[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 14 (Monday, April 9, 2001)]
[Pages 584-585]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13208--Amendment to Executive Order 13202, Preservation 
of Open Competition and Government Neutrality Towards Government 
Contractors' Labor Relations on Federal and Federally Funded 
Construction Projects

April 6, 2001

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Property 
and Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C. 471 et seq., and in order to 
(1) promote and ensure open competition on Federal and federally funded 
or assisted construction projects; (2) maintain Government neutrality 
towards Government contractors' labor relations on Federal and federally 
funded or assisted construction projects; (3) reduce construction costs 
to the Federal Government and to the tax payers; (4) expand job 
opportunities, especially for small and disadvantaged businesses; (5) 
prevent discrimination against Government contractors or their employees 
based upon labor affiliation or lack thereof; and (6) prevent the 
inefficiency that may result from the disruption of a previously 
established contractual relationship in particular cases; thereby 
promoting the economical, nondiscriminatory, and efficient 
administration and completion of Federal and federally funded or 
assisted construction projects, it is hereby ordered that Executive 
Order 13202 of February 17, 2001, is amended by adding to section 5 of 
that order the following new subsection:
(c)          The head of an executive agency, upon application of an 
            awarding authority, a recipient of grants or financial 
            assistance, a party to a cooperative agreement, or a 
            construction manager acting on behalf of the foregoing, may 
            exempt a particular project from the requirements of any or 
            all of the provisions of sections 1 and 3 of this order, if 
            the agency head finds: (i) that

[[Page 585]]

            the awarding authority, recipient of grants or financial 
            assistance, party to a cooperative agreement, or 
            construction manager acting on behalf of the foregoing had 
            issued or was a party to, as of the date of this order, bid 
            specifications, project agreements, agreements with one or 
            more labor organizations, or other controlling documents 
            with respect to that particular project, which contained any 
            of the requirements or prohibitions set forth in sections 
            1(a) or (b) of this order; and (ii) that one or more 
            construction contracts subject to such requirements or 
            prohibitions had been awarded as of the date of this order.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 April 6, 2001.

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., April 10, 
2001]

Note: This Executive order will be published in the Federal Register on 
April 11.