ‘‘(II) providing guidance to offi8 cers and employees of the incoming 

9 administration on consistently labeling 

10 and safely storing classified docu11 ments; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) a description of the process of 

13 the outgoing administration for identifying 

14 Presidential records, as defined in section 

15 2201 of title 44, United States Code, to be 

16 preserved and maintained by the Archivist 

17 of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(5) LESSONS LEARNED.—Not later than 180 

19 days after each inauguration day, the Federal Tran20 sition Coordinator shall report to Congress regard21 ing lessons learned from the transition period and 

22 offer recommendations for improvements to the 

23 Presidential transition process, which shall include— 

24 ‘‘(A) lessons learned by Agency Transition 

25 Directors and the agency transition directors 


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1 council with respect to the transition operations 

2 of agencies; 

3 ‘‘(B) an assessment of the major chal4 lenges and achievements of the Administrator 

5 in providing core transition services to agencies, 

6 the outgoing administration, and the incoming 

7 administration; and 

8 ‘‘(C) recommendations, if any, for changes 

9 to the Presidential transition process. 

10 ‘‘(k) GUIDANCE ON IT MANAGEMENT DURING THE

11 TRANSITION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) GENERAL GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 

13 days before the date of each Presidential election, 

14 the Federal Transition Coordinator, in consultation 

15 with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 

16 Administrator of the Office of E-Government and 

17 Information Technology, shall make publicly avail18 able in a manner that is accessible by any candidate 

19 for the office of President or Vice-President informa20 tion regarding information technology management 

21 during the Presidential transition, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) information technology management 

23 best practices to protect against cyber threats; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a description of technology platforms 

2 that will be provided by the Administrator to el3 igible candidates, including at minimum— 

4 ‘‘(i) email and video conferencing; 

5 ‘‘(ii) file-sharing and document-shar6 ing software; 

7 ‘‘(iii) personnel selection, vetting, and 

8 documenting systems; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) other technology required to fa10 cilitate virtual briefings, meetings, and 

11 other interactions between transition team 

12 members and with Federal agencies; and 

13 ‘‘(C) a description of what, if any, tech14 nology platforms a candidate may be able to 

15 transition into the incoming administration, 

16 should the candidate become President. 

17 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE FOR ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES.— 

18 After the date described in paragraph (1) and before 

19 inauguration day, the Federal Transition Coordi20 nator, in consultation with the Secretary of Home21 land Security and the Administrator of the Office of 

22 E-Government and Information Technology, may 

23 provide additional information regarding information 

24 technology management during the Presidential 

25 transition to each eligible candidate. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Federal 

2 Transition Coordinator shall submit to Congress any 

3 information made publicly available or provided to 

4 an eligible candidate under this subsection.’’. 

5 (b) ETHICS PLANS.—Section 4(g)(3)(B) of the Presi6 dential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and 

9 (iv) as clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v), respectively; 

10 and 

11 (2) by inserting before clause (ii), as so redesig12 nated, the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) the name and title of a transition 

14 team official whose responsibilities include 

15 overseeing implementation of and compli16 ance with the ethics plan;’’. 

17 SEC. 11. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. 

18 Section 3(a)(8)(A)(ii)(III) of the Presidential Transi19 tion Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended by strik20 ing ‘‘from the’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘from 

21 the Government Accountability Office.’’. 

22 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

23 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agency Preparation for 

24 Transitions Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL TRANSITION COORDINATOR. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(c) of the Presidential 

3 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended to 

4 read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL TRANSITION COORDINATOR.— 

6 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Administrator shall 

7 appoint an employee of the General Services Admin8 istration who is a senior career employee to the posi9 tion of Federal Transition Coordinator. 

