[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 18 (Monday, May 7, 2001)]
[Pages 693-694]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13210--President's Commission To Strengthen Social 
Security

May 2, 2001

    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.), and to preserve Social 
Security for senior Americans while building wealth for younger 
Americans, it is hereby ordered as follows:
    Section 1. Establishment. There is established the President's 
Commission to Strengthen Social Security (Commission).
    Sec. 2. Membership. The Commission shall be composed of sixteen 
members appointed by the President, of which no more than eight shall be 
members of the same political party. The President shall also designate 
two members of the Commission to act as co-chairs. The two co-chairs 
shall not be members of the same political party.
    Sec. 3. Mission. The mission of the Commission shall be to submit to 
the President bipartisan recommendations to modernize and restore fiscal 
soundness to the Social Security system according to the following 
principles: (a) Modernization must not change Social Security benefits 
for retirees or near-retirees;
    (b) The entire Social Security surplus must be dedicated to Social 
Security only;
    (c) Social Security payroll taxes must not be increased;
    (d) Government must not invest Social Security funds in the stock 
market;
    (e) Modernization must preserve Social Security's disability and 
survivors components; and
    (f) Modernization must include individually controlled, voluntary 
personal retirement accounts, which will augment the Social Security 
safety net.
    Sec. 4. Administration. (a) The Social Security Administration 
shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide administrative support 
and funding for the Commission.
    (b) Members of the Commission shall serve without any compensation 
for their work on the Commission. Members appointed from among private 
citizens of the United States, however, while engaged in the work of the 
Commission, may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 
of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently 
in Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), to the extent funds are 
available.
    (c) The Commission shall have a staff headed by an Executive 
Director, who shall be selected by the President. To the extent 
permitted by law, office space, analytical support, and additional staff 
support for the Commission shall be provided by executive branch 
departments and agencies as directed by the President.
    (d) The Commission shall receive input from and provide briefings to 
the Congress, by procedures determined by the President in consultation 
with the congressional leadership and the Commission. Public hearings 
shall be held at the call of the co-chairs, in consultation with the 
President.
    (e) The functions of the President under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, as amended, except for those in section 6 of that Act, 
that are applicable to the Commission, shall be performed by the Social 
Security Administration, in accordance with the guidelines that have 
been issued by the Administrator of General Services.
    Sec. 5. Reports. The Commission shall submit reports to the 
President as follows: (a) Interim Report. An interim report shall 
describe the challenges facing the Social Security system and the 
criteria by which the Commission will evaluate reform proposals. These 
criteria may include but are not limited to: solvency, sustainability, 
benefit adequacy, fair treatment across generations and demographic 
groups, total annual cost obligations, net impact on the Federal budget, 
impact upon national savings, impact on workforce participation, impact 
on employer-provided pension plans, rates of return, and protections 
against poverty.
    (b) Final Report. The final report will set forth the Commission's 
recommendations, in accordance with its stated mission in section 3 of 
this order, regarding how to strengthen Social Security with personal 
accounts. The Commission shall submit its final report during the fall 
of 2001. The submission date shall

[[Page 694]]

be determined by the co-chairs in consultation with the President.
    Sec. 6. Termination. The Commission shall terminate 30 days after 
submitting its final report.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 May 2, 2001.

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:58 a.m., May 3, 
2001]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on May 
4.