114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1172 

AN ACT 

To improve the process of presidential transition. 

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Edward ‘Ted’ Kauf3 man and Michael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Im4 provements Act of 2015’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION IMPROVEMENTS. 

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

7 of 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 Ad15 ministrator of General Services; 

16 ‘‘(2) the term ‘agency’ means an Executive 

17 agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United 

18 States Code; 

19 ‘‘(3) the term ‘eligible candidate’ has the mean20 ing given that term in section 3(h)(4); and 

21 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Presidential election’ means a 

22 general election held to determine the electors of 

23 President and Vice President under section 1 or 2 

24 of title 3, United States Code. 

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

26 such actions as the President determines necessary and 
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1 appropriate to plan and coordinate activities by the Execu2 tive branch of the Federal Government to facilitate an effi3 cient transfer of power to a successor President, including 

4 by— 

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

6 transition coordinating council in accordance with 

7 subsection (d); and 

8 ‘‘(2) establishing and operating an agency tran9 sition directors council in accordance with subsection 

10 (e). 

11 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL TRANSITION COORDINATOR.—The 

12 Administrator shall designate an employee of the General 

13 Services Administration who is a senior career appointee 

14 to— 

15 ‘‘(1) carry out the duties and authorities of the 

16 General Services Administration relating to Presi17 dential transitions under this Act or any other provi18 sion of law; 

19 ‘‘(2) serve as the Federal Transition Coordi20 nator with responsibility for coordinating transition 

21 planning across agencies, including through the 

22 agency transition directors council established under 

23 subsection (e); 
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1 ‘‘(3) ensure agencies comply with all statutory 

2 requirements relating to transition planning and re3 porting; and 

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

5 ‘‘(d) WHITE HOUSE TRANSITION COORDINATING

6 COUNCIL.— 

7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 

8 months before the date of a Presidential election, the 

9 President shall establish a White House transition 

10 coordinating council for purposes of facilitating the 

11 Presidential transition. 

12 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The White House transition co13 ordinating council shall— 

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

15 Federal Transition Coordinator regarding prep16 arations for the Presidential transition, includ17 ing succession planning and preparation of 

18 briefing materials; 

19 ‘‘(B) facilitate communication and infor20 mation sharing between the transition rep21 resentatives of eligible candidates and senior 

22 employees in agencies and the Executive Office 

23 of the President; and 

24 ‘‘(C) prepare and host interagency emer25 gency preparedness and response exercises. 
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1 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the 

2 White House transition coordinating council shall in3 clude— 

4 ‘‘(A) senior employees of the Executive 

5 branch selected by the President, which may in6 clude the Chief of Staff to the President, any 

7 Cabinet officer, the Director of the Office of 

8 Management and Budget, the Administrator, 

9 the Director of the Office of Personnel Manage10 ment, the Director of the Office of Government 

11 Ethics, and the Archivist of the United States; 

12 ‘‘(B) the Federal Transition Coordinator; 

13 ‘‘(C) the transition representative for each 

14 eligible candidate, who shall serve in an advi15 sory capacity; and 

16 ‘‘(D) any other individual the President de17 termines appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(4) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

19 White House transition coordinating council shall be 

20 a senior employee in the Executive Office of the 

21 President, designated by the President. 

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

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall estab24 lish and operate an agency transition directors coun25 cil, which shall— 
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1 ‘‘(A) ensure the Federal Government has 

2 an integrated strategy for addressing inter3 agency challenges and responsibilities around 

4 Presidential transitions and turnover of non5 career appointees; 

6 ‘‘(B) coordinate transition activities be7 tween the Executive Office of the President, 

8 agencies, and the transition team of eligible 

9 candidates and the President-elect and Vice10 President-elect; and 

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

12 White House transition coordinating council 

13 and lessons learned from previous Presidential 

14 transitions in carrying out its duties. 

15 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—As part of carrying out the re16 sponsibilities under paragraph (1), the agency tran17 sition directors council shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) assist the Federal Transition Coordi19 nator in identifying and carrying out the re20 sponsibilities of the Federal Transition Coordi21 nator relating to a Presidential transition; 

22 ‘‘(B) provide guidance to agencies in gath23 ering briefing materials and information relat24 ing to the Presidential transition that may be 

25 requested by eligible candidates; 
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1 ‘‘(C) ensure materials and information de2 scribed in subparagraph (B) are prepared not 

3 later than November 1 of a year during which 

4 a Presidential election is held; 

5 ‘‘(D) ensure agencies adequately prepare 

6 career employees who are designated to fill non7 career positions under subsection (f) during a 

8 Presidential transition; and 

9 ‘‘(E) consult with the President’s Manage10 ment Council, or any successor thereto, in car11 rying out the duties of the agency transition di12 rectors council. 

