[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 12 (Monday, March 29, 1999)]
[Pages 522-524]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13115--Interagency Task Force on the Roles and Missions 
of the United States Coast Guard

March 25, 1999

    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. (a) The Interagency Task Force on the Roles and Missions 
of the United States Coast Guard is established.
    (b) The Task Force shall be composed of one representative from the:
(1)         Department of State;
(2)         Department of Defense;
(3)         Department of Justice;
(4)         Department of Commerce;
(5)         Department of Labor;
(6)         Department of Transportation;
(7)         Environmental Protection Agency;
(8)         Office of Management and Budget;
(9)         National Security Council;
(10)        Council on Environmental Quality;
(11)        Office of Cabinet Affairs;
(12)        National Economic Council;

[[Page 523]]

(13)        Domestic Policy Council; and
(14)        United States Coast Guard.
    The Secretary of Transportation shall select from among the Task 
Force members a Chair and Vice Chair for the Task Force.
    (c) The members of the Task Force shall be officials or employees of 
the Federal Government.
    Sec. 2. Functions. (a) The Task Force shall report to the President 
through the Secretary of Transportation, and shall provide advice and 
recommendations regarding the appropriate roles and missions for the 
United States Coast Guard through the Year 2020. While the Task Force 
will comprehensively review all Coast Guard roles and missions, it will 
give special attention to the deepwater missions, which are those that 
generally occur beyond 50 nautical miles from U.S. shores.
    (b) The Chair shall consult with the Secretary of Transportation, 
Commandant of the Coast Guard, and, as appropriate, other heads of 
departments and agencies. The Chair may invite experts to submit 
information to the Task Force and hold field briefings or visits.
    (c) The Chair may acquire services or form teams to carry out the 
functions of the Task Force. The Task Force and/or the Task Force staff 
may travel as necessary to carry out the Task Force's functions.
    Sec. 3. Methodology. (a) The Task Force will seek to identify and 
distinguish which Coast Guard roles, missions, and functions might be 
added or enhanced; might be maintained at current levels of performance; 
or might be reduced, eliminated, or moved to other private organizations 
or Government agencies. The Task Force also will consider whether 
current Coast Guard roles, missions, and functions might be better 
performed by private organizations (by contract or otherwise), public 
authorities, local or State governments, or other Federal agencies. The 
Task Force will provide explicit reasons for its recommendations.
    (b) The Task Force will establish explicit criteria for screening 
roles, missions, and functions to determine how and by whom they would 
be best performed.
    (c) For those roles, missions, and functions that the Task Force 
recommends be performed by the Coast Guard, the Task Force will advise 
as to how they might be performed most effectively and efficiently.

    (d) The Task Force will consider the impact on Coast Guard roles, 
missions, and functions of future prospects in various areas, including 
technology, demographics, the law of the sea, marine pollution, and 
national security.

    (e) The Task Force shall review each of the Coast Guard's law 
enforcement and national security missions and functions according to 
the methodology described in this section. However, in conducting that 
review, the Task Force shall assume that the Coast Guard will remain a 
law enforcement agency and an armed force of the United States.

    Sec. 4. Administration. (a) The heads of executive departments and 
agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Task Force 
such information with respect to the roles and missions of the Coast 
Guard as it may require to carry out its functions.

    (b) The Coast Guard shall support the Task Force administratively 
and financially.

    (c) The Secretary of Transportation shall appoint a Staff Director 
for the Task Force.

    (d) Assigned staff shall possess a balanced and broad base of 
experience to include persons of experience in national security, 
military operations, foreign and domestic policy, international affairs, 
economic policy, environmental protection, and law enforcement. Staff 
members may include military members on active duty, Reserve members of 
any component, and Federal civilian employees.

    Sec. 5. General. (a) The Task Force shall exist for a period of 6 
months from its first meeting unless extended by the Secretary of 
Transportation and, at the conclusion, submit a written report as 
discussed in section 2 of this order.

    (b) The recommendations of the Task Force will be considered in 
determining the appropriate level of investment in the Coast Guard's 
Deepwater Capability Replacement Project, a system of cutters and 
aircraft with an integrated command, control, communications, and sensor 
infrastructure. The Task Force may provide an interim report

[[Page 524]]

for use in preparation of the Federal budget for Fiscal Year 2001.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
March 25, 1999.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:01 a.m., March 29, 
1999]

Note: This Executive order was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on March 26, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
March 30.