Executive Order 11603—Assigning Additional Functions to the Director of ACTION

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Peace Corps Act (75 Stat. 612, as amended; 22 U.S.C. 2501-2523) and section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

PART I—PEACE CORPS—DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS AND ALLOCATION OF FUNDS

SEC. 101. Authority. The Peace Corps, established as an agency in the Department of State pursuant to Executive Order No. 10924 of March 1, 1961 (26 F.R. 1789), and continued in existence in that Department under the Peace Corps Act (hereafter in this part referred to as the Act) pursuant to section 102 of Executive Order No. 11041 of August 6, 1962 (27 F.R. 7859), is hereby transferred to the agency created by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1971 and designated as ACTION. The Director of ACTION (hereinafter referred to as the Director) shall provide for its continuance under the Act as a component of that agency.

SEC. 102. Delegation of functions to the Director of ACTION. (a) Exclusive of the functions otherwise delegated or reserved to the President by this Order, and subject to the provisions of this Order, there are hereby delegated to the Director all functions conferred upon the President by the Act and Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1971.

(b) The function of determining the portion of living allowances constituting basic compensation, conferred upon the President by section 912(3) (D) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, is hereby delegated to the Director and shall be performed in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury.

(c) The functions of prescribing regulations and making determinations (relating to appointment of Peace Corps employees in the Foreign Service System) conferred upon the President by section 5 (b) of the Act, as amended (79 Stat. 551), are hereby delegated to the Director.

(d) The functions of prescribing conditions, conferred upon the President by the second sentence of section 5 (e) and the concluding phrase of section 6(3) of the Act (relating to providing health care in Government facilities) and hereinabove delegated to the Director, shall be exercised in consultation with the head of the United States Government agency responsible for the facility.

SEC. 103. Allocation and transfer of funds

(a) All funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the President for carrying out the provisions of the Act shall be deemed to be allocated without any further action of the President to the Director or to such subordinate officer as he may designate. The Director or such officer may allocate or transfer, as appropriate, any of such funds to any United States Government agency or part thereof for obligation or expenditures thereby consistent with applicable law.

SEC. 104. There is hereby delegated to the Secretary of State, with respect to laws administered by him, and to the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, with respect to the laws administered by the Commission, the function conferred upon the President by that portion of section 5 (f) (1) (B) of the Act which reads "except as otherwise determined by the President" (relating to disallowance of credit for service as a volunteer in determining rights of former volunteers under the Civil Service and Foreign Service Systems).

SEC. 105. (a) Nothing in this Order shall be deemed to impair or limit the powers or functions vested in the Secretary of State by the Act.

(b) The negotiation, conclusion, and termination of international agreements pursuant to the Act shall be under the direction of the Secretary of State.

(c) Any substantial change in policies in effect on the date of this Order for the utilization of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended, pursuant to section 7 of the Act, shall be coordinated with the Secretary of State.

PART II—RESERVED FUNCTIONS

SEC. 201. Reservation of functions to the President

There are hereby excluded from the delegation made by Part I of this Order the following-described powers and functions of the President:

(a) All authority conferred upon him by sections 4(b), 4(c)(2), 4(c)(3), 10(d), 11, 16(b), and 18 of the Act.

(b) The authority conferred upon him by section 4(a) of the Act to appoint the Director and the Deputy Director of the Peace Corps.

(c) The authority conferred upon him by that portion of section 5(f) (1) (B) of the Act which reads "except as otherwise determined by the President" except as otherwise provided in section 104 of this Order.

(d) The authority conferred upon him by section 10(f) of the Act to direct any agency of the United States Government to provide services, facilities, and commodities to officers carrying out functions under the Act.

(e) The authority conferred upon him by section 12 of the Act to appoint persons to membership in the Peace Corps National Advisory Council and to determine the length of service of the members of that Council.

(f) The authority conferred upon him by section 19 of the Act to adopt and alter an official seal or emblem of the Peace Corps.

(g) The authority conferred upon him by the first sentence of section 22 of the Act to establish standards and procedures for security investigations to the extent not inconsistent with the proviso of section 303(a) of this Order.

PART III—INCIDENTAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 301. Personnel. Persons appointed, employed, or assigned under section 7(a) of the Act shall not, unless otherwise agreed by the agency in which such benefits may be exercised, be entitled to the benefits provided by section 528 of the Foreign Service Act of 1946 in cases in which their service under the appointment, employment, or assignment exceeds thirty months.

SEC. 302. Determination. Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Act, it is hereby determined to be in furtherance of the purposes of the Act that functions authorized thereby may be performed without regard to the applicable laws specified in sections 1 and 2 and with or without consideration as specified in section 3 of Executive Order No. 11223 of May 12, 1965, but, except as may be inappropriate, subject to limitations set forth in that Order.

