[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 44 (Monday, November 7, 2005)]
[Pages 1632-1634]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13389--Creation of the Gulf Coast Recovery and 
Rebuilding Council

November 1, 2005

    By the authority vested in me as President of the United States by 
the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. 5121-5206) (the ``Stafford Act''), and in order to 
further strengthen Federal support for the recovery and rebuilding of 
the Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, 
it is hereby ordered as follows:
    Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to provide 
effective, integrated, and fiscally responsible support from across the 
Federal Government to support State, local, and tribal governments, the 
private sector, and faith-based and other community humanitarian relief 
organizations in the recovery and rebuilding of the Gulf Coast region 
affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.
    Sec. 2. Establishment. (a) There is established, within the 
Executive Office of the President, the Gulf Coast Recovery and 
Rebuilding Council (the ``Council''). The Assistant to the President for 
Economic Policy shall serve as the Chairman of the Council (the 
``Chairman''). The Council shall consist exclusively of the following 
members or full-time Federal officers or employees designated by them, 
respectively:

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    (i) Secretary of the Treasury;
    (ii) Secretary of Defense;
    (iii) Attorney General;
    (iv) Secretary of the Interior;
    (v) Secretary of Agriculture;
    (vi) Secretary of Commerce;
    (vii) Secretary of Labor;
    (viii) Secretary of Health and Human Services;
    (ix) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
    (x) Secretary of Transportation;
    (xi) Secretary of Energy;
    (xii) Secretary of Education;
    (xiii) Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
    (xiv) Secretary of Homeland Security;
    (xv) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
    (xvi) Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers;
    (xvii) Administrator of the Small Business Administration;
    (xviii) Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
    (xix) Coordinator of Federal Support for the Recovery and Rebuilding 
of the Gulf Coast Region;
    (xx) Assistant to the President for Economic Policy;
    (xxi) Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy;
    (xxii) Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and 
Counterterrorism; and
    (xxiii) Such other officers and employees of the executive branch as 
the Chairman may from time to time designate.
    (b) The Chairman, in consultation with the Coordinator, shall 
convene and preside over meetings of the Council, determine its agenda, 
direct its work, and, as appropriate to particular subject matters, 
establish and direct subgroups of the Council, which shall consist of 
Council members or their designees under subsection 2(a) of this order, 
and including those officers and employees of the executive branch as 
designated by the Chairman.
    Sec. 3. Functions of Council. The Council shall:
    (a) at the request of the Chairman, the Coordinator of Federal 
Support for the Recovery and Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast Region, or any 
agency head who is a member of the Council (subject to the approval of 
the Chairman), promptly review and provide advice and guidance, for the 
purpose of furthering the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, 
regarding any issue relating to the implementation of that policy;
    (b) make recommendations to the President, as appropriate, regarding 
any issue considered by the Council pursuant to section 3(a) of this 
order; and
    (c) give no vote or veto over the activities or advice of the 
Council to any individual to whom subsection (b) of this section refers.
    Sec. 4. General. (a) To the extent permitted by law:
    (i) agencies shall assist and provide information to the Council for 
the performance of its functions under this order; and
    (ii) the Director of the Office of Administration shall provide or 
arrange for the provision of administrative support to the Council.
    (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
affect the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals.
    (c) This order shall be implemented in a manner consistent with 
applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
    (d) This order is intended only to improve the internal management 
of the executive branch and is not intended to, and does not, create any 
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in 
equity by a party against the United States, its departments, agencies, 
instrumentalities, or entities, its officers or employees, or any other 
person.
    Sec. 5. Termination. The Council shall terminate 3 years from the 
date of this order, unless extended by the President.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 November 1, 2005.

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., November 3, 
2005]

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

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