[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 35 (Monday, August 30, 2004)]
[Pages 1694-1696]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Executive Order 13353--Establishing the President's Board on
Safeguarding Americans' Civil Liberties
August 27, 2004
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
strengthen protections for the rights of Americans in the effective
performance of national security and homeland security functions, it is
hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. The United States Government has a solemn
obligation, and shall continue fully, to protect the legal rights of all
Americans, including freedoms, civil liberties, and information privacy
guaranteed by Federal law, in the effective performance of national
security and homeland security functions.
Sec. 2. Establishment of Board. To advance the policy set forth in
section 1 of this order (Policy), there is hereby established the
President's Board on Safeguarding Americans' Civil Liberties (Board).
The Board shall be part of the Department of Justice for administrative
purposes.
Sec. 3. Functions. The Board shall:
(a) (i) advise the President on effective means to implement
the Policy, and (ii) keep the President informed of the
implementation of the Policy;
(b) periodically request reports from Federal departments and
agencies relating to policies and procedures that ensure
implementation of the Policy;
(c) recommend to the President policies, guidelines and other
administrative actions, technologies, and legislation, as
necessary to implement the Policy;
(d) at the request of the head of any Federal department or
agency, unless the Chair, after consultation with the Vice
Chair, declines the request, promptly review and provide
advice on a policy or action of that department or agency
that implicates the Policy;
(e) obtain information and advice relating to the Policy from
representatives of entities or individuals outside the
executive branch of the Federal Government in a manner that
seeks their individual advice and does not involve
collective judgment or consensus advice or deliberation;
(f) refer, consistent with section 535 of title 28, United
States Code, credible information pertaining to possible
violations of law relating to the Policy by any Federal
employee or official to the appropriate office for prompt
investigation;
(g) take steps to enhance cooperation and coordination among
Federal departments and agencies in the implementation of
the Policy, including but not limited to working with the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget and other
officers of the United States to review and assist in
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the coordination of guidelines and policies concerning
national security and homeland security efforts, such as
information collection and sharing; and
(h) undertake other efforts to protect the legal rights of all
Americans, including freedoms, civil liberties, and
information privacy guaranteed by Federal law, as the
President may direct.
Upon the recommendation of the Board, the Attorney General or the
Secretary of Homeland Security may establish one or more committees that
include individuals from outside the executive branch of the Federal
Government, in accordance with applicable law, to advise the Board on
specific issues relating to the Policy. Any such committee shall carry
out its functions separately from the Board.
Sec. 4. Membership and Operation. The Board shall consist
exclusively of the following:
(a) the Deputy Attorney General, who shall serve as Chair;
(b) the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security,
Department of Homeland Security, who shall serve as Vice
Chair;
(c) the Assistant Attorney General (Civil Rights Division);
(d) the Assistant Attorney General (Office of Legal Policy);
(e) the Counsel for Intelligence Policy, Department of Justice;
(f) the Chair of the Privacy Council, Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
(g) the Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis,
Department of Homeland Security;
(h) the Assistant Secretary (Policy), Directorate of Border and
Transportation Security, Department of Homeland Security;
(i) the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties,
Department of Homeland Security;
(j) the Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security;
(k) the Under Secretary for Enforcement, Department of the
Treasury;
(l) the Assistant Secretary (Terrorist Financing), Department
of the Treasury;
(m) the General Counsel, Office of Management and Budget;
(n) the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Community
Management;
(o) the General Counsel, Central Intelligence Agency;
(p) the General Counsel, National Security Agency;
(q) the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence;
(r) the General Counsel of the Department of Defense;
(s) the Legal Adviser, Department of State;
(t) the Director, Terrorist Threat Integration Center; and
(u) such other officers of the United States as the Deputy
Attorney General may from time to time designate.
A member of the Board may designate, to perform the Board or Board
subgroup functions of the member, any person who is part of such
member's department or agency and who is either (i) an officer of the
United States appointed by the President, or (ii) a member of the Senior
Executive Service or the Senior Intelligence Service. The Chair, after
consultation with the Vice Chair, shall convene and preside at meetings
of the Board, determine its agenda, direct its work, and, as appropriate
to deal with particular subject matters, establish and direct subgroups
of the Board that shall consist exclusively of members of the Board. The
Chair may invite, in his discretion, officers or employees of other
departments or agencies to participate in the work of the Board. The
Chair shall convene the first meeting of the Board within 20 days after
the date of this order and shall thereafter convene meetings of the
Board at such times as the Chair, after consultation with the Vice
Chair, deems appropriate. The Deputy Attorney General shall designate an
official of the Department of Justice to serve as the Executive Director
of the Board.
Sec. 5. Cooperation. To the extent permitted by law, all Federal
departments and
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agencies shall cooperate with the Board and provide the Board with such
information, support, and assistance as the Board, through the Chair,
may request.
Sec. 6. Administration. Consistent with applicable law and subject
to the availability of appropriations, the Department of Justice shall
provide the funding and administrative support for the Board necessary
to implement this order.
Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) This order shall not be construed to
impair or otherwise affect the authorities of any department, agency,
instrumentality, officer, or employee of the United States under
applicable law, including the functions of the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative
proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented in a manner consistent with
applicable laws and Executive Orders concerning protection of
information, including those for the protection of intelligence sources
and methods, law enforcement information, and classified national
security information, and the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C.
552a).
(c) This order is intended only to improve the internal management
of the Federal Government 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, or any of its
departments, agencies, instrumentalities, entities, officers, employees,
or agents, or any other person.
George W. Bush
The White House,
August 27, 2004.
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., August 31,
2004]
Note: This Executive order will be published in the Federal Register on
September 1.