[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 9 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Pages 315-316]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13075--Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense 
Investigations of Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incidents

February 19, 1998

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), it is hereby ordered as 
follows:
    Section 1. Establishment. (a) There is hereby established the 
Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf 
War Chemical and Biological Incidents (``Special Oversight Board''). The 
Special Oversight Board shall be composed of not more than seven members 
appointed by the President. The members of the Special Oversight Board 
shall have expertise relevant to the functions of the Special Oversight 
Board and shall not be full-time officials or employees of the executive 
branch of the Federal Government.
    (b) The President shall designate a Chairperson and a Vice 
Chairperson from among the members of the Special Oversight Board.
    Sec. 2. Functions. (a) The Special Oversight Board shall report to 
the President through the Secretary of Defense.
    (b) The Special Oversight Board shall provide advice and 
recommendations based on its review of Department of Defense 
investigations into possible detections of, and exposures to, chemical 
or biological weapons agents and environmental and other factors that 
may have contributed to Gulf War illnesses.
    (c) It shall not be a function of the Special Oversight Board to 
conduct scientific research.

[[Page 316]]

    (d) It shall not be a function of the Special Oversight Board to 
provide advice or recommendations on any legal liability of the Federal 
Government for any claims or potential claims against the Federal 
Government.
    (e) The Special Oversight Board shall submit an interim report 
within 9 months of its first meeting and a final report within 18 months 
of its first meeting, unless otherwise directed by the President.
    Sec. 3. Administration. (a) The heads of executive departments and 
agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Special 
Oversight Board with such information as it may require for purposes of 
carrying out its functions.
    (b) Special Oversight Board members may be allowed travel expenses, 
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by 
law for persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 
U.S.C. 5701-5707). The administrative staff for the Special Oversight 
Board shall be compensated in accordance with Federal law.
    (c) To the extent permitted by law, and subject to the availability 
of appropriations, the Department of Defense shall provide the Special 
Oversight Board with such funds as may be necessary for the performance 
of its functions.
    Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of 
any other Executive order, the functions of the President under the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, that are applicable to the 
Special Oversight Board, except that of reporting annually to the 
Congress, shall be performed by the Secretary of Defense, in accordance 
with the guidelines and procedures established by the Administrator of 
General Services.
    (b) The Special Oversight Board shall terminate 30 days after 
submitting its final report.
    (c) This order is intended only to improve the internal management 
of the executive branch and it is not intended, and shall not be 
construed, to create any right, benefit, or trust responsibility, 
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party 
against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
February 19, 1998.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., February 23, 
1998]

Note: This Executive order was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on February 24, and it was published in the Federal Register 
on February 24.