SEC. 303. Security requirements. (a) Pursuant to section 22 of the Act, the standards and procedures prescribed by Executive Order No. 10450 of April 27, 1953, are hereby established as the standards and procedures for the employment or assignment to duties of persons under the Act: Provided, That the Director may establish such additional standards and procedures with respect to the employment or assignment to duties of Volunteers as he may deem necessary to accomplish the purposes of the Act.

(b) Nothing in section 303(a) of this Part or in Executive Order No. 10450 or in any other Executive Order heretofore issued shall affect the exercise of the authority conferred upon the President by section 5 (i) of the Act.

SEC. 304. Definitions. As used in this Part, the words "Volunteers," "functions," "United States," and "United States Government agency" shall have the same meanings, respectively, as they have under the Act.

PART IV—NATIONAL VOLUNTARY ACTION PROGRAM

SEC. 401. The National Voluntary Action Program to encourage and stimulate more widespread and effective voluntary action for solving public domestic problems, established in the Executive Branch of the Government by section 1 of Executive Order No. 11470 of May 26, 1969, is hereby transferred to ACTION. That program shall supplement corresponding action by private and other non-Federal organizations such as the National Center for Voluntary Action. As used in PARTS IV and V of this Order, the term "voluntary action" means the contribution or application of non-governmental resources of all kinds (time, money, goods, services, and skills) by private and other organizations of all types (profit and nonprofit, national and local, occupational, and altruistic) and by individual citizens.

SEC. 402. In addition to the functions assigned to the Peace Corps National Advisory Council by section 12 of the Peace Corps Act, the Council shall, upon the request of the Director, advise and assist him with respect to any function assigned to him by Reorganization Plan No. 1 or this Order and, to the extent permitted by law, shall perform such other duties as the Director may from time to time prescribe. In addition to such duties, the Council shall—

(a) Promote more widespread reliance and recognition of voluntary activities within the Federal Government and in State and local governments.

(b) Advise and participate in the development of new Federal initiatives for encouraging voluntary action.

PART V—DIRECTOR OF ACTION

SEC. 501. In addition to the functions vested in him by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1971 and PARTS I—IV of this Order, the Director shall—

(a) Encourage local, national and international voluntary activities directed toward the solution or mitigation of community problems.

(b) Provide for the development and operation of a clearinghouse for information on Government programs designed to foster voluntary action.

(c) Initiate proposals for the greater and more effective application of voluntary action in connection with Federal programs, and coordinate, as consistent with law, Federal activities involving such action.

(d) Make grants of seed money, as authorized by law, for stimulating the development or deployment of innovative voluntary action programs directed toward community problems.

SEC. 502. (a) The head of each Federal department and agency, or a representative designated by him, when so requested by the Director, shall, to the extent permitted by law and funds available, furnish information and assistance, and participate in all ways appropriate to carry out the objectives of this Order and Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1971.

(b) The head of each Federal department or agency shall, when so requested by the Director, designate a senior official to have primary and continuing responsibility for the participation and cooperation of that department or agency in matters concerning voluntary action.

(c) The head of each Federal department or agency, or his designated representative, shall keep the Director informed of all proposed budgets, plans, and programs of his department or agency affecting the voluntary action program.

PART VI—GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 601. Except as may for any reason be inappropriate—

(a) References in this Order to (1) "the Peace Corps Act" or "the Act," (2) any other act, or (3) any provision thereof shall be deemed to include references thereto, respectively, as amended from time to time.

(b) References in this Order, or in any other Executive Order, to this Order or to any provision thereof shall be deemed to include references thereto, respectively, as amended from time to time.

(c) References in this Order to any prior Executive Order not superseded by this Order shall be deemed to include references thereto as amended from time to time.

SEC. 602. Except to the extent that they may be inconsistent with this Order, all determinations, authorizations, regulations, rulings, certifications, orders, directives, contracts, agreements, and other actions made, issued, or entered into with respect to any function affected by this Order and not revoked, superseded, or otherwise made inapplicable before the date of this Order shall continue in full force and effect until amended, modified, or terminated by appropriate authority.

SEC. 603. Nothing in this Order shall be construed as subjecting any department, establishment, or other instrumentality of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government or the head thereof, or any function vested by law in or assigned pursuant to law to any such agency or head, to the authority of any other such agency or head or as abrogating, modifying, or restricting any such function in any manner.

SEC. 604. (a) To the extent permitted by law, so much of the personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, available, or to be made available in connection with the functions transferred to the Director or to ACTION by this Order as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine shall be transferred to ACTION at such time or times as the latter Director shall direct.

(b) To the extent permitted by law, such further measures and dispositions as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall deem to be necessary in order to effectuate the provisions of this Order shall be carried out in such manner as he shall direct and by such agencies as he shall designate.

(c) The authority conferred by subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall supplement, not limit, the provisions of section 103 of this Order.

SEC. 605. Executive Order Nos. 11041, 11250, and 11470 are hereby superseded.

SEC. 606. The Order shall become effective on July 1, 1971.

RICHARD NIXON

The White House

June 30, 1971