THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release January 15, 2001
EXECUTIVE ORDER
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FEDERAL INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE
ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, and in order to further the
revitalization of, and to improve prospects for the success of "home rule"
in the District of Columbia, the Nation's Capital, it is hereby ordered as
follows:
Section 1. Background and Policy. The District of Columbia is the
Nation's Capital, and the Federal Government is the largest employer,
landholder, and purchaser in the region. The Executive Office of the
President has established and main-tained an interest in fostering the
Federal relationship with the District of Columbia since 1963. This
Administration has long sought to strengthen the relationship between the
Federal Government and the District of Columbia by initiating a historic
restructuring of this relationship. At the request of the President, in
1995, the Federal D.C. Interagency Task Force, chaired by the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget, and directed by the Special Advisor to
the President and Executive Director of the Federal D.C. Interagency Task
Force, was created to revitalize the District of Columbia and improve
prospects for "home rule" to succeed in the Nation's Capital. The Federal
D.C. Interagency Task Force Office has worked with Federal agencies, the
Congress, and local officials to promote long-term financial stability,
economic growth, and opportunity for self-government for the District of
Columbia. In 1997, the President signed into law the National Capital
Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, under which the
Federal Government undertook certain responsibilities and governmental
functions befitting a State or county government. Also in 1997, the
President signed into law tax incentives designed to spur economic growth
in the District of Columbia.
It is the policy of this Administration, therefore, to build on the
momentum of the accomplishments over the last 5 years by formally
establishing the Federal D.C. Interagency Task Force to further assist the
District of Columbia in achieving financial stability, economic growth, and
improvement in management and service delivery.
Sec. 2. Establishment of the Federal Interagency Task Force on the
District of Columbia.
(a) There is established the "Federal Interagency Task Force on the
District of Columbia" (Task Force).
(b) The Task Force shall be composed of the following members:
(1) The Attorney General;
(2) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(3) The Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(4) The Secretary of Labor;
(5) The Secretary of Transportation;
(6) The Secretary of the Treasury;
(7) The Administrator of General Services;
(8) The Secretary of Education;
(9) The Secretary of the Interior;
(10) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(11) The Secretary of Commerce;
(12) The Secretary of Agriculture;
(13) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(14) The Administrator of the Small Business Administration;
(15) The Commissioner of the Social Security;
(16) The Secretary of Energy;
(17) The Director of the Office of Personnel Management; and
(18) Such other members as the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget may provide (including the Director of
the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, which
office is located in the Department of Justice.)
(c) The Task Force shall be chaired by the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget (Director). The Director may appoint an Assistant
Director or other senior official to assist in the management of the Task
Force.
(d) The Office of Management and Budget shall provide administrative
support for the Task Force. To the extent permitted by law, other
executive departments and agencies may provide such staff, resources, and
information as may be required in carrying out the provisions of this
order.
(e) The Director shall develop, review, modify, and, as appropriate,
implement program recommendations, in cooperation with the appropriate
elected Federal and local officials and agencies, to promote long-term
financial stability, economic growth, and opportunity for self-government
for the District of Columbia.
(f) To the extent permitted by law, the Task Force staff shall
communicate with Federal and local elected officials as early in program
planning cycles as reasonably feasible, to develop and explain specific
Federal and local plans and program actions.
Sec. 3. Purpose. The purpose of the Interagency Task Force will be to
coordinate and better leverage Administration efforts and initiatives for
the District of Columbia in concert with
local and regional initiatives to improve the long-term financial stability
of the Nation's Capital and to improve self-governance. The Director's
designee shall serve as liaison between the executive branch and the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government of the District
of Columbia, as well as the private sector.
Sec. 4. Responsibilities. To the extent permitted by law, the
Interagency Task Force shall:
(a) formulate and recommend interagency compacts and cooperative
agreements between Federal agencies and the District of Columbia;
(b) develop, on a continuing basis, a comprehensive and coordinated
plan to establish priorities to promote long-term financial stability,
economic growth, and opportunity for self-government for the District of
Columbia;
(c) provide for an understanding by the public of the needs and
assets of the District of Columbia;
(d) support District efforts to encourage economic growth in the
District of Columbia;
(e) serve as the focal point and coordinating unit for Federal
programs, technical assistance, and other support for the District of
Columbia; and
(f) provide a forum for consideration of problems within the District
of Columbia and propose and effectuate solutions.
Sec. 5. Assistance to Economically Distressed Areas. Members of the
Task Force, to the extent permitted by law and within existing budgetary
resources, shall provide targeted assistance to economically distressed
areas within the District of Columbia and to projects that require economic
development assistance. To the extent permitted by law, members of the
Task Force shall also participate in comprehensive neighborhood
revitalization initiatives requiring Federal assistance, including programs
organized by the government of the District of Columbia, and collaborative
efforts organized by private organizations, such as the Anacostia Best
Practices initiative.
Sec. 6. Local Accommodation. To the extent permitted by law, the
Federal Interagency Task Force shall make efforts to accommodate the
concerns of local elected officials in proposing Federal technical or other
assistance.
Sec. 7. Judicial Review. This order does not create any right or
benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by law against the United
States, its officers, its employees, or any other person.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 15, 2001.
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