Executive Order
Establishment of White House Office of Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives
By the authority vested in me as President of the United States by
the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in
order to help the Federal Government coordinate a national effort to
expand opportunities for faith-based and other community organizations
and to strengthen their capacity to better meet social needs in
America's communities, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Faith-based and other community organizations are
indispensable in meeting the needs of poor Americans and distressed
neighborhoods. Government cannot be replaced by such organizations, but
it can and should welcome them as partners. The paramount goal is
compassionate results, and private and charitable community groups,
including religious ones, should have the fullest opportunity permitted
by law to compete on a level playing field, so long as they achieve
valid public purposes, such as curbing crime, conquering addiction,
strengthening families and neighborhoods, and overcoming poverty. This
delivery of social services must be results oriented and should value
the bedrock principles of pluralism, nondiscrimination, evenhandedness,
and neutrality.
Sec. 2. Establishment. There is established a White House Office of
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (White House OFBCI) within the
Executive Office of the President that will have lead responsibility in
the executive branch to establish policies, priorities, and objectives
for the Federal Government's comprehensive effort to enlist, equip,
enable, empower, and expand the work of faith-based and other community
organizations to the extent permitted by law.
Sec. 3. Functions. The principal functions of the White House OFBCI
are, to the extent permitted by law:
(a) to develop, lead, and coordinate the Administration's policy
agenda affecting faith-based and other community programs and
initiatives, expand the role of such efforts in communities, and
increase their capacity through executive action, legislation, Federal
and private funding, and regulatory relief;
(b) to ensure that Administration and Federal Government policy
decisions and programs are consistent with the President's stated goals
with respect to faith-based and other community initiatives;
(c) to help integrate the President's policy agenda affecting
faith-based and other community organizations across the Federal
Government;
(d) to coordinate public education activities designed to mobilize
public support for faith-based and community nonprofit initiatives
through volunteerism, special projects, demonstration pilots, and
public-private partnerships;
(e) to encourage private charitable giving to support faith-based and
community initiatives;
(f) to bring concerns, ideas, and policy options to the President for
assisting, strengthening, and replicating successful faith-based and
other community programs;
(g) to provide policy and legal education to State, local, and
community policymakers and public officials seeking ways to empower
faith-based and other community organizations and to improve the
opportunities, capacity, and expertise of such groups;
(h) to develop and implement strategic initiatives under the
President's agenda to strengthen the institutions of civil society and
America's families and communities;
(i) to showcase and herald innovative grassroots nonprofit
organizations and civic initiatives;
(j) to eliminate unnecessary legislative, regulatory, and other
bureaucratic barriers that impede effective faith-based and other
community efforts to solve social problems;
(k) to monitor implementation of the President's agenda affecting
faith-based and other community organizations; and
(l) to ensure that the efforts of faith-based and other community
organizations meet high standards of excellence and accountability.
Sec. 4. Administration.
(a) The White House OFBCI may function through established or ad hoc
committees, task forces, or interagency groups.
(b) The White House OFBCI shall have a staff to be headed by the
Assistant to the President for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
The White House OFBCI shall have such staff and other assistance, to the
extent permitted by law, as may be necessary to carry out the provisions
of this order. The White House OFBCI operations shall begin no later
than 30 days from the date of this order.
(c) The White House OFBCI shall coordinate with the liaison and point
of contact designated by each executive department and agency with
respect to this initiative.
(d) All executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall cooperate
with the White House OFBCI and provide such information, support, and
assistance to the White House OFBCI as it may request, to the extent
permitted by law.
(e) The agencies' actions directed by this Executive Order shall be
carried out subject to the availability of appropriations and to the
extent permitted by law.
Sec. 5. Judicial Review. 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 agencies or instrumentalities, its
officers or employees, or any other person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 29, 2001.
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