In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

February 29, 2016. 

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 1172) entitled ‘‘An Act to improve the process of presidential transition.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Edward ‘Ted’ Kaufman 

3 and Michael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Improve4 ments Act of 2015’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION IMPROVEMENTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Presidential Transition Act of 

7 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating sections 4, 5, and 6 as sec9 tions 5, 6, and 7, respectively; and 

10 (2) by inserting after section 3 the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 4. TRANSITION SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES BEFORE 

12 ELECTION. 

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

14 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Administrator’ means the Admin15 istrator of General Services; 
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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘agency’ means an Executive agen2 cy, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States 

3 Code; 

4 ‘‘(3) the term ‘eligible candidate’ has the mean5 ing given that term in section 3(h)(4); and 

6 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Presidential election’ means a gen7 eral election held to determine the electors of President 

8 and Vice President under section 1 or 2 of title 3, 

9 United States Code. 

10 ‘‘(b) GENERAL DUTIES.—The President shall take such 

11 actions as the President determines necessary and appro12 priate to plan and coordinate activities by the Executive 

13 branch of the Federal Government to facilitate an efficient 

14 transfer of power to a successor President, including by— 

15 ‘‘(1) establishing and operating a White House 

16 transition coordinating council in accordance with 

17 subsection (d); and 

18 ‘‘(2) establishing and operating an agency tran19 sition directors council in accordance with subsection 

20 (e). 

21 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL TRANSITION COORDINATOR.—The Ad22 ministrator shall designate an employee of the General 

23 Services Administration who is a senior career appointee 

24 to— 
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1 ‘‘(1) carry out the duties and authorities of the 

2 General Services Administration relating to Presi3 dential transitions under this Act or any other provi4 sion of law; 

5 ‘‘(2) serve as the Federal Transition Coordinator 

6 with responsibility for coordinating transition plan7 ning across agencies, including through the agency 

8 transition directors council established under sub9 section (e); 

10 ‘‘(3) ensure agencies comply with all statutory 

11 requirements relating to transition planning and re12 porting; and 

13 ‘‘(4) act as a liaison to eligible candidates. 

14 ‘‘(d) WHITE HOUSE TRANSITION COORDINATING

15 COUNCIL.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 months 

17 before the date of a Presidential election, the President 

18 shall establish a White House transition coordinating 

19 council for purposes of facilitating the Presidential 

20 transition. 

21 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The White House transition co22 ordinating council shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) provide guidance to agencies and the 

24 Federal Transition Coordinator regarding prep25 arations for the Presidential transition, includ-
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1 ing succession planning and preparation of 

2 briefing materials; 

3 ‘‘(B) facilitate communication and infor4 mation sharing between the transition represent5 atives of eligible candidates and senior employees 

6 in agencies and the Executive Office of the Presi7 dent; and 

8 ‘‘(C) prepare and host interagency emer9 gency preparedness and response exercises. 

10 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the White 

11 House transition coordinating council shall include— 

12 ‘‘(A) senior employees of the Executive 

13 branch selected by the President, which may in14 clude the Chief of Staff to the President, any 

15 Cabinet officer, the Director of the Office of Man16 agement and Budget, the Administrator, the Di17 rector of the Office of Personnel Management, the 

18 Director of the Office of Government Ethics, and 

19 the Archivist of the United States; 

20 ‘‘(B) the Federal Transition Coordinator; 

21 ‘‘(C) the transition representative for each 

22 eligible candidate, who shall serve in an advisory 

23 capacity; and 

24 ‘‘(D) any other individual the President de25 termines appropriate. 
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1 ‘‘(4) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

2 White House transition coordinating council shall be 

3 a senior employee in the Executive Office of the Presi4 dent, designated by the President. 

