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FOIA Number: 2012-0741-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Public Liaison
Series/Staff Member:
Alexis Herman
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
2651
FolderID:
Folder Title:
Presidential Memoranda
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S
29
4
7
1
FROM
ALEXIS HERMAN
BOX 7+8
STORAGE
1. CAMPAIGN FOR MILITARY SERVICE
2. GAYS IN THE MILITARY
7
3. PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDA
4. "WELCOME TO WASHINGTON DC"
5. BASE CLOSING TALKING POINTS
8
6. MLK, JR. FEDERAL HOLIDAY COMMISSION
7. RENEWING AMERICAN ENTERPRISE
ALEXIS HERMAN
BOX 5
STORAGE
1. CAMPAIGN FOR MILITARY SERVICE
2. GAYS IN THE MILITARY
3. PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDA
4. "WELCOME TO WASHINGTON DC"
5. BASE CLOSING TALKING POINTS
6. MLK, JR. FEDERAL HOLIDAY COMMISSION
7. RENEWING AMERICAN ENTERPRISE
PRESIDENTIAL
MEMORANDA
PRESIDENTIAL MEMOS
by date
ALEXIS M. HERMAN
OFFICE OF PUBLIC LIAISON
000962
Document No.
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
01/28/93
10:00 A.M. 01/29
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
LABOR EXECUTIVE ORDERS
SUBJECT:
few about
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
PASTER
McLARTY
RASCO
GEARAN
RUBIN
PANETTA
SEGAL
EMMANUEL
STEPHANOPOULOS
GIBBONS
VARNEY
HALE
WATKINS
HERMAN
WILLIAMS
LAKE
CLERK
LINDSEY
MONTOYA
NUSSBAUM
REMARKS:
Secertary Reich has asked that the attached Executive Orders be
signed the the President ASAP. They have been approved by OMB and DOJ
Office of Legal Counsel. Please provide comments directly to me by
10:00 a.m., 01/29. I have also attached for comments a aproposed
Presidential statement which the Labor Department has drafted.
RESPONSE:
JOHN D. PODESTA
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
January 28, 1993
MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
Robert B. Reich
Secretary of Labor
SUBJECT:
Executive Orders Concerning Federal Contracting
and Posting of Workplace Notices
The attached executive orders fulfill promises that
you made during the campaign in response to concerns expressed
to you by representatives of organized labor. These concerns
stemmed from eleventh hour political actions taken by the Bush
Administration prior to the election in 1992 to appease anti-
union interests.
The first of the proposed executive orders would
undo a Bush Administration directive that unfairly excludes
contractors who rely on labor arranged through "project
agreements" from bidding on federal construction contracts.
These project agreements have long been recognized as valid
and appropriate under federal labor law, and these agreements
promote adherence to proper labor standards, safe working
conditions, and more predictable costs for completing projects
in a timely manner.
The second proposed order rescinds a policy that
requires federal contractors to place notices informing
workers that they are not required to join or support a union.
This is a blatantly one-sided, anti-union directive since it
omits any requirement that contractors notify workers of any
of their other rights protected by the National Labor
Relations Act, such as the right to organize and bargain
collectively.
Both these orders address problems that need to be
resolved immediately.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503
January 28, 1993
THE DIRECTOR
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
JUAN20 P4:41
FROM:
Leon E. Panetta
Director
SUBJECT:
Proposed Executive Order Entitled "Revocation of
Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal
Contracting"
SUMMARY: This forwards for your consideration a proposed
Executive order drafted at the request of the Secretary of
Labor. The proposed order would revoke two Executive Orders
that interfere with the collective bargaining process on
certain federal contracts.
BACKGROUND: Executive Order No. 12818 (October 23, 1992)
prohibits contractors that have entered into project agreements
with unions from bidding on federal construction contracts.
Project agreements are a special form of collective bargaining
agreement common to the construction industry. Such agreements
establish labor standards for work prior to the hiring of
workers and selection of a contractor for a project. Under
such an agreement, the union refers workers to staff the
employer's project subject to the conditions of the project
agreement. A project agreement allows contractors to know
their costs before bidding, assures a stable supply of skilled
workers, and assures workers of safe working conditions. The
proposed order would revoke Executive Order No. 12818, thus
allowing such project agreements for federal construction
contracts.