10 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF THE FEDERAL TRANSITION CO11 ORDINATOR.—A Federal Transition Coordinator shall 

12 be responsible for— 

13 ‘‘(A) carrying out the duties and authorities 

14 of the Administrator relating to Presidential 

15 transitions under this Act, or any other provi16 sion of law, except for determining when a can17 didate shall be treated as an apparent successful 

18 candidate under section 3(c); 

19 ‘‘(B) serving as the Federal Transition Co20 ordinator with responsibility for coordinating 

21 transition planning across agencies, including 

22 through the agency transition directors council 

23 established under subsection (e); 

24 ‘‘(C) ensuring agencies comply with all stat25 utory requirements relating to transition plan26 ning and reporting; 


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1 ‘‘(D) acting as a liaison to eligible can2 didates; 

3 ‘‘(E) regularly providing updates to agen4 cies not included on the agency transition direc5 tors council with information, including infor6 mation on briefing materials, key transition 

7 milestones, and succession planning; 

8 ‘‘(F) identifying best practices relating to 

9 Presidential transitions for transition teams, 

10 Federal agencies, and incumbent administra11 tions; 

12 ‘‘(G) providing guidance to agencies on how 

13 the agencies should engage with and provide in14 formation to apparent successful candidates, 

15 should there be multiple apparent successful can16 didates, as described in section 3(c)(2); and 

17 ‘‘(H) identifying— 

18 ‘‘(i) the most significant challenges for 

19 Federal agencies that are posed by Presi20 dential transitions; 

21 ‘‘(ii) ways to mitigate the risks associ22 ated with such challenges during subsequent 

23 Presidential transitions; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) overall improvements to the 

25 Presidential transition process. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPOINTMENT OF THE FEDERAL TRANSI2 TION COORDINATOR.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

4 before the date of each Presidential election, the 

5 Administrator shall appoint a Federal Transi6 tion Coordinator. 

7 ‘‘(B) NON-ELECTION PERIODS.—During 

8 any period during which there is not an indi9 vidual serving as Federal Transition Coordi10 nator pursuant to an appointment in accordance 

11 with subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall 

12 appoint a senior career employee to carry out 

13 any transition responsibilities until the appoint14 ment of the next Federal Transition Coordinator. 

15 ‘‘(C) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.—As soon 

16 as practicable, but not later than 30 days, after 

17 the Administrator appoints a new Federal Tran18 sition Coordinator, the Administrator shall re19 port to the Committee on Homeland Security 

20 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 

21 Committee on Oversight and Accountability of 

22 the House of Representatives that the Adminis23 trator has made the appointment. 

24 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

25 subsection shall be construed to prohibit the AdminisVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:01 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3654.RS S3654

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1 trator from revoking an existing appointment of an 

2 individual serving as Federal Transition Coordinator 

3 and appointing a new individual to serve as the Fed4 eral Transition Coordinator.’’. 

5 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING ADDITIONAL

6 DUTIES.—Nothing in the amendments made by this Act 

7 shall be construed to prevent an employee serving as Federal 

8 Transition Coordinator from performing duties in addition 

9 to duties relating to issues relating to Presidential transi10 tions. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3(c)(2)(B) of 

12 the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) 

13 is amended by striking ‘‘Federal Transition Coordinator 

14 designated under’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal Transition Coor15 dinator appointed under’’. 

16 SEC. 3. WHITE HOUSE TRANSITION COORDINATING COUN17 CIL. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(d) of the Presidential 

19 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not later than 

21 6 months before the date of a Presidential election,’’ 

22 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘There is estab23 lished a White House transition coordinating council 

24 for the purposes of facilitating the Presidential tran25 sition. The White House transition coordinating 


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1 council shall, at a minimum, meet and perform the 

2 duties provided for in this Act.’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(5) MEETING FREQUENCY.—The White House 

5 transition coordinating council shall meet— 

6 ‘‘(A) as soon as practicable during a year 

7 during which a Presidential election is being 

8 held, but not later than the day before the first 

9 regular meeting of the agency transition direc10 tors council under subsection (e)(4)(B) during 

11 such year; and 

12 ‘‘(B) to host an exercise described in para13 graph (2)(C) as soon as is practicable after the 

14 date on which the Administrator determines that 

15 a candidate shall be treated as the sole apparent 

16 successful candidate for the office of the Presi17 dent, but not later than the date on which the 

18 apparent successful candidate for the office of 

19 President is inaugurated.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

21 section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 SEC. 4. MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(g)(1) of the Presidential 

25 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘shall include, at a minimum,’’ and all that follows 

2 and inserting the following: ‘‘shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) at a minimum— 