5 ‘‘(e) AGENCY TRANSITION DIRECTORS COUNCIL.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 

7 and operate an agency transition directors council, 

8 which shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) ensure the Federal Government has an 

10 integrated strategy for addressing interagency 

11 challenges and responsibilities around Presi12 dential transitions and turnover of noncareer 

13 appointees; 

14 ‘‘(B) coordinate transition activities be15 tween the Executive Office of the President, agen16 cies, and the transition team of eligible can17 didates and the President-elect and Vice-Presi18 dent-elect; and 

19 ‘‘(C) draw on guidance provided by the 

20 White House transition coordinating council and 

21 lessons learned from previous Presidential tran22 sitions in carrying out its duties. 

23 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—As part of carrying out the re24 sponsibilities under paragraph (1), the agency transi25 tion directors council shall— 
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1 ‘‘(A) assist the Federal Transition Coordi2 nator in identifying and carrying out the re3 sponsibilities of the Federal Transition Coordi4 nator relating to a Presidential transition; 

5 ‘‘(B) provide guidance to agencies in gath6 ering briefing materials and information relat7 ing to the Presidential transition that may be 

8 requested by eligible candidates; 

9 ‘‘(C) ensure materials and information de10 scribed in subparagraph (B) are prepared not 

11 later than November 1 of a year during which a 

12 Presidential election is held; 

13 ‘‘(D) ensure agencies adequately prepare ca14 reer employees who are designated to fill non-ca15 reer positions under subsection (f) during a Pres16 idential transition; and 

17 ‘‘(E) consult with the President’s Manage18 ment Council, or any successor thereto, in car19 rying out the duties of the agency transition di20 rectors council. 

21 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the agency 

22 transition directors council shall include— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Federal Transition Coordinator 

24 and the Deputy Director for Management of the 

25 Office of Management and Budget, who shall 
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1 serve as Co-Chairpersons of the agency transition 

2 directors council; 

3 ‘‘(B) other senior employees serving in the 

4 Executive Office of the President, as determined 

5 by the President; 

6 ‘‘(C) a senior representative from each agen7 cy described in section 901(b)(1) of title 31, 

8 United States Code, the Office of Personnel Man9 agement, the Office of Government Ethics, and 

10 the National Archives and Records Administra11 tion whose responsibilities include leading Presi12 dential transition efforts within the agency; 

13 ‘‘(D) a senior representative from any other 

14 agency determined by the Co-Chairpersons to be 

15 an agency that has significant responsibilities 

16 relating to the Presidential transition process; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(E) during a year during which a Presi19 dential election will be held, a transition rep20 resentative for each eligible candidate, who shall 

21 serve in an advisory capacity. 

22 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The agency transition direc23 tors council shall meet— 

24 ‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), not less 

25 than once per year; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) during the period beginning on the 

2 date that is 6 months before a Presidential elec3 tion and ending on the date on which the Presi4 dent-elect is inaugurated, on a regular basis as 

5 necessary to carry out the duties and authorities 

6 of the agency transition directors council. 

7 ‘‘(f) INTERIM AGENCY LEADERSHIP FOR TRANSI8 TIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) OVERSIGHT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

10 TRANSITION.—Not later than 6 months before the date 

11 of a Presidential election, the head of each agency 

12 shall designate a senior career employee of the agency 

13 and a senior career employee of each major compo14 nent and subcomponent of the agency to oversee and 

15 implement the activities of the agency, component, or 

16 subcomponent relating to the Presidential transition. 

17 ‘‘(2) ACTING OFFICERS.—Not later than Sep18 tember 15 of a year during which a Presidential elec19 tion occurs, and in accordance with subchapter III of 

20 chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, for each 

21 noncareer position in an agency that the head of the 

22 agency determines is critical, the head of the agency 

23 shall designate a qualified career employee to serve in 

24 the position in an acting capacity if the position be25 comes vacant. 
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1 ‘‘(g) MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than November 1 of 

3 a year during which a Presidential election occurs, 

4 the President (acting through the Federal Transition 

5 Coordinator) shall, to the maximum extent prac6 ticable, negotiate a memorandum of understanding 

7 with the transition representative of each eligible can8 didate, which shall include, at a minimum, the condi9 tions of access to employees, facilities, and documents 

10 of agencies by transition staff. 