Executive Order No. 12800 (April 13, 1992) requires all
unionized government contractors to post a notice in the
workplace informing employees of their right under the National
Labor Relations Act not to join or support a union. It
authorizes the Secretary of Labor to-promulgate enforcement
regulations and to pursue debarment proceedings against federal
contractors who violate the order. However, the matter of such
a notice concerns the regulatory implementation of the Supreme
Court's decision in Beck V. Communications Workers of America.
Such implementation is typically a subject for the National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The proposed order would revoke
Executive Order No. 12800, terminating the requirement for
posting of the notice, and leaving the matter to the NLRB.
RECOMMENDATION: I recommend that you sign the proposed
Executive order.
EXECUTIVE ORDER
REVOCATION OF CERTAIN EXECUTIVE ORDERS
CONCERNING FEDERAL CONTRACTING
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and
in order to eliminate Executive orders that do not serve the
public interest, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Executive Order No. 12818 of October 23, 1992
(prohibiting the use of project agreements on federal
construction contracts), and Executive Order No. 12800 of April
13, 1992 (requiring federal contractors to post a notice that
workers are not required to join unions) are revoked.
Sec. 2. The heads of executive agencies shall promptly
revoke any orders, rules or regulations implementing Executive
Order No. 12818 of October 23, 1992, or Executive Order No.
12800 of April 13, 1992, to the extent consistent with law.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
JANUARY , 1993
STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT
Today I am taking two actions to restore a needed balance in America's workplace. I
believe that these steps, by reducing unnecessary federal government intrusion into workplace
relations. ultimately will promote the shared goals of American workers and management and
strengthen the ability of this country's businesses and industry to compete in the world
economy.
Revocation Of Executive Order No. 12818
First, I am revoking Executive Order No. 12818. This Order, issued on October 23,
1992 by President Bush, prohibits contractors that have entered into project agreements with
unions from bidding on federal construction contracts. American taxpayers and the federal
government are not well-served by this restriction. Such agreements establish labor
standards for work early in the process. They reduce instances of cost overruns by
permitting contract bidders to make more reliable cost estimates before bidding. They
increase completion of projects in a timely manner by assuring a stable supply of skilled
workers. And they promote safe working conditions. By revoking Exccutive Order
No. 12818 today, such project agreements will again be allowed in federal construction
contracts.
Revocation Of Executive Order No. 12800
Second, I am revoking Executive Order No 12800, issued on April 13. 1992. This
Order required unionized federal contractors to post d notice in the workplace that workers
are not required to join or support a union and threatened sanctions against contractors who
did not comply. The effect of this Order was distinctly antiunion as it did not require
contractors to notify workers of any of their other rights protected by the National Labor
Relations Act, such as the right to organize and bargain collectively. By revoking this
Order, I today end the government's role in promoting this one-sided version of workplace
rights.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 24, 1993
MEMORANDUM FOR:
ALEXIS HERMAN
RAHM EMANUEL
REGINA MONTOYA
CAROL RASCO
ROY NEEL
FROM:
JOHN PODESTA PDP/TOI
SUBJECT:
National Economic Council
The President is scheduled to sign the Executive Order
establishing the National Economic Council tomorrow. I have
attached a memo prepared by Mark Gearan on the composition of the
Council, which recommends that Option 4 be followed, together
with an earlier draft of the Executive Order, which contemplated
a larger membership -- the most recent Order includes the smaller
list that appears on page 2 of the memo.
Please get back to me or Todd Stern as soon as possible with your
comments on that recommendation and on the attached draft Order.
To:
Mack McLarty
From:
Mark D. Gearan mg
Date:
January 23, 1993
Subject:
Composition of the National Economic Council
Background
The initial draft of the Executive Order establishing the
National Economic Council has been written and we plan to
finalize the document by Monday. We need to make recommendations
to the President as to who should serve on the Council and how we
i
should announce the membership. The Executive Order, as
currently drafted, outlines the membership in a section of the
Order.
