By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to extend the Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 13045 of April 21, 1997, is amended by deleting in section 3-306 of that order “for a period of 4 years from the first meeting” and inserting in lieu thereof “for 6 years from the date of this order”.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.
Establishment. I hereby establish within the Executive Office of the President an Office of Homeland Security (the “Office”) to be headed by the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security.

Sec. 2.
Mission. The mission of the Office shall be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. The Office shall perform the functions necessary to carry out this mission, including the functions specified in section 3 of this order.

Sec. 3.
Functions. The functions of the Office shall be to coordinate the executive branch’s efforts to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States.

(a)National Strategy. The Office shall work with executive departments and agencies, State and local governments, and private entities to ensure the adequacy of the national strategy for detecting, preparing for, preventing, protecting against, responding to, and recovering from terrorist threats or attacks within the United States and shall periodically review and coordinate revisions to that strategy as necessary.

(b)Detection. The Office shall identify priorities and coordinate efforts for collection and analysis of information within the United States regarding threats of terrorism against the United States and activities of terrorists or terrorist groups within the United States. The Office also shall identify, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, priorities for collection of intelligence outside the United States regarding threats of terrorism within the United States.

(c)Preparedness. The Office of Homeland Security shall coordinate national efforts to prepare for and mitigate the consequences of terrorist threats or attacks within the United States. In performing this function, the Office shall work with Federal, State, and local agencies, and private entities, as appropriate, to:

(d)Prevention. The Office shall coordinate efforts to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States. In performing this function, the Office shall work with Federal, State, and local agencies, and private entities, as appropriate, to:

(f)Response and Recovery. The Office shall coordinate efforts to respond to and promote recovery from terrorist threats or attacks within the United States. In performing this function, the Office shall work with Federal, State, and local agencies, and private entities, as appropriate, to:

(g)Incident Management. The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security shall be the individual primarily responsible for coordinating the domestic response efforts of all departments and agencies in the event of an imminent terrorist threat and during and in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack within the United States and shall be the principal point of contact for and to the President with respect to coordination of such efforts. The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security shall coordinate with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, as appropriate.

(i)Public Affairs. The Office, subject to the direction of the White House Office of Communications, shall coordinate the strategy of the executive branch for communicating with the public in the event of a terrorist threat or attack within the United States. The Office also shall coordinate the development of programs for educating the public about the nature of terrorist threats and appropriate precautions and responses.

(j)Cooperation with State and Local Governments and Private Entities. The Office shall encourage and invite the participation of State and local governments and private entities, as appropriate, in carrying out the Office’s functions.

(k)Review of Legal Authorities and Development of Legislative Proposals. The Office shall coordinate a periodic review and assessment of the legal authorities available to executive departments and agencies to permit them to perform the functions described in this order. When the Office determines that such legal authorities are inadequate, the Office shall develop, in consultation with executive departments and agencies, proposals for presidential action and legislative proposals for submission to the Office of Management and Budget to enhance the ability of executive departments and agencies to perform those functions. The Office shall work with State and local governments in assessing the adequacy of their legal authorities to permit them to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, and recover from terrorist threats and attacks.

(l)Budget Review. The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (the “Director”) and the heads of executive departments and agencies, shall identify programs that contribute to the Administration’s strategy for homeland security and, in the development of the President’s annual budget submission, shall review and provide advice to the heads of departments and agencies for such programs. The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security shall provide advice to the Director on the level and use of funding in departments and agencies for homeland security-related activities and, prior to the Director’s forwarding of the proposed annual budget submission to the President for transmittal to the Congress, shall certify to the Director the funding levels that the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security believes are necessary and appropriate for the homeland security-related activities of the executive branch.

Sec. 4.
Administration.

(a) The Office of Homeland Security shall be directed by the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security.

(b) The Office of Administration within the Executive Office of the President shall provide the Office of Homeland Security with such personnel, funding, and administrative support, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, as directed by the Chief of Staff to carry out the provisions of this order.

(c) Heads of executive departments and agencies are authorized, to the extent permitted by law, to detail or assign personnel of such departments and agencies to the Office of Homeland Security upon request of the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, subject to the approval of the Chief of Staff.

Sec. 5.
Establishment of Homeland Security Council.

(a) I hereby establish a Homeland Security Council (the “Council”), which shall be responsible for advising and assisting the President with respect to all aspects of homeland security. The Council shall serve as the mechanism for ensuring coordination of homeland security-related activities of executive departments and agencies and effective development and implementation of homeland security policies.

the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of Central Intelligence, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, and such other officers of the executive branch as the President may from time to time designate. The Chief of Staff, the Chief of Staff to the Vice President, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Counsel to the President, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget also are invited to attend any Council meeting. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy shall be invited to attend meetings pertaining to their responsibilities. The heads of other executive departments and agencies and other senior officials shall be invited to attend Council meetings when appropriate.

(c) The Council shall meet at the President’s direction. When the President is absent from a meeting of the Council, at the President’s direction the Vice President may preside. The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security shall be responsible, at the President’s direction, for determining the agenda, ensuring that necessary papers are prepared, and recording Council actions and Presidential decisions.

Sec. 6.
Original Classification Authority. I hereby delegate the authority to classify information originally as Top Secret, in accordance with Executive Order 12958 or any successor Executive Order, to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security.