11 ‘‘(2) EXISTING RESOURCES.—To the maximum 

12 extent practicable, the memorandums of under13 standing negotiated under paragraph (1) shall be 

14 based on memorandums of understanding from pre15 vious Presidential transitions. 

16 ‘‘(h) EQUITY IN ASSISTANCE.—Any information or 

17 other assistance provided to eligible candidates under this 

18 section shall be offered on an equal basis and without regard 

19 to political affiliation. 

20 ‘‘(i) REPORTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting 

22 through the Federal Transition Coordinator, shall 

23 submit to the Committee on Oversight and Govern24 ment Reform of the House of Representatives and the 

25 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
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1 Affairs of the Senate reports describing the activities 

2 undertaken by the President and agencies to prepare 

3 for the transfer of power to a new President. 

4 ‘‘(2) TIMING.—The reports under paragraph (1) 

5 shall be provided 6 months and 3 months before the 

6 date of a Presidential election.’’. 

7 (b) OTHER IMPROVEMENTS.—Section 3 of the Presi8 dential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (8)— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i)— 

13 (I) by inserting ‘‘and during the 

14 term of a President’’ after ‘‘during the 

15 transition’’; and 

16 (II) by striking ‘‘after inaugura17 tion’’; and 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

19 ‘‘or Executive agencies (as defined in sec20 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code)’’ be21 fore the period; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (10), by inserting ‘‘in23 cluding, to the greatest extent practicable, human 

24 resource management system software compatible 

25 with the software used by the incumbent Presi-
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1 dent and likely to be used by the President-elect 

2 and Vice President-elect’’ before the period; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘30 days’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘180 days’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (g), by inserting ‘‘except for ac6 tivities under subsection (a)(8)(A),’’ before ‘‘there 

7 shall be no’’; and 

8 (4) in subsection (h)(2), by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(D) An eligible candidate shall have a right to the 

11 services and facilities described in this paragraph until the 

12 date on which the Administrator is able to determine the 

13 apparent successful candidates for the office of President 

14 and Vice President.’’. 

15 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 (1) Section 3 of the Pre-Election Presidential 

17 Transition Act of 2010 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is re18 pealed. 

19 (2) The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 

20 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

21 (A) in section 3— 

22 (i) in subsection (a)(4)(B), by striking 

23 ‘‘section 6’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7’’; 

24 (ii) in subsection (b), in the matter 

25 preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sec-
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1 tion 3 of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘this sec2 tion’’; and 

3 (iii) in subsection (h)(3)(B)(iii), by 

4 striking ‘‘section 5’’ each place it appears 

5 and inserting ‘‘section 6’’; 

6 (B) in section 6, as redesignated by sub7 section (a) of this section, by striking ‘‘section 

8 6(a)(1)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

9 ‘‘section 7(a)(1)’’; and 

10 (C) in section 7(a)(2), as redesignated by 

11 subsection (a) of this section, by striking ‘‘section 

12 4’’ and inserting ‘‘section 5’’. 

13 (3) Section 8331(1)(K) of title 5, United States 

14 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 4’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘section 5’’. 

16 (4) Section 8701(a)(10) of title 5, United States 

17 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 4’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘section 5’’. 

19 (5) Section 8901(1)(I) of title 5, United States 

20 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 4’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘section 5’’. 

22 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ARCHIVES PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION. 

23 Section 2203(g) of title 44, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 
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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para2 graph (4); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(3) When the President considers it practicable and 

6 in the public interest, the President shall include in the 

7 President’s budget transmitted to Congress, for each fiscal 

8 year in which the term of office of the President will expire, 

9 such funds as may be necessary for carrying out the au10 thorities of this subsection.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. REPORTS ON POLITICAL APPOINTEES APPOINTED 

12 TO NONPOLITICAL PERMANENT POSITIONS. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

14 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given the 

15 term ‘‘Executive agency’’ in section 105 of title 5, 

16 United States Code; 

17 (2) the term ‘‘covered civil service position’’ 

18 means a position in the civil service (as defined in 

19 section 2101 of title 5, United States Code) that is 

20 not— 

21 (A) a temporary position; or 

22 (B) a political position; 