As you know, this decision is especially important since the
President plans to sign the Executive Order on Monday, and since
the work of the Councils will be a major topic of discussion at
the Cabinet Retreat.
Objectives in Membership
There are a number of issues to consider as we develop
recommendations for the composition of the National Economic
Council:
*
representation of all key economic agencies;
*
appropriate representation of non-economic agencies with
substantial economic impact;
workability of the group, with respect to capacity for
making decisions, etc.;
*
composition of successful similar groups such as the NSC;
*
political representation which will ensure that all
relevant players are vested in the work of the Council.
NEC Membership Options:
The list currently outlined in the Executive Order includes
the following people:
-President
-Vice President
-Secretary of State
-Secretary of the Treasury
-Secretary of Commerce
-Secretary of Labor
-Secretary of Energy
-Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors
-Director of OMB
-U.S. Trade Representative
-Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
-Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
-Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
-National Security Advisor
I think this group meets most of our objectives. However,
we need to consider whether or not we should expand the group to
address a broader range of issues which have substantial impact
on the economy but are not directly related. Suggestions
include:
-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
-Secretary of Health and Human Services
:
-Secretary of Transportation
-Secretary of Agriculture
-Secretary of Education
Option #1: Current Draft
Use the current draft of the list with no additions. This
will keep the group small [twelve plus President and Vice
President], possibly improving its ability to make decisions.
The drawback of making no additions is the resistance of
Cabinet members and other political forces who will feel that
they should be included and that their exclusion is de facto de-
prioritization of their work.
The membership under this option would include:
-President
-Vice President
-Secretary of State
-Secretary of the Treasury
-Secretary of Commerce
-Secretary of Labor
-Secretary of Energy
-Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors
-Director of OMB
-U.S. Trade Representative
-Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
-Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
-Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
-National Security Advisor
Option #2: Add Appropriate Cabinet Members
Add on all of the Cabinet members listed above as possible
concerns. This would vest more interests in the decision-making,
which could help when it is time to implement the NEC's
strategies. However, this is a "slippery slope" as we may end up
with requests from other Cabinet or Agency officials demanding
representation.
The membership under this option would include:
-President
-Vice President
-Secretary of State
-Secretary of the Treasury
-Secretary of Commerce
-Secretary of Labor
-Secretary of Energy
-Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors
-Director of OMB
-U.S. Trade Representative
-Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
-Assistant to the President for Economic Policy
-Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
-National Security Advisor
-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
-Secretary of Health and Human Services
-Secretary of Transportation
-Secretary of Agriculture
-Secretary of Education
Option #3: Add All Interested Parties, Work Through Executive
Committee
Add on all interested parties, but handle primary
responsibilities of the NEC through an Executive Committee.
While this has the advantage of inclusion, this is somewhat of a
bureaucratic device which often frustrates members who want to
play an active role but who are not on the Executive Committee.
Option #4: Provide for Ad Hoc Membership As Needed
One way to strike the balance between inclusion and
excessive membership may be to provide for ad hoc appointment by
the President to address specific issues of economic planning.
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, for example,
could be added to address community reinvestment and rebuilding
cities. The Executive Order could be drafted to include an
example, which will allay the concerns of interest groups groping
for representation on the Council.
Option #5: Delay Release of Names
Finally, we could recommend that the Executive Order leave
membership of the group at the President's discretion and say
nothing further. This would allow us the consider the membership
further and announce it separately sometime later in the week.
This might also provide the President with more administrative
flexibility to alter the membership as he sees fit.
Recommendation
I recommend Option #4, providing for ad hoc membership on
the Council. This will provide the President with the most
flexibility for appropriate representation on the Council. I
have spoken with Bob Rubin and he shares this sentiment.
CC: Hillary Rodham Clinton
Bruce Lindsey
Bob Rubin
George Stephanopoulos
EXECUTIVE ORDER
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,
including sections 105, 107, and 301 of title 3, United States
Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Establishment. There is established the
National Economic Council ("the Council").