13 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the agen14 cy transition directors council shall include— 

15 ‘‘(A) the Federal Transition Coordinator 

16 and the Deputy Director for Management of 

17 the Office of Management and Budget, who 

18 shall serve as Co-Chairpersons of the agency 

19 transition directors council; 

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

21 Executive Office of the President, as deter22 mined by the President; 

23 ‘‘(C) a senior representative from each 

24 agency described in section 901(b)(1) of title 

25 31, United States Code, the Office of Personnel 
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1 Management, the Office of Government Ethics, 

2 and the National Archives and Records Admin3 istration whose responsibilities include leading 

4 Presidential transition efforts within the agen5 cy; 

6 ‘‘(D) a senior representative from any 

7 other agency determined by the Co-Chair8 persons to be an agency that has significant re9 sponsibilities relating to the Presidential transi10 tion process; and 

11 ‘‘(E) during a year during which a Presi12 dential election will be held, a transition rep13 resentative for each eligible candidate, who shall 

14 serve in an advisory capacity. 

15 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The agency transition direc16 tors council shall meet— 

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

18 than once per year; and 

19 ‘‘(B) during the period beginning on the 

20 date that is 6 months before a Presidential elec21 tion and ending on the date on which the Presi22 dent-elect is inaugurated, on a regular basis as 

23 necessary to carry out the duties and authori24 ties of the agency transition directors council. 
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1 ‘‘(f) INTERIM AGENCY LEADERSHIP FOR TRANSI2 TIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) OVERSIGHT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

4 TRANSITION.—Not later than 6 months before the 

5 date of a Presidential election, the head of each 

6 agency shall designate a senior career employee of 

7 the agency and a senior career employee of each 

8 major component and subcomponent of the agency 

9 to oversee and implement the activities of the agen10 cy, component, or subcomponent relating to the 

11 Presidential transition. 

12 ‘‘(2) ACTING OFFICERS.—Not later than Sep13 tember 15 of a year during which a Presidential 

14 election occurs, and in accordance with subchapter 

15 III of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, for 

16 each noncareer position in an agency that the head 

17 of the agency determines is critical, the head of the 

18 agency shall designate a qualified career employee to 

19 serve in the position in an acting capacity if the po20 sition becomes vacant. 

21 ‘‘(g) MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

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

23 of a year during which a Presidential election oc24 curs, the President (acting through the Federal 

25 Transition Coordinator) shall, to the maximum ex-
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1 tent practicable, negotiate a memorandum of under2 standing with the transition representative of each 

3 eligible candidate, which shall include, at a min4 imum, the conditions of access to employees, facili5 ties, and documents of agencies by transition staff. 

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

7 extent practicable, the memorandums of under8 standing negotiated under paragraph (1) shall be 

9 based on memorandums of understanding from pre10 vious Presidential transitions. 

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

12 other assistance provided to eligible candidates under this 

13 section shall be offered on an equal basis and without re14 gard to political affiliation. 

15 ‘‘(i) REPORTS.— 

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

17 through the Federal Transition Coordinator, shall 

18 submit to the Committee on Oversight and Govern19 ment Reform of the House of Representatives and 

20 the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern21 mental Affairs of the Senate reports describing the 

22 activities undertaken by the President and agencies 

23 to prepare for the transfer of power to a new Presi24 dent. 
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1 ‘‘(2) TIMING.—The reports under paragraph 

2 (1) shall be provided 6 months and 3 months before 

3 the date of a Presidential election.’’. 