23 (3) the term ‘‘former political appointee’’ means 

24 an individual who— 
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1 (A) is not serving in an appointment to a 

2 political position; and 

3 (B) served as a political appointee during 

4 the 5-year period ending on the date of the re5 quest for an appointment to a covered civil serv6 ice position in any agency; 

7 (4) the term ‘‘political appointee’’ means an in8 dividual serving in an appointment to a political po9 sition; and 

10 (5) the term ‘‘political position’’ means— 

11 (A) a position described under sections 5312 

12 through 5316 of title 5, United States Code (re13 lating to the Executive Schedule); 

14 (B) a noncareer appointment in the Senior 

15 Executive Service, as defined under paragraph 

16 (7) of section 3132(a) of title 5, United States 

17 Code; or 

18 (C) a position in the executive branch of the 

19 Government of a confidential or policy-deter20 mining character under schedule C of subpart C 

21 of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regula22 tions. 

23 (b) REPORTING ON CURRENT OR RECENT POLITICAL

24 APPOINTEES APPOINTED TO COVERED CIVIL SERVICE PO25 SITIONS.— 
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1 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Except as provided in 

2 paragraph (2), the Director of the Office of Personnel 

3 Management shall submit to the Committee on Home4 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 

5 and the Committee on Oversight and Government Re6 form of the House of Representatives an annual re7 port regarding requests by agencies to appoint polit8 ical appointees or former political appointees to cov9 ered civil service positions. Each report shall cover 

10 one calendar year and shall— 

11 (A) for each request by an agency that a po12 litical appointee be appointed to a covered civil 

13 service position during the period covered by the 

14 report, provide— 

15 (i) the date on which the request was 

16 received by the Office of Personnel Manage17 ment; 

18 (ii) subject to subsection (c), the name 

19 of the individual and the political position 

20 held by the individual, including title, of21 fice, and agency; 

22 (iii) the date on which the individual 

23 was first appointed to a political position 

24 in the agency in which the individual is 

25 serving as a political appointee; 
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1 (iv) the grade and rate of basic pay for 

2 the individual as a political appointee; 

3 (v) the proposed covered civil service 

4 position, including title, office, and agency, 

5 and the proposed grade and rate of basic 

6 pay for the individual; 

7 (vi) whether the Office of Personnel 

8 Management approved or denied the re9 quest; and 

10 (vii) the date on which the individual 

11 was appointed to a covered civil service po12 sition, if applicable; and 

13 (B) for each request by an agency that a 

14 former political appointee be appointed to a cov15 ered civil service position during the period cov16 ered by the report, provide— 

17 (i) the date on which the request was 

18 received by the Office of Personnel Manage19 ment; 

20 (ii) subject to subsection (c), the name 

21 of the individual and the political position 

22 held by the individual, including title, of23 fice, and agency; 
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1 (iii) the date on which the individual 

2 was first appointed to any political posi3 tion; 

4 (iv) the grade and rate of basic pay for 

5 the individual as a political appointee; 

6 (v) the date on which the individual 

7 ceased to serve in a political position; 

8 (vi) the proposed covered civil service 

9 position, including title, office, and agency, 

10 and the proposed grade and rate of basic 

11 pay for the individual; 

12 (vii) whether the Office of Personnel 

13 Management approved or denied the re14 quest; and 

15 (viii) the date on which the individual 

16 was first appointed to a covered civil service 

17 position, if applicable. 

18 (2) QUARTERLY REPORT IN CERTAIN YEARS.—In 

19 the last year of the term of a President, or, if applica20 ble, the last year of the second consecutive term of a 

21 President, the report required under paragraph (1) 

22 shall be submitted quarterly and shall cover each 

23 quarter of the year, except that the last quarterly re24 port shall also cover January 1 through 20 of the fol25 lowing year. 
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1 (c) NAMES AND TITLES OF CERTAIN APPOINTEES.— 

2 If determined appropriate by the Director of the Office of 

3 Personnel Management, a report submitted under sub4 section (b) may exclude the name or title of a political ap5 pointee or former political appointee— 

6 (1) who— 

7 (A) was requested to be appointed to a cov8 ered civil service position; and 

9 (B) was not appointed to a covered civil 

10 service position; or 

11 (2) relating to whom a request to be appointed 

12 to a covered civil service position is pending at the 

13 end of the period covered by that report. 

