[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2008)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6417-6418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-483]



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Part IV





The President





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Executive Order 13457--Protecting American Taxpayers From Government 
Spending on Wasteful Earmarks
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  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 6417]]

                Executive Order 13457 of January 29, 2008

                
Protecting American Taxpayers From Government 
                Spending on Wasteful Earmarks

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the Federal 
                Government to be judicious in the expenditure of 
                taxpayer dollars. To ensure the proper use of taxpayer 
                funds that are appropriated for Government programs and 
                purposes, it is necessary that the number and cost of 
                earmarks be reduced, that their origin and purposes be 
                transparent, and that they be included in the text of 
                the bills voted upon by the Congress and presented to 
                the President. For appropriations laws and other 
                legislation enacted after the date of this order, 
                executive agencies should not commit, obligate, or 
                expend funds on the basis of earmarks included in any 
                non-statutory source, including requests in reports of 
                committees of the Congress or other congressional 
                documents, or communications from or on behalf of 
                Members of Congress, or any other non-statutory source, 
                except when required by law or when an agency has 
                itself determined a project, program, activity, grant, 
                or other transaction to have merit under statutory 
                criteria or other merit-based decisionmaking.

                Sec. 2. Duties of Agency Heads. (a) With respect to all 
                appropriations laws and other legislation enacted after 
                the date of this order, the head of each agency shall 
                take all necessary steps to ensure that:

(i) agency decisions to commit, obligate, or expend funds for any earmark 
are based on the text of laws, and in particular, are not based on language 
in any report of a committee of Congress, joint explanatory statement of a 
committee of conference of the Congress, statement of managers concerning a 
bill in the Congress, or any other non-statutory statement or indication of 
views of the Congress, or a House, committee, Member, officer, or staff 
thereof;

(ii) agency decisions to commit, obligate, or expend funds for any earmark 
are based on authorized, transparent, statutory criteria and merit-based 
decision making, in the manner set forth in section II of OMB Memorandum M-
07-10, dated February 15, 2007, to the extent consistent with applicable 
law; and

(iii) no oral or written communications concerning earmarks shall supersede 
statutory criteria, competitive awards, or merit-based decisionmaking.

                (b) An agency shall not consider the views of a House, 
                committee, Member, officer, or staff of the Congress 
                with respect to commitments, obligations, or 
                expenditures to carry out any earmark unless such views 
                are in writing, to facilitate consideration in 
                accordance with section 2(a)(ii) above. All written 
                communications from the Congress, or a House, 
                committee, Member, officer, or staff thereof, 
                recommending that funds be committed, obligated, or 
                expended on any earmark shall be made publicly 
                available on the Internet by the receiving agency, not 
                later than 30 days after receipt of such communication, 
                unless otherwise specifically directed by the head of 
                the agency, without delegation, after consultation with 
                the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to 
                preserve appropriate confidentiality between the 
                executive and legislative branches.

[[Page 6418]]

                (c) Heads of agencies shall otherwise implement within 
                their respective agencies the policy set forth in 
                section 1 of this order, consistent with such 
                instructions as the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget may prescribe.

                (d) The head of each agency shall upon request provide 
                to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
                information about earmarks and compliance with this 
                order.

                Sec. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this order:

                (a) The term ``agency'' means an executive agency as 
                defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, 
                and the United States Postal Service and the Postal 
                Regulatory Commission, but shall exclude the Government 
                Accountability Office; and

                (b) the term ``earmark'' means funds provided by the 
                Congress for projects, programs, or grants where the 
                purported congressional direction (whether in statutory 
                text, report language, or other communication) 
                circumvents otherwise applicable merit-based or 
                competitive allocation processes, or specifies the 
                location or recipient, or otherwise curtails the 
                ability of the executive branch to manage its statutory 
                and constitutional responsibilities pertaining to the 
                funds allocation process.

                Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) authority granted by law to an 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.

                (b) This order shall be implemented in a manner 
                consistent with applicable law and subject to the 
                availability of appropriations.

                (c) This order 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.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 29, 2008.

[FR Doc. 08-483
Filed 1-31-08; 9:02 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P