4 (b) OTHER IMPROVEMENTS.—Section 3 of the Presi5 dential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (8)— 

9 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i)— 

10 (I) by inserting ‘‘and during the 

11 term of a President’’ after ‘‘during 

12 the transition’’; and 

13 (II) by striking ‘‘after inaugura14 tion’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘or Executive agencies (as defined in sec17 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code)’’ 

18 before the period; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (10), by inserting ‘‘in20 cluding, to the greatest extent practicable, 

21 human resource management system software 

22 compatible with the software used by the in23 cumbent President and likely to be used by the 

24 President-elect and Vice President-elect’’ before 

25 the period; 
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1 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘30 days’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘180 days’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (g), by inserting ‘‘except for 

4 activities under subsection (a)(8)(A),’’ before ‘‘there 

5 shall be no’’; and 

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

7 the following: 

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

9 services and facilities described in this paragraph until the 

10 date on which the Administrator is able to determine the 

11 apparent successful candidates for the office of President 

12 and Vice President.’’. 

13 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

15 Transition Act of 2010 (3 U.S.C. 102 note) is re16 pealed. 

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

18 U.S.C. 102 note) is amended— 

19 (A) in section 3— 

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

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

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

23 preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sec24 tion 3 of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘this sec25 tion’’; and 
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1 (iii) in subsection (h)(3)(B)(iii), by 

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

3 and inserting ‘‘section 6’’; 

4 (B) in section 6, as redesignated by sub5 section (a) of this section, by striking ‘‘section 

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

7 ‘‘section 7(a)(1)’’; and 

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

9 subsection (a) of this section, by striking ‘‘sec10 tion 4’’ and inserting ‘‘section 5’’. 

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

12 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 4’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘section 5’’. 

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

15 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 4’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘section 5’’. 

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

18 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 4’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘section 5’’. 

20 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ARCHIVES PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION. 

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

22 amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para24 graph (4); and 
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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(3) When the President considers it prac4 ticable and in the public interest, the President shall 

5 include in the President’s budget transmitted to 

6 Congress, for each fiscal year in which the term of 

7 office of the President will expire, such funds as may 

8 be necessary for carrying out the authorities of this 

9 subsection.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. REPORTS ON POLITICAL APPOINTEES APPOINTED 

11 TO NONPOLITICAL PERMANENT POSITIONS. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

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

14 the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ in section 105 of title 

15 5, United States Code; 

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

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

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

19 not— 

20 (A) a temporary position; or 

21 (B) a political position; 

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

23 an individual who— 

24 (A) is not serving in an appointment to a 

25 political position; and 
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1 (B) served as a political appointee during 

2 the 5-year period ending on the date of the re3 quest for an appointment to a covered civil 

4 service position in any agency; 

5 (4) the term ‘‘political appointee’’ means an in6 dividual serving in an appointment to a political po7 sition; and 

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

9 (A) a position described under sections 

10 5312 through 5316 of title 5, United States 

11 Code (relating to the Executive Schedule); 

12 (B) a noncareer appointment in the Senior 

13 Executive Service, as defined under paragraph 

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

15 Code; or 

16 (C) a position in the executive branch of 

17 the Government of a confidential or policy-de18 termining character under schedule C of sub19 part C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations. 

21 (b) REPORTING ON CURRENT OR RECENT POLITICAL

22 APPOINTEES APPOINTED TO COVERED CIVIL SERVICE

23 POSITIONS.—The Director of the Office of Personnel 

24 Management shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 

25 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 
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1 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 

2 House of Representatives a quarterly report regarding re3 quests by agencies to appoint political appointees or 

4 former political appointees to covered civil service posi5 tions, which shall— 

6 (1) for each request by an agency that a polit7 ical appointee be appointed to a covered civil service 

8 position during the period covered by the quarterly 

9 report, provide— 

10 (A) the date on which the request was re11 ceived by the Office of Personnel Management; 

12 (B) subject to subsection (c), the name of 

13 the individual and the political position held by 

14 the individual, including title, office, and agen15 cy; 

16 (C) the date on which the individual was 

17 first appointed to a political position in the 

18 agency in which the individual is serving as a 

19 political appointee; 

20 (D) the grade and rate of basic pay for the 

21 individual as a political appointee; 

22 (E) the proposed covered civil service posi23 tion, including title, office, and agency, and the 

24 proposed grade and rate of basic pay for the in25 dividual; 
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1 (F) whether the Office of Personnel Man2 agement approved or denied the request; and 

3 (G) the date on which the individual was 

4 appointed to a covered civil service position, if 

5 applicable; and 

6 (2) for each request by an agency that a former 

7 political appointee be appointed to a covered civil 

8 service position during the period covered by the 

9 quarterly report, provide— 

10 (A) the date on which the request was re11 ceived by the Office of Personnel Management; 