Sec. 2. Membership. The Council shall comprise the:
(a) President, who shall serve as Chairman of the
Council;
(b) Vice President;
(c) Secretary of State;
(d) Secretary of the Treasury;
(e) Secretary of Agriculture;
(f) Secretary of Commerce;
(g) Secretary of Labor;
(h) Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(i) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(j) Secretary of Transportation;
(k) Secretary of Energy;
(1) Secretary of Education;
(m) Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(n) Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers;
(o) United States Trade Representative;
(p) Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs;
(q) Assistant to the President for Economic Policy;
(r) Assistant to the President for destic Policy;
(s) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
and
(t) Such other officials of Executive departments and
agencies as the President may, from time to time, designate.
Sec. 3. Meetings of the Council. The President, or upon
his direction, the Assistant to the President for Economic
Policy ("the Assistant"), may convene meetings of the Council.
The President shall preside over the meetings of the Council,
provided that in his absence the Assistant will preside.
Sec. 4. Functions. (a) The principal functions of the
Council are to: (1) coordinate the economic policy-making
process with respect to domestic and international economic
issues; (2) coordinate economic policy advice to the President;
(3) ensure that economic policy decisions and programs are
consistent with the President's stated goals and ensure that
those goals are being effectively pursued; and (4) monitor
implementation of the President's economic policy agenda. The
Assistant may take such actions, including drafting a Charter,
as may be necessary or appropriate to implement such functions.
(b) All Executive departments and agencies, whether or
not represented on the Council, shall coordinate economic
policy through the Council.
(c) In performing the foregoing functions, the Assistant
will, when appropriate, work in conjunction with the Assistant
to the President for Domestic Policy and the Assistant to the
President for National Security Affairs.
(d) The Secretary of the Treasury will continue to be the
senior economic official in the Executive branch and the
President's chief economic spokesperson. The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget, as the President's principal
budget spokesperson, will continue to be the senior budget
official in the Executive branch. The Council of Economic
Advisers will continue its traditional analytic, forecasting,
and advisory functions.
Sec. 5. Administration. (a) The Council may function
through established or ad hoc committee
task forces or
interagency groups.
(b) The Council shall have a staff to be headed by the
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. The Council
shall have such staff and other assistance as may be necessary
to carry out the provisions of this order.
(c) All Executive departments and agencies shall
cooperate with the Council and provide such assistance,
information, and advice to the Council as the Council may
request, to the extent permitted by law.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
THE WHITE HOUSE
file
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 25, 1993
EXECUTIVE ORDER
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL
By the authority vested in me as President of the
United States by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States of America, including sections 105, 107, and
301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered
as follows:
Section 1. Establishment. There is established the
National Economic Council ("the Council").
Sec. 2. Membership. The Council shall comprise the:
(a) President, who shall serve as Chairman of the Council;
(b) Vice President;
(c) Secretary of State;
(d) Secretary of the Treasury;
(e) Secretary of Agriculture;
(f) Secretary of Commerce;
(g) Secretary of Labor;
(h) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(i) Secretary of Transportation;
(j) Secretary of Energy;
(k) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(1) Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers;
(m) Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(n) United States Trade Representative;
(o) Assistant to the President for Economic Policy;
(p) Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy;
(q) National Security Adviser;
(r) Assistant to the President for Science and Technology
Policy; and
(s) Such other officials of executive departments and
agencies as the President may, from time to time, designate.
more
(OVER)
2
Sec. 3. Meetings of the Council. The President, or upon
his direction, the Assistant to the President for Economic
Policy ("the Assistant"), may convene meetings of the Council.
The President shall preside over the meetings of the Council,
provided that in his absence the Vice President, and in his
absence the Assistant, will preside.
Sec. 4. Functions. (a) The principal functions of the
Council are: (1) to coordinate the economic policy-making
process with respect to domestic and international economic
issues; (2) to coordinate economic policy advice to the
President; (3) to ensure that economic policy decisions and
programs are consistent with the President's stated goals, and
to ensure that those goals are being effectively pursued; and
(4) to monitor implementation of the President's economic policy
agenda. The Assistant may take such actions, including drafting
a Charter, as may be necessary or appropriate to implement such
functions.