4 ‘‘(i) the conditions of access to employ5 ees, facilities, and documents of agencies by 

6 transition staff; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the conditions of access to infor8 mation and briefing material critical to na9 tional security, which shall be established in 

10 consultation with the relevant agencies; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the conditions of access to any 

12 interagency emergency preparedness and re13 sponse exercises under subsection (d)(2)(C); 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(iv) the conditions of access to infor16 mation, services, and facilities authorized to 

17 be provided in circumstances and during 

18 time periods described in section 3(c); and 

19 ‘‘(B) a provision creating a mechanism for 

20 expeditiously addressing any concerns raised by 

21 the eligible candidate or the incumbent adminis22 tration regarding ethical, privacy, or privilege 

23 concerns relating to access to the information of 

24 agencies, briefing materials, or nonpublic infor25 mation.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.— 

2 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

3 by this section shall take effect on the date of enact4 ment of this Act. 

5 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall apply— 

7 (A) if this Act is enacted before August 1, 

8 2024, on and after the date that is 30 days after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

10 (B) if this Act is enacted on or after August 

11 1, 2024, on and after January 21, 2025. 

12 SEC. 5. FREQUENCY OF THE AGENCY TRANSITION DIREC13 TORS COUNCIL. 

14 Section 4(e)(4)(B) of the Presidential Transition Act 

15 of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘6 months’’ and inserting ‘‘270 

17 days’’; and 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘inaugurated,’’ and all that fol19 lows and inserting the following: ‘‘inaugurated, not 

20 less than once per month, which shall include— 

21 ‘‘(i) a meeting during the period begin22 ning on the day after the Presidential elec23 tion and ending 3 days after the date of the 

24 Presidential election; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a meeting during the period be2 ginning 5 days after the date of the Presi3 dential election and ending 10 days after 

4 the date of the Presidential election.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE AGENCY TRANSITION DIRECTORS 

6 COUNCIL. 

7 Section 4(e)(2) of the Presidential Transition Act of 

8 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

9 (1) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘, includ10 ing guidance and templates for providing briefing 

11 materials and information both in digital and phys12 ical formats’’ after ‘‘candidates’’; 

13 (2) in subparagraph (C)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘November 1’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘October 15’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘, which may be updated 

17 with additional information as needed after Oc18 tober 15’’ before the semicolon at the end; 

19 (3) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

20 the end; 

21 (4) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period 

22 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

23 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(F) plan for the possibility of engaging 

25 with and providing information to apparent 


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1 successful candidates, should there be multiple 

2 apparent successful candidates, as described in 

3 section 3(c)(2); 

4 ‘‘(G) develop working groups as needed; and 

5 ‘‘(H) after the inauguration as President of 

6 the apparent successful candidate for the office of 

7 President, work with the Federal Transition Co8 ordinator to identify lessons learned from the 

9 Presidential transition.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. MEMBERSHIP OF AGENCY TRANSITION DIRECTORS 

11 COUNCIL. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(e) of the Presidential 

13 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘, 

16 which shall include not less than 1 senior career 

17 employee who shall oversee transition respon18 sibilities for the Executive Office of the Presi19 dent, including the production of relevant transi20 tion briefing materials for eligible candidates 

21 from each office or component of the Executive 

22 Office of the President’’ after ‘‘by the President’’; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘sec24 tion 901(b)(1) of title 31, United States Code, 

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1 ing ‘‘paragraph (1) or (2) of section 901(b) of 

2 title 31, United States Code, the Executive Office 

3 of the President, the Office of Management and 

4 Budget’’; and 

5 (C) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘, as 

6 defined under section 3502 of title 44, United 

7 States Code, that is’’ after ‘‘any other agency’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(5) COUNCIL FOR NON-ATDC AGENCY TRANSI11 TION DIRECTORS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Co-Chairpersons of 

13 the agency transition directors council shall es14 tablish and operate a council for small and inde15 pendent agency transition directors (referred to 

16 in this paragraph as the ‘council’). 

17 ‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—The council shall serve as 

18 the principle advisory body to the Co-Chair19 persons of the agency transition directors council 

20 relating to the priorities, needs, and functions of 

21 the council, as they relate to small and inde22 pendent agencies. 

23 ‘‘(C) MEMBERS.—The council shall be com24 posed of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Agency Transition Directors 

2 designated under subsection (f)(1)(A) from 

3 each agency that does not have a represent4 ative who is a member of the agency transi5 tion directors council; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Co-Chairpersons of the agency 

7 transition directors council. 

8 ‘‘(D) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.—The Co-Chair9 persons of the agency transition directors council 

10 shall serve as co-chairpersons of the council. 

11 ‘‘(6) LESSONS LEARNED BY OMB.—After the in12 auguration as President of the apparent successful 

13 candidate for the office of President, the senior rep14 resentative serving in a career position in the Office 

15 of Management and Budget designated for purposes of 

16 paragraph (3)(C) shall assist the Federal Transition 

17 Coordinator by contributing any lessons learned by 

18 the Office of Management and Budget from the Presi19 dential transition.’’. 

20 (b) IMPLEMENTATION FOR 2024 ELECTION.—As soon 

21 as is practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, 

22 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 

23 designate a senior representative serving in a career posi24 tion in the Office of Management and Budget to serve on 

25 the agency transition directors council in accordance with 


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1 paragraph (3)(C) of section 4(e) of the Presidential Transi2 tion Act of 1963, as amended by subsection (a) of this sec3 tion. 

4 SEC. 8. INTERIM AGENCY LEADERSHIP FOR TRANSITIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(f) of the Presidential 

6 Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

8 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and adjust9 ing the margin accordingly; 

10 (2) by inserting before subparagraph (A), as so 

11 redesignated, the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) ELECTION YEARS.—’’; 

13 (3) in paragraph (1)(A), as so designated— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘6 months’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘270 days’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘to oversee and implement 

17 the activities of the agency, component, or sub18 component relating to the Presidential transi19 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘, who shall serve as the 

20 Agency Transition Director for the agency, over21 see and implement the activities of the agency, 

22 component, or subcomponent relating to Presi23 dential transition, and provide support to the 

24 Federal Transition Coordinator and the Admin25 istrator as necessary for the completion of the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:01 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3654.RS S3654

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1 ports required under paragraphs (3) and (4) of 

2 subsection (j)’’; and 

3 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) OVERSIGHT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

5 TRANSITION IN NON-ELECTION YEARS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

7 after the date of each inauguration day— 

8 ‘‘(i) the head of each agency which has 

9 a representative who serves on the agency 

10 transition directors council shall designate 

11 an employee of the agency who is a senior 

12 career employee to serve as the representa13 tive of the agency at the annual meetings of 

14 the agency transition directors council de15 scribed in subsection (e)(4)(A); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the head of each agency which 

17 does not have a representative who serves on 

18 the agency transition directors council shall 

19 designate an employee of the agency who is 

20 a senior career employee to oversee issues 

21 relating to Presidential transitions. 

22 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—An employee designated by 

23 the head of an agency under subparagraph (A) 

24 shall serve as the official responsible for the tran25 sition operations of the agency until the date on 


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1 which the head of the agency designates an em2 ployee as an Agency Transition Director under 

3 paragraph (1)(A) with respect to the next Presi4 dential election. 

5 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

6 subsection shall be construed to prohibit the head of 

7 an agency from designating— 

8 ‘‘(A) the individual who is serving as the 

9 Agency Transition Director for the agency under 

10 paragraph (1)(A) for purposes of paragraph 

11 (2)(A); or 

12 ‘‘(B) the individual who the head designated 

13 for purposes of paragraph (2)(A) as the Agency 

14 Transition Director for the agency under para15 graph (1)(A).’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3(c)(2)(B) 

17 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 

18 note) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘the senior career employee of 

20 each agency’’ and inserting ‘‘the Agency Transition 

21 Director of each agency’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)(1)’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘subsection (f)(1)(A)’’. 

24 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING ADDITIONAL

25 DUTIES.—Nothing in the amendments made by this Act 


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1 shall be construed to prevent an employee serving as an 

2 Agency Transition Director from performing duties in ad3 dition to duties relating to issues relating to Presidential 

4 transitions. 

