Presidential Documents

60605 

Federal Register 

Vol. 73, No. 199 

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 

Title 3— 

The President 

Executive Order 13476 of October 9, 2008 

Facilitation of a Presidential Transition 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, 

United States Code, and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention 

Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–458) (IRTPA), and in order to further the 

purposes of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended, and to 

assist the presidential transition, it is hereby ordered as follows: 

Section 1. Presidential Transition Coordination. (a) To assist and support 

the transition efforts of the transition teams for the ‘‘major party’’ ‘‘candidates,’’ as those terms are used in the IRTPA and defined in section 

9002(2) and (6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9002(2), 

(6)), and the President-elect, there is established a Presidential Transition 

Coordinating Council (Council). 

(b) The Council shall be composed of the following officials or their 

designees: 

(i) Chief of Staff to the President, who shall serve as Chair; 

(ii) Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, 

who shall serve as Vice Chair; 

(iii) Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy; 

(iv) Counsel to the President; 

(v) Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel; 

(vi) Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; 

(vii) Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and 

Counterterrorism; 

(viii) Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director, National 

Economic Council; 

(ix) Attorney General; 

(x) Director of National Intelligence; 

(xi) Director of the Office of Management and Budget; 

(xii) Director of the Office of Personnel Management; 

(xiii) Administrator of General Services; 

(xiv) Archivist of the United States; 

(xv) Director of the Office of Government Ethics; and 

(xvi) Such others as the President or the Chair of the Council may select. 

(c) The Council shall assist the major party candidates and the Presidentelect by making every reasonable effort to facilitate the transition between 

administrations. This assistance may include, among other things, providing 

information relevant to facilitating the personnel aspects of a presidential 

transition and such other information that, in the Council’s judgment, is 

useful and appropriate, as long as providing such information is not otherwise 

prohibited by law. 

(d) In order to obtain a wide range of facts and information on prior 

transitions and best practices, the Council, its members, or their designees 

may, from time to time, seek information from private individuals, including 


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individuals within outside organizations, who have significant experience 

or expertise in presidential transitions. The Council, its members, or their 

designees shall endeavor to obtain such facts and information from individuals representing a range of bipartisan or nonpartisan viewpoints. If the 

Council, its members, or their designees find it necessary to seek advice 

from private individuals or outside organizations, such counsel should be 

sought in a manner that seeks individual advice and does not involve 

collective judgment or deliberation. 

(e) It shall be the policy of the Council to provide appropriate information 

and assistance to the major party candidates on an equal basis and without 

regard for party affiliation. 

Sec. 2. Transition Activities and Materials. (a) At the direction of the Council 

or its designee(s), the Administrator of General Services shall coordinate 

orientation activities with the appropriate agencies, including the Office 

of Government Ethics and the Office of Personnel Management, for key 

prospective presidential appointees. 

(b) At the direction of the Council or its designee(s), the White House 

Office of Presidential Personnel shall supplement as appropriate and necessary the electronic record of all title 5 presidentially appointed positions 

provided by the Office of Personnel Management to the major party candidates pursuant to section 8403(b) of IRTPA. 

(c) The Suitability and Security Clearance Performance Accountability 

Council shall coordinate with the Council when performing those functions 

authorized by Executive Order 13467 of June 30, 2008, that are necessary 

to assist in transition-related activities. 

(d) At the direction of the Council or its designee(s), executive departments 

and agencies shall prepare a set of briefing materials for new political 

appointees before the inauguration of the President-elect. The current Administration shall work with the incoming transition team to provide copies 

of all such materials. 

(e) At the direction of the Council or its designee(s) and consistent with 

the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended, the Administrator 

of General Services, in consultation with the Archivist of the United States 

and other appropriate agencies, shall develop a Transition Directory. This 

directory shall include Federal publications and other materials that provide 

information on each executive department and agency. 

Sec. 3. Transition Agreements. To assist and support the transition, transition 

agreements between the White House or appropriate executive branch departments and agencies and the transition teams for the major party candidates 

and the President-elect will be entered into, as necessary, regarding transition 

procedures and identification of transition contacts. 

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) In order to take appropriate account of the 

transition reforms made by IRTPA and to further update and clarify the 

presidential transition process, this order supersedes Executive Order 13176 

of November 27, 2000. 

(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: 

(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head 

thereof; or 

(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 

relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals. 


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(c) This order is intended only to facilitate the transition and is not 

intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United 

States, its agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers, employees, 

or agents, or any other person. 

(d) Unless extended by the President, this order shall expire on February 

20, 2009. 

THE WHITE HOUSE, 

October 9, 2008 

[FR Doc. E8–24465 

Filed 10–10–08; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3195–W9–P 


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