14 SEC. 5. REPORT ON REGULATIONS PROMULGATED NEAR 

15 THE END OF PRESIDENTIAL TERMS. 

16 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) The term ‘‘covered presidential transition pe18 riod’’ means each of the following: 

19 (A) The 120-day period ending on January 

20 20, 2001. 

21 (B) The 120-day period ending on January 

22 20, 2009. 

23 (C) The 120-day period ending on January 

24 20, 2017. 
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1 (2) The term ‘‘covered regulation’’ means a final 

2 significant regulatory action promulgated by an Ex3 ecutive department. 

4 (3) The term ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ 

5 means any regulatory action that is likely to result 

6 in a rule that may— 

7 (A) have an annual effect on the economy of 

8 $100,000,000 or more or adversely affect in a 

9 material way the economy, a sector of the econ10 omy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environ11 ment, public health or safety, or State, local, or 

12 tribal governments or communities; 

13 (B) create a serious inconsistency or other14 wise interfere with an action taken or planned 

15 by another agency; 

16 (C) materially alter the budgetary impact of 

17 entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs 

18 or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; 

19 or 

20 (D) raise novel legal or policy issues. 

21 (4) The term ‘‘Executive department’’ has the 

22 meaning given that term under section 101 of title 5, 

23 United States Code. 

24 (b) REPORT.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

2 the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

3 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

4 Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Govern5 ment Reform of the House of Representatives a report 

6 regarding covered regulations promulgated during 

7 each covered presidential transition period. 

8 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required 

9 under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent feasible, for 

10 each covered presidential transition period— 

11 (A) compare the number, scope, and impact 

12 of, and type of rulemaking procedure used for, 

13 covered regulations promulgated during the cov14 ered presidential transition period to the num15 ber, scope, and impact of, and type of rule16 making procedure used for, covered regulations 

17 promulgated during the 120-day periods ending 

18 on January 20 of each year after 1996, other 

19 than 2001, 2009, and 2017; 

20 (B) determine the statistical significance of 

21 any differences identified under subparagraph 

22 (A) and whether and to what extent such dif23 ferences indicate any patterns; 
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1 (C) evaluate the size, scope, and effect of the 

2 covered regulations promulgated during the cov3 ered presidential transition period; and 

4 (D) assess the extent to which the regularly 

5 required processes for the promulgation of cov6 ered regulations were followed during the covered 

7 presidential transition period, including compli8 ance with the requirements under— 

9 (i) chapter 8 of title 5, United States 

10 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Congres11 sional Review Act’’); 

12 (ii) the Small Business Regulatory En13 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 

14 601 note); 

15 (iii) sections 202, 203, 204, and 205 of 

16 the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

17 (2 U.S.C. 1532–1535); 

18 (iv) chapter 6 of title 5, United States 

19 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Regulatory 

20 Flexibility Act’’); and 

21 (v) chapter 35 of title 44, United 

22 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Pa23 perwork Reduction Act’’). 
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1 SEC. 6. ANALYSIS OF THREATS AND VULNERABILITIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 15, 2016, 

3 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 

4 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af5 fairs of the Senate and the Committees on Oversight and 

6 Government Reform and Homeland Security of the House 

7 of Representatives a report analyzing the threats and 

8 vulnerabilities facing the United States during a presi9 dential transition, which— 

10 (1) shall identify and discuss vulnerabilities re11 lated to border security and threats related to ter12 rorism, including from weapons of mass destruction; 

13 (2) shall identify steps being taken to address the 

14 threats and vulnerabilities during a presidential 

15 transition; and 

16 (3) may include recommendations for actions by 

17 components and agencies within the Department of 

18 Homeland Security. 

19 (b) FORM.—The report submitted under subsection (a) 

20 shall be prepared in unclassified form, but may contain a 

21 classified annex. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1172 

AMENDMENT