5 SEC. 9. REPORTS ON POLITICAL APPOINTEES APPOINTED 

6 TO NONPOLITICAL PERMANENT POSITIONS. 

7 Section 4(b) of the Edward ‘‘Ted’’ Kaufman and Mi8 chael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 

9 2015 (5 U.S.C. 3101 note) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION.—The Director of the Office of 

12 Personnel Management shall make a version of each 

13 report required under paragraph (1) and each report 

14 required under paragraph (2) available to the public, 

15 which may exclude information in accordance with 

16 subsection (c).’’. 

17 SEC. 10. REPORTS AND GUIDANCE BY TRANSITION OFFI18 CIALS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Presidential Tran20 sition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (i), in the subsection heading, 

22 by inserting ‘‘BY THE PRESIDENT’’ after ‘‘REPORTS’’; 

23 and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(j) OTHER REPORTS REGARDING TRANSITIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

2 ‘‘(A) the term ‘incoming administration’ 

3 means the apparent successful candidate for the 

4 office of President, the apparent successful can5 didate for the office of Vice President, a member 

6 of the transition team, or any other employee or 

7 contractor of the apparent successful candidate 

8 for the office of President or the apparent suc9 cessful candidate for the office of Vice President 

10 who is performing duties relating to the Presi11 dential transition; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the term ‘outgoing administration’ 

13 means an individual who, during the period be14 ginning on the date of a Presidential election 

15 and ending on the date of the inauguration with 

16 respect to the Presidential election (unless the in17 dividual serving as President on the date of such 

18 Presidential election is inaugurated as President 

19 at such inauguration), serves as the President, 

20 the Vice President, or an officer or employee in 

21 the executive branch of the Federal Government. 

22 ‘‘(2) EXERCISES.—Not later than November 1 of 

23 each year during which a Presidential election is 

24 held, the White House transition coordinating council 

25 shall submit to Congress a report, which may contain 


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1 a classified annex, on the plans of the council for 

2 hosting exercises described in subsection (d)(2)(C), 

3 which shall include a summary of— 

4 ‘‘(A) the topics to be covered by the exer5 cises; 

6 ‘‘(B) scheduled dates for the exercises; and 

7 ‘‘(C) plans for ensuring emergency pre8 paredness prior to a determination by the Ad9 ministrator that a single candidate for the office 

10 of President should be treated as the sole appar11 ent successful candidate in accordance with sec12 tion 3(c), including during any period of mul13 tiple apparent successful candidates as described 

14 in section 3(c)(2), if applicable. 

15 ‘‘(3) GAO REPORTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 

17 days after the date of each inauguration day, the 

18 Comptroller General of the United States, in 

19 consultation with the agency transition directors 

20 council, shall submit to the Committee on Home21 land Security and Governmental Affairs and the 

22 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and 

23 the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

24 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

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1 dential transition process and make a version of 

2 the report available to the public. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A report under subpara4 graph (A) shall include— 

5 ‘‘(i) a review of the efficiency, effective6 ness, and security of activities required in 

7 this Act of the outgoing administration and 

8 the incoming administration, including— 

9 ‘‘(I) briefings of members of the 

10 incoming administration by members 

11 of the outgoing administration; 

12 ‘‘(II) migration of technology 

13 platforms; 

14 ‘‘(III) information-sharing be15 tween agencies or between the outgoing 

16 administration and the incoming ad17 ministration; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) the services and facilities 

19 provided by the Administrator to fa20 cilitate an efficient transfer of power 

21 before and after the date of the applica22 ble Presidential election; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the cost of the services and facili24 ties provided by the General Services Ad25 ministration, the National Archives and 


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1 Records Administration, the Office of Gov2 ernment Ethics, the Office of Personnel 

3 Management, and the Department of Jus4 tice to facilitate an efficient transfer of 

5 power before and after the date of the appli6 cable Presidential election; 

7 ‘‘(iii) an assessment of the major chal8 lenges and achievements of service-providing 

9 agencies in the delivery of core transition 

10 services to agencies, the outgoing adminis11 tration, and the incoming administration; 

12 ‘‘(iv) if the apparent successful can13 didate for the office of President is not serv14 ing as President on the date of the applica15 ble Presidential election, a description of 

16 any known or reported delays in services 

17 provided by any agency to the incoming ad18 ministration; and 

19 ‘‘(v) recommendations, if any, for 

20 changes to the Presidential transition proc21 ess. 

