Executive Order 12008—Presidential Management Intern Program

By virtue of the authority vested in me by Sections 3301 and 3302 of Title 5 of the United States Code, Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

SECTION 1. There is hereby established the Presidential Management Intern Program, hereafter referred to as the Program, the purpose of which is to attract to Federal service men and women of exceptional management potential who have received special training in planning and managing public programs and policies.

SEC. 2. Outstanding individuals who have pursued a course of study oriented toward public management at a graduate level educational institution and who, at the time of application, have recently received or will shortly receive an appropriate advanced degree, are eligible to apply for participation in the Program.

SEC. 3. The United States Civil Service Commission, hereafter referred to as the Commission, shall develop appropriate procedures for the recruitment, screening, and selection of applicants possessing the qualifications described in Section 2 of this order. In developing these procedures, the Commission shall be guided by the following principles and policies:

(a) The number of interns participating in the Program shall at no time exceed five hundred.

(b) Final selection of interns shall be made by the head of the department, agency, or component within the Executive Office of the President in which the intern is to be employed, or by the designee thereof.

(c) The procedures so developed shall provide for such affirmative action as the Commission deems appropriate to assure equal employment opportunity.

(d) To the extent permitted by law, the Commission is authorized to enter into appropriate cooperative arrangements with State and local officials and appropriate private institutions for recruitment and screening of candidates for the Program.

SEC. 4. Upon selection, candidates shall be appointed as interns to positions in Schedule A of the excepted service for a period not to exceed two years. Their tenure shall be governed by the following principles and policies:

(a) Interns shall be assigned responsibilities consistent with their public management backgrounds and the purposes of this Program.

(b) Continuation in the Program shall be contingent upon satisfactory performance by the interns throughout the internship period.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Section, service as interns shall confer no rights to further Federal employment in either the competitive or excepted service upon expiration of the two year internship period.

(d) Interns may be granted competitive civil service status if they satisfactorily complete their two-year internships and meet all other requirements prescribed by the Commission.

SEC. 5. The Commission shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order.

JIMMY CARTER

The White House,

August 25, 1977.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:27 p.m., August 25, 1977]