[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 19 (Monday, May 13, 2002)]
[Pages 774-775]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Designation of Officers of the Department of Health and 
Human Services

March 19, 2002

Memorandum for the Secretary of Health and Human Services

Subject: Designation of Officers of the Department of Health and Human 
Services

    By the authority vested in me as President under the Constitution 
and the laws of the United States of America and pursuant to the

[[Page 775]]

Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, 5 U.S.C. 3345 et seq., I hereby 
order that:
    Section 1. Order of Succession.
    During any period when the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(Secretary), the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the 
officers designated by Executive Order 13250 of December 28, 2001, to 
perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary have died, 
resigned, or otherwise become unable to perform the functions and duties 
of the office of Secretary, the following officers of the Department of 
Health and Human Services, in the order listed, shall perform the 
functions and duties of the office of Secretary, if they are eligible to 
act as Secretary under the provisions of the Federal Vacancies Reform 
Act of 1998, until such time as at least one of the officers mentioned 
above is able to perform the functions and duties of the office of 
Secretary:
    Director, Centers for Disease Control; and
    Secretary's Regional Representative, Atlanta, Georgia.
    Sec. 2. Exceptions.
    (a) No individual who is serving in an office listed in section 1 in 
an acting capacity, by virtue of so serving, shall act as Secretary 
pursuant to this memorandum.
    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this memorandum, the President 
retains discretion, to the extent permitted by the Federal Vacancies 
Reform Act of 1998, 5 U.S.C. 3345 et seq., to depart from this 
memorandum in designating an acting Secretary.
                                                George W. Bush

Note: This memorandum was released by the Office of the Press Secretary 
on May 9. An original was not available for verification of the content 
of this memorandum.