22 ‘‘(4) LESSONS LEARNED.—Not later than 180 

23 days after each inauguration day, the Federal Tran24 sition Coordinator shall report to the Committee on 

25 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 


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1 Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Account2 ability of the House of Representatives regarding les3 sons learned from the transition period and offer rec4 ommendations for improvements to the Presidential 

5 transition process, which shall include— 

6 ‘‘(A) lessons learned by Agency Transition 

7 Directors and the agency transition directors 

8 council with respect to the transition operations 

9 of agencies; and 

10 ‘‘(B) recommendations, if any, for improve11 ments to the Presidential transition process. 

12 ‘‘(k) GUIDANCE ON IT MANAGEMENT DURING THE

13 TRANSITION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) GENERAL GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 

15 year before the date of each Presidential election, the 

16 Federal Transition Coordinator, in consultation with 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Adminis18 trator of the Office of Electronic Government, shall 

19 make publicly available in a manner that is acces20 sible by any candidate for the office of President or 

21 Vice-President information regarding information 

22 technology management during the Presidential tran23 sition, including— 

24 ‘‘(A) information technology management 

25 best practices to protect against cyber threats; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a description of technology platforms 

2 that will be provided by the Administrator to eli3 gible candidates, including at minimum— 

4 ‘‘(i) email and video conferencing; 

5 ‘‘(ii) file-sharing and document-shar6 ing software; 

7 ‘‘(iii) personnel selection, vetting, and 

8 documenting systems; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) other technology required to fa10 cilitate virtual briefings, meetings, and 

11 other interactions between transition team 

12 members and with Federal agencies; and 

13 ‘‘(C) a description of what, if any, tech14 nology platforms a candidate may be able to 

15 transition into the incoming administration, 

16 should the candidate become President. 

17 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE FOR ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES.— 

18 After the date described in paragraph (1) and before 

19 inauguration day, the Federal Transition Coordi20 nator, in consultation with the Secretary of Home21 land Security and the Administrator of the Office of 

22 Electronic Government, may provide additional infor23 mation regarding information technology manage24 ment during the Presidential transition to each eligi25 ble candidate. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Federal 

2 Transition Coordinator shall submit to the Committee 

3 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 

4 the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Ac5 countability of the House of Representatives any in6 formation made publicly available or provided to an 

7 eligible candidate under this subsection.’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.— 

9 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

10 by this section shall take effect on the date of enact11 ment of this Act. 

12 (2) APPLICABILITY.— 

13 (A) EXERCISES.—Subsection (j)(2) of sec14 tion 4 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, 

15 as added by this section, shall apply— 

16 (i) if this Act is enacted before October 

17 1, 2024, with respect to the Presidential 

18 election occurring on November 5, 2024, 

19 and each Presidential election thereafter; or 

20 (ii) if this Act is enacted on or after 

21 October 1, 2024, with respect to the Presi22 dential election occurring on November 7, 

23 2028, and each Presidential election there24 after. 


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1 (B) REPORTING.—Paragraphs (3) and (4) 

2 of subsection (j) of section 4 of the Presidential 

3 Transition Act of 1963, as added by this section, 

4 shall apply with respect to the Presidential elec5 tion occurring on November 5, 2024, and each 

6 Presidential election thereafter. 

7 (C) GUIDANCE.—Subsection (k) of section 4 

8 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as 

9 added by this section, shall apply with respect to 

10 the Presidential election occurring on November 

11 7, 2028, and each Presidential election there12 after. 

13 SEC. 11. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT. 

14 Section 3(a)(8)(A)(ii)(III) of the Presidential Transi15 tion Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘from the’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘from the 

17 Government Accountability Office.’’. 


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Calendar No. 733 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3654 

[Report No. 118–313] 

A BILL 

To amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 

D

possible transition teams, and for other purposes. aration, to require new guidance for agencies and and oversight of required transition-related prepsition officials, to ensure adequate performance to require the timely appointment of agency tranECEMBER 19 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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