12 (B) subject to subsection (c), the name of 

13 the individual and the political position held by 

14 the individual, including title, office, and agen15 cy; 

16 (C) the date on which the individual was 

17 first appointed to any political position; 

18 (D) the grade and rate of basic pay for the 

19 individual as a political appointee; 

20 (E) the date on which the individual 

21 ceased to serve in a political position; 

22 (F) the proposed covered civil service posi23 tion, including title, office, and agency, and the 

24 proposed grade and rate of basic pay for the in25 dividual; 
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1 (G) whether the Office of Personnel Man2 agement approved or denied the request; and 

3 (H) the date on which the individual was 

4 first appointed to a covered civil service posi5 tion, if applicable. 

6 (c) NAMES AND TITLES OF CERTAIN APPOINTEES.— 

7 If determined appropriate by the Director of the Office 

8 of Personnel Management, a report submitted under sub9 section (b) may exclude the name or title of a political 

10 appointee or former political appointee— 

11 (1) who— 

12 (A) was requested to be appointed to a 

13 covered civil service position; and 

14 (B) was not appointed to a covered civil 

15 service position; or 

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

17 to a covered civil service position is pending at the 

18 end of the period covered by that report. 

19 SEC. 5. REPORT ON REGULATIONS PROMULGATED NEAR 

20 THE END OF PRESIDENTIAL TERMS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

22 (1) the term ‘‘covered presidential transition pe23 riod’’ means— 

24 (A) the 120-day period ending on January 

25 20, 1993. 
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1 (B) the 120-day period ending on January 

2 20, 2001; 

3 (C) the 120-day period ending on January 

4 20, 2009; and 

5 (D) the 120-day period ending on January 

6 20, 2017; 

7 (2) the term ‘‘covered regulation’’ means a final 

8 regulation promulgated by an Executive department; 

9 and 

10 (3) the term ‘‘Executive department’’ has the 

11 meaning given that term under section 101 of title 

12 5, United States Code. 

13 (b) REPORTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

15 the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

16 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

17 Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Govern18 ment Reform of the House of Representatives a re19 port regarding covered regulations promulgated dur20 ing the covered presidential transition periods de21 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of sub22 section (a)(1). 

23 (2) NEXT PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION.—The 

24 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub25 mit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
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1 Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com2 mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 

3 House of Representatives a report regarding covered 

4 regulations promulgated during the covered presi5 dential transition period described in subsection 

6 (a)(1)(D). 

7 (3) CONTENTS OF REPORTS.—The reports re8 quired under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall, for each 

9 covered presidential transition period covered by the 

10 report— 

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

12 (if possible) of, and type of rulemaking proce13 dure used for, covered regulations promulgated 

14 during the covered presidential transition period 

15 to the number, scope, and cost of, and type of 

16 rulemaking procedure used for, covered regula17 tions promulgated during the 120-day periods 

18 ending on January 20 of each year after 1988, 

19 other than 1993, 2001, and 2009; 

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 

2 the covered regulations promulgated during the 

3 covered presidential transition period; and 

4 (D) assess the extent to which the regu5 larly required processes for the promulgation of 

6 covered regulations were followed during the 

7 covered presidential transition period, including 

8 compliance 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 

13 Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 

14 U.S.C. 601 note); 

15 (iii) chapter 6 of title 5, United States 

16 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Regulatory 

17 Flexibility Act’’); and 

18 (iv) chapter 35 of title 44, United 

19 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Pa20 perwork Reduction Act’’). 

21 SEC. 6. ANALYSIS OF THREATS AND VULNERABILITIES. 

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

23 2016, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit 

24 to Congress a report analyzing the threats and 
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1 vulnerabilities facing the United States during a presi2 dential transition, which— 

3 (1) shall identify and discuss vulnerabilities re4 lated to border security and threats related to ter5 rorism, including from weapons of mass destruction; 

6 (2) shall identify steps being taken to address 

7 the threats and vulnerabilities during a presidential 

8 transition; and 

9 (3) may include recommendations for actions by 

10 components and agencies within the Department of 

11 Homeland Security. 

12 (b) FORM.—The report submitted under subsection 

13 (a) shall be prepared in unclassified form, but may contain 

14 a classified annex. 

Passed the Senate July 30, 2015. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1172 

AN ACT 

To improve the process of presidential transition.