(b) All executive departments and agencies, whether or not
represented on the Council, shall coordinate economic policy
through the Council.
(c) In performing the foregoing functions, the Assistant
will, when appropriate, work in conjunction with the Assistant
to the President for Domestic Policy and the Assistant to the
President for National Security.
(d) The Secretary of the Treasury will continue to be
the senior economic official in the executive branch and the
President's chief economic spokesperson. The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget, as the President's principal
budget spokesperson, will continue to be the senior budget
official in the executive branch. The Council of Economic
Advisers will continue its traditional analytic, forecasting
and advisory functions.
Sec. 5. Administration. (a) The Council may function
through established or ad hoc committees, task forces or
interagency groups.
(b) The Council shall have a staff to be headed by the
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. The Council
shall have such staff and other assistance as may be necessary
to carry out the provisions of this order.
(c) All executive departments and agencies shall cooperate
with the Council and provide such assistance, information, and
advice to the Council as the Council may request, to the extent
permitted by law.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 25, 1993.
# # #
DELLINGER DRAFT OF THURS. 1/21/93, 5:45 P.M.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON, DC
JANUARY 22, 1993
STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT
On this day twenty years ago, the United States Supreme
Court declared that the liberty of every American includes the
right to be free from governmental intrusion into deeply personal
decisions about pregnancy and childbearing. As a result of that
landmark decision in Roe V. Wade, a generation of women have come
of age secure in the knowledge that the most profound decisions
affecting their lives and the lives of their families would be
theirs to make. At the same time, however, we have experienced
divisive and counterproductive conflict over whether this right,
once secure, should be taken away.
This conflict over abortion has distorted our politics;
turned health care facilities into battlegrounds; inhibited
critically important scientific and medical research; produced a
web of regulations that interfere with the right of medical
professionals to give full and uncensored counseling to their
patients; severely hampered family planning programs here and
abroad; and threatened the lives and health of women. And all
the while, we have done far too little to reduce the need for
abortion by preventing unintended pregnancy.
- 2 -
We need a new beginning. Our vision should be of an
America in which abortion is safe, legal -- and rare. We need a
positive national reproductive health policy that addresses the
social, economic, and political conditions that contribute to the
need for abortion. We must actively promote the prevention of
unintended pregnancy, especially among teenagers. We need to
engage in research and development necessary to produce safer and
more effective contraception. We need to provide the kind of
prenatal care, child care, and family medical leave that will
lead to healthy childbearing and that will support the families
of America. And we must free science and medicine from the grasp
of abortion politics. Overall, our goal as a nation should be to
protect individual freedom while fostering responsible
decisionmaking -- an approach that seeks to protect the right to
choose while reducing the number of abortions.
As a start on the path toward a more positive
reproductive health policy, I am today taking the following
actions.
- 3 -
THE "GAG RULE"
First, I have today directed the Secretary of Health
and Human Services to act immediately to implement her suspension
of the Title X family planning regulations that are known as the
"Gag Rule." Title X of the Public Health Services Act provides
federal funding for family planning clinics to provide services
for low-income patients. During the first eighteen years of the
program, medical professionals at Title X clinics provided
complete and uncensored information and nondirective counseling
about all available alternatives for pregnant women. In February
1988, the Department of Health and Human Services adopted
regulations prohibiting Title X recipients from providing their
patients with information, counseling or referrals concerning
abortion. This dangerous restriction censors the medical
information and advice that health care professionals can give
their patients. As a result of my directive and the Secretary's
action, women who are patients at Title X family planning clinics
are assured that the medical advice and referrals they receive
will not be censored or distorted by ideological considerations
that have no place in medicine.
- 4 -
AID'S "MEXICO CITY" RESTRICTIONS
Second, I have ordered the Director of the Agency for
International Development to repeal immediately what has become
known as the "Mexico City" policy, named after the city in which
the United States announced the policy at an international family
planning conference. In essence, the Mexico City policy is the
application of the "gag rule" world-wide. It prohibits any
nongovernmental organization that receives federal funds from
providing information regarding abortion to individuals in
foreign nations, even where the organization uses non-AID funds
for these activities. The AID's version of the gