Executive Order 12640 --
The President's Committee on Employment of People With
Disabilities
By
virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws
of the United States of America, and in order to provide for the carrying out
of the provisions of the Joint Resolution approved July 11, 1949, ch. 302, 63 Stat. 409, as amended, and the provisions of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, P.L. 93 - 112, Section 501 (a) - (f), as
amended, it is ordered as follows:
Section 1. Establishment and
Composition of the President's Committee. (a) There is hereby
established the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
(hereinafter referred to as the Committee or as the President's Committee).
(b)
The Committee shall be composed of a Chairman and not more than four Vice
Chairmen, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the President,
and of so many other members as may be appointed thereto from time to time by
the Chairman of the President's Committee from among persons (including
representatives of organizations) who can contribute to the achievement of the
objectives of the Committee. Members appointed by the Chairman shall be
appointed for a term of 3 years and may be reappointed. The Chairman of the
President's Committee may at any time terminate the service of any member of
the President's Committee, except any member appointed by the President.
(c)
The Chairman of the President's Committee, upon the advice of the Executive
Committee (hereinafter provided for), may designate as, or invite to be,
associate members of the President's Committee any heads of Federal departments
or agencies that have responsibility for training and rehabilitation services
or advocate activities touching the field of interest of the Committee or that
are leading employers of individuals with disabilities.
(d)
Representatives of business, industry, labor, private organizations, public
agencies, other concerned organizations, and individuals with disabilities who
are not members may be invited to attend meetings of the Committee.
Sec. 2. Functions of the
Committee. The President's Committee shall provide advice and
information as to the development of maximum employment opportunities for
people who are physically disabled, mentally retarded, and mentally ill. To
this end the Committee shall advise the President as to information that can be
used by employers, labor unions, and national and international organizations,
suggest programs for public education, and suggest methods of enlisting cooperation
among organizations and agencies, Federal, State, and local officials,
Governors' and local Committees on Employment of People with Disabilities,
professional organizations, organized labor, and appropriate international
organizations. In carrying out these functions vested in it by the
Rehabilitation Act, as amended, the Committee shall be guided by the general
policies of the National Council on the Handicapped and shall work closely with
the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the Department of Health
and Human Services, the Veterans' Administration, State employment security
agencies, and State vocational rehabilitation agencies.
Sec. 3. Executive Committee.
(a) There is hereby established the Executive Committee of the President's
Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
The Executive Committee shall be composed of the Chairman of the President's
Committee, who shall also be the Chairman of the Executive Committee, the Vice
Chairman of the President's Committee, and so many additional members as will
provide an Executive Committee of not less than 15 and not more than 30
members. The said additional members shall be appointed for a term of 3 years
by the Chairman of the President's Committee from among the members of the
President's Committee or otherwise. The Chairman of the President's Committee
may at any time terminate the service of any member of the Executive Committee.
(b)
The Executive Committee shall advise and assist the Chairman of the President's
Committee in the conduct of the business of the President's Committee and, as
authorized by the President's Committee or the Chairman thereof (with due
regard for the responsibilities of other Federal agencies), shall study the
problems of people with disabilities in obtaining and retaining suitable
employment, invite authorities in the various professional, technical, and
other pertinent fields to advise it in the exploration of those problems, and
review plans and projects for advocating the employment of people with
disabilities.
Sec. 4. Advisory Council.
There is hereby established the Advisory Council on Employment of People with
Disabilities, which shall advise the President's Committee with respect to the
responsibilities of the Committee. The Council shall be composed of the
Chairman of the President's Committee, who shall also be the Chairman of the
Council, and of the following-named officers, or their respective alternates:
Secretary of State; Secretary of the Treasury; Secretary of Defense; The Attorney
General; Secretary of the Interior; Secretary of Agriculture; Secretary of
Commerce; Secretary of Labor; Secretary of Health and Human Services; Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development; Secretary of Transportation; Secretary of
Education; Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Administrator of
General Services; Director, Office of Personnel Management; Director, United
States Information Agency; Administrator of Veterans' Affairs; and The
Postmaster General.
