Amendments to Executive Order 13199 and Establishment of the President's Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Summary not available.
Amendments to Executive Order 13199 and Establishment of the President’s Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to strengthen the ability of faith-based and other neighborhood organizations to deliver services effectively in partnership with Federal, State, and local governments and with other private organizations, while preserving our fundamental constitutional commitments, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Amendments to Executive Order. Executive Order 13199 of January 29, 2001 (Establishment of White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives), is hereby amended:
(a) by striking section 1, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
“Section 1. Policy. Faith-based and other neighborhood organizations are vital to our Nation’s ability to address the needs of low-income and other underserved persons and communities. The American people are key drivers of fundamental change in our country, and few institutions are closer to the people than our faith-based and other neighborhood organizations. It is critical that the Federal Government strengthen the ability of such organizations and other nonprofit providers in our neighborhoods to deliver services effectively in partnership with Federal, State, and local governments and with other private organizations, while preserving our fundamental constitutional commitments guaranteeing the equal protection of the laws and the free exercise of religion and forbidding the establishment of religion. The Federal Government can preserve these fundamental commitments while empowering faith-based and neighborhood organizations to deliver vital services in our communities, from providing mentors and tutors to school children to giving ex-offenders a second chance at work and a responsible life to ensuring that families are fed. The Federal Government must also ensure that any organization receiving taxpayers’ dollars must be held accountable for its performance. Through rigorous evaluation, and by offering technical assistance, the Federal Government must ensure that organizations receiving Federal funds achieve measurable results in furtherance of valid public purposes.”
(b) by substituting “White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships” for “White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives” each time it appears in the order; and by substituting “Office” for “White House OFBCI” each time it appears in the order.
(c) in section 3, by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsections:
“(c) to ensure that services paid for with Federal Government funds are provided in a manner consistent with fundamental constitutional commitments guaranteeing the equal protection of the laws and the free exercise of religion and prohibiting laws respecting an establishment of religion;
(d) to promote effective training for persons providing federally funded social services in faith-based and neighborhood organizations;
(e) to promote the better use of program evaluation and research, in order to ensure that organizations deliver services as specified in grant agreements, contracts, memoranda of understanding, and other arrangements;”,
and renumbering the subsequent subsections of section 3 accordingly.
(d) in section 4, by striking the first sentence of subsection (b), and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "The Office shall have a staff to be headed by the Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (Executive Director)."