Sec. 7.
Continuing Authorities. This order does not alter the existing authorities of United States Government departments and agencies. All executive departments and agencies are directed to assist the Council and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security in carrying out the purposes of this order.

Sec. 8.
General Provisions.

(a) This order does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its departments, agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

(b) References in this order to State and local governments shall be construed to include tribal governments and United States territories and other possessions.

(c) References to the “United States” shall be construed to include United States territories and possessions.

Sec. 9.
Amendments to Executive Order 12656. Executive Order 12656 of November 18, 1988, as amended, is hereby further amended as follows:

(a) Section 101(a) is amended by adding at the end of the fourth sentence: “, except that the Homeland Security Council shall be responsible for administering such policy with respect to terrorist threats and attacks within the United States.”

(b) Section 104(a) is amended by adding at the end: “, except that the Homeland Security Council is the principal forum for consideration of policy relating to terrorist threats and attacks within the United States.”

(c) Section 104(b) is amended by inserting the words “and the Homeland Security Council” after the words “National Security Council.”

(d) The first sentence of section 104(c) is amended by inserting the words “and the Homeland Security Council” after the words “National Security Council.”

processes as the President may establish, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency also shall assist in the implementation of and management of those processes as the President may establish. The Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency also shall assist in the implementation of national security emergency preparedness policy by coordinating with the other Federal departments and agencies and with State and local governments, and by providing periodic reports to the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council on implementation of national security emergency preparedness policy.”

(f) Section 201(7) is amended by inserting the words “and the Homeland Security Council” after the words “National Security Council.”

(g) Section 206 is amended by inserting the words “and the Homeland Security Council” after the words “National Security Council.”

(h) Section 208 is amended by inserting the words “or the Homeland Security Council” after the words “National Security Council.”

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.
Policy. The education of all children, regardless of background or disability, while chiefly a State and local responsibility, must always be a national priority. One of the most important goals of my Administration is to support States and local communities in creating and maintaining a system of public education where no child is left behind. Unfortunately, among those at greatest risk of being left behind are children with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a landmark statute that asserts the rights of all children with disabilities to a free, appropriate public education. My Administration strongly supports the principles embodied in the IDEA and the goal of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities so that they can meet high academic standards and participate fully in American society. It is imperative that special education operate as an integral part of a system that expects high achievement of all children, rather than as a means of avoiding accountability for children who are more challenging to educate or who have fallen behind.

Sec. 2.
Establishment. There is established a President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education (the “Commission”). The Commission shall be composed of not more than 19 members to be appointed by the President from the public and private sectors, as well as up to 5 ex officio members from the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. The members may include current and former Federal, State, and local government officials, recognized special education experts, special and general education finance experts, education researchers, educational practitioners, parents of children or young adults with disabilities, persons with disabilities, and others with special experience and expertise in the education of children with disabilities. The President shall designate a Chairperson from among the members of the Commission. The Secretary of Education shall select an Executive Director for the Commission.

Sec. 3.
Duties and Commission Report. (a) The Commission shall collect information and study issues related to Federal, State, and local special education programs with the goal of recommending policies for improving the educational performance of students with disabilities. In furtherance of its duties, the Commission shall invite experts and members of the public to provide information and guidance.

(b) Not later than April 30, 2002, the Commission shall prepare and submit a report to the President outlining its findings and recommendations. The report shall include, but need not be limited to:

(1) An examination of available research and information on the effectiveness and cost of special education and the appropriate role of the Federal Government in special education programming and funding. The examination shall include an analysis of the factors that have contributed to the growth in costs of special education since the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (a predecessor of IDEA);

(2) Recommendations regarding how Federal resources can best be used to improve educational results for students with disabilities;

(4) An analysis of the impact of providing appropriate early intervention in reading instruction on the referral and identification of children for special education;

(5) An analysis of the effect of special education funding on decisions to serve, place, or refer children for special education services and recommendations for alternative funding formulae that might distribute funds to achieve better results and eliminate any current incentives that undermine the goals of ensuring that children with disabilities receive a high-quality education;

(6) An analysis of, and recommendations regarding, how the Federal Government can help States and local education agencies provide a high-quality education to students with disabilities, including the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel and the inclusion of children with disabilities in performance and accountability systems;

(7) An analysis of the impact of Federal and State statutory, regulatory, and administrative requirements on the cost and effectiveness of special education services, and how these requirements support or hinder the educational achievement of students with disabilities;

(8) An assessment of how differences in local educational agency size, location, demographics, and wealth, and in State law and practice affect which children are referred to special education, and the cost of special education; and

(9) A review of the experiences of State and local governments in financing special education, and an analysis of whether changes to the Federal “supplement not supplant” and “maintenance of effort” requirements are appropriate.

Sec. 4.
Administration, Compensation, and Termination.

(a) The Department of Education shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide administrative support and funding for the Commission. In addition, appropriate Federal agencies may designate staff to assist with the work of the Commission. To the extent permitted by law, Federal Government employees may be detailed to the Commission without reimbursement to the Federal agency.

(b) Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation but, while engaged in the work of the Commission, members appointed from among private citizens of the United States shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), to the extent funds are available for such purposes.

(c) The functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act that are applicable to the Commission, except that of reporting to the Congress, shall be performed by the Department of Education in accordance with the guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator of General Services.

(e) The Commission shall terminate 30 days after submitting its final report, unless extended by the President.