The constitutional transfer of power and authority from an incumbent American President to a successor is a momentous occasion in American government. In the present day, this transfer of authority is a complex and multifaceted undertaking, as the outgoing Administration concludes its affairs and the incoming Administration gets organized. In recent decades, presidential transition activities have begun informally months before the general election; the major candidates usually have asked individuals or small groups to begin to formulate transition plans in the event of an electoral victory. Preparations generally have accelerated after the election, as the attention of the President-elect and his supporters has turned from campaigning to governing. The President-elect and his team have approximately 11 weeks between election day and inauguration day to organize the new Administration, and to make plans for pursuing its policy agenda. The incoming President must also prepare to assume national security and homeland security responsibilities from the incumbent—among a host of other duties and expectations. While a formal transition process is essential to ensure continuity in the conduct of the affairs of the executive branch, the concept of a federally funded, institutionalized transition process is relatively new. Before enactment of the PTA in 1964, the methods for transferring information and responsibility between Administrations were developed in an ad hoc fashion. In addition, the political party organization of the incoming President was the primary source of funding for transition expenses. Many facets of presidential transitions continue to be developed anew, according to the preferences and priorities of each outgoing and, in particular, each incoming President. Now, however, the PTA provides a basic framework for funding and support of this process. From enactment of the PTA in 1964 through the presidential transition of 2008-2009, most PTA-authorized support was provided after the election of the incoming President and Vice President. In the years since, Congress has expanded support for the presidential transition process to include authorization and funding for pre-election activities and support. The Pre-Election Presidential Transition Act of 2010 amended the PTA and included several other provisions to provide additional support to eligible candidates for pre-election transition planning. These provisions had effect for the first time during the 2012 presidential election. The Edward "Ted" Kaufman and Michael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015 (PTIA)—enacted on March 18, 2016—incorporated some provisions of the 2010 law, with modifications, into the PTA. It also further amended the PTA with provisions for pre-election transition support for presidential candidates. Since the PTA was passed in 1964, the funding authorized for its implementation has grown. As originally enacted, the PTA authorized funding not to exceed $900,000 for any one transition "for carrying out the purposes" of the act. In 1976, this provision was amended to authorize "not more than $2,000,000 ... for the purposes of providing services and facilities to the President-elect and Vice President-elect" and "not more than $1,000,000 ... for the purposes of providing services and facilities to the former President and former Vice President." In 1988, this provision was amended once again, and the authorized amounts were increased to $3.5 million and $1.5 million, respectively. The 1988 amendments also directed that the "amounts authorized to be appropriated [by these provisions] be increased by an inflation adjusted amount, based on increases in the cost of transition services and expenses which have occurred in the years following the most recent Presidential transition." Section 4 of the Pre-Election Transition Act of 2010 authorized "such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions" of that act. A general provision of the PTA authorizes the General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator (Administrator) to spend PTA-authorized funds for the provision of most of the specified "services and facilities ... in connection with ... obligations incurred by the President-elect or Vice-President-elect" between the day following the general election and 180 days after the inauguration. As discussed in detail below, a number of exceptions to this general provision authorize expenditures for specified pre-election transition-related services and facilities for "eligible candidates." The President-elect, Vice President-elect, or eligible candidate (as defined below) may designate an assistant to act on his or her behalf in connection with the support provided by the Administrator under the PTA. Up to 10% of the expenditures under the PTA may be made upon certification by the President-elect, Vice President-elect, or the designated assistant "that such expenditures are classified and are essential to the national security," and that they are consistent with PTA provisions. For the purposes of the PTA, the "President-elect" and "Vice-President-elect" are defined as "the apparent successful candidates for the office of President and Vice President, respectively, as ascertained by the Administrator following the general elections." In the immediate aftermath of the contested November 7, 2000, presidential election, neither candidate was provided with the resources that would be available for the President-elect and Vice President-elect. In testimony before the House Committee on Gover nment Reform, Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology, Administrator David J. Barram testified: "In this unprecedented, incredibly close and intensely contested election, with legal action being pursued by both sides, it is not apparent to me who the winner is. That is why I have not ascertained a President-elect." In his testimony, the Administrator drew on a 1963 House floor debate concerning the PTA, during which a sponsor of the legislation stated that, "in a close contest, the Administrator simply would not make the decision." The GSA Deputy Administrator reportedly provided PTA facilities and funds to the Bush-Cheney transition team on December 14, 2000, the day following Vice President Al Gore's concession speech. In the event the President-elect is the incumbent President, or the Vice President-elect is the incumbent Vice President, the PTA prohibits the expenditure of funds for the provision to the incumbent of most services and facilities specified under the act. Any funds appropriated for what turn out to be unneeded purposes are to be returned to the general funds of the Treasury. An exception to this general prohibition was added by PTIA, however. Under such circumstances, certain activities related to training and orientations of "key prospective Presidential appointees" are authorized to be funded. The Administrator is also authorized, under the PTA, to provide services and facilities to each outgoing President and Vice President, "for use in connection with winding up the affairs of his office," for a period "not to exceed seven months from 30 days before the date of the expiration of his term of office." In the event that the outgoing Vice President is becoming President, the PTA limits the authorized expenditures in this area. The President's FY2016 budget request for GSA included $13.278 million in funding for activities authorized by the Pre-Election Presidential Transition Act of 2010 in anticipation of the 2016-2017 presidential transition. These recommendations were endorsed by Congress and included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, which was enacted on December 18, 2015. The President's FY2017 budget request for GSA included $9.5 million for PTA-related activities. Of this sum, not more than $1 million was to be used for training and orientation activities under specified provisions of the act. The budget request for the Office of Administration in the Executive Office of the President included $7.582 million for PTA-related activities "and similar expenses." These funds were requested "for costs of processing of records of the departing President and Vice President under the Presidential Records Act for transfer to the National Archives and Records Administration and other transition-related administrative expenses." Each of these two requests was funded at the proposed level in the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017. A Congressional Budget Office cost estimate for the Senate version of the bill that became the Edward "Ted" Kaufman and Michael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015 estimated that its implementation would cost less than $500,000 over the next five years. As discussed below, the PTA, as amended, includes a number of provisions related to the pre-election portion of the presidential transition. It directs the President and the incumbent Administration to establish a specified transition-related organizational infrastructure, with some features ongoing and others operational during a presidential election year only. The PTA also authorizes the incumbent Administration to provide certain pre-election transition support for eligible candidates (as defined below). In addition, the PTA authorizes eligible candidates to fund pre-election transition activities through their campaigns. The statute also establishes a process for designating and preparing career officials who will likely act as agency leaders during the transition process. It further provides for the negotiation, before the election, of memoranda of understanding between the incumbent President and eligible candidates concerning post-election transition matters. For purposes of the act, eligible candidate is defined as "a candidate of a major party [as defined in 26 U.S.C. §9002(6)] for President or Vice-President of the United States; and ... any other candidate who has been determined by the Administrator to be among the principal contenders for the general election to such offices." In general, pre-election transition support is to be provided equally to eligible candidates, without regard to political affiliation. The PTA directs the President, in general, to "take such actions as the President determines necessary and appropriate to plan and coordinate activities by the Executive branch ... to facilitate an efficient transfer of power." More specifically, the law directs the President to establish and operate, as specified, a White House transition coordinating council and an agency transition directors council (described in detail below). The statute directs the Administrator to designate a senior career GSA official to be the Federal Transition Coordinator (FTC).