Sec. 5. Administrative and
Incidental Matters. (a) The President's Committee, the Executive
Committee, and the Advisory Council shall each meet on call of the Chairman of
the President's Committee at a time and place designated by the Chairman. In
the case of the President's Committee and the Executive Committee, the Chairman
shall call at least one meeting and two meetings, respectively, to be held
during each calendar year.
(b)
In the absence of designation by the President, the Chairman of the President's
Committee may from time to time designate a Vice Chairman of the President's
Committee to be one or more of the following-named in the absence of the
Chairman: Acting Chairman of the President's Committee, Acting Chairman of the
Executive Committee, and Acting Chairman of the Advisory Council. The Chairman
of the President's Committee shall from time to time assign other duties to the
Vice Chairmen thereof.
(c)
The Chairman of the President's Committee shall on behalf of the President
direct the President's Committee and its functions.
(d)
The Chairman may from time to time prescribe such necessary rules, procedures,
and policies relating to the President's Committee, the Executive Committee,
and the Advisory Council, and to their affairs, as are not inconsistent with
law or with the provisions of this Order.
(e)
The Vice Chairmen shall advise and counsel the Committee and shall represent
the Committee on appropriate occasions.
(f)
All members (including the Chairman and Vice Chairmen) of the President's
Committee, the Executive Committee, and the Advisory Council shall serve
without compensation. The Chairman and the Vice Chairmen of the President's
Committee may receive transportation and per diem allowances as authorized by
law for persons serving without compensation. Persons with disabilities serving
as Chairman or Vice Chairmen may be compensated for attendant expenses,
consistent with government procedures and practices.
(g)
Employees of the President's Committee shall be appointed, subject to law, and
shall be directed by the Chairman of the Committee. To such extent as may be
mutually arranged by the Chairman of the Committee and the Secretary of Labor,
employees of the Committee shall be subject to the administrative rules,
regulations, and procedures of the Department of Labor.
(h)
The Department of Labor is requested to make available to the President's
Committee necessary office space and to furnish the Committee, under such
arrangements respecting financing as may be appropriate, necessary equipment, supplies,
and services. The estimates of appropriations for the operations of the
Committee shall be included within the framework of the appropriations
structure of the Department of Labor, in such manner as the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget may prescribe. The Chairman of the Committee,
in cooperation with the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management
of the Department of Labor, shall be responsible for the preparation and
justification of the estimates of appropriations for the Committee.
Sec. 6. Reporting. The
President's Committee shall report annually to the President, who may apprise
the Congress, and other interested organizations and individuals on the
progress and problems of maximizing employment opportunities for people with
disabilities.
Sec. 7. Prior Orders;
Transition. (a) To the extent that this Order is inconsistent with any
provision of any prior order, or with any provisions of any regulation or other
measure or disposition, heretofore issued, made, or taken by the President or
by any other officer of the Executive branch of the Government, this Order
shall control. Executive Order No. 11480 of
(b)
Without further action by the President or the Chairman of the Committee, all
members, employees, records, property, funds, and pending business of the
President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped provided for in
Executive Order No. 11480 of September 9, 1969, as amended, shall on the date
of this Order become members, employees, records, property, funds, and pending
business of the Committee established by this Order.
(c)
The tenure of persons as members of the Committee in pursuance of the
provisions of section 7(b) of this Order, (i), in the
case of persons appointed to the predecessor Committee by the President, shall
be at the pleasure of the President, and (ii), in the case of other members,
shall be for periods equal to their respective unexpired terms under Executive
Order No. 11480, as amended, but shall also be subject to the provisions of the
last sentence of Section 1(b) of this Order.
Ronald
Reagan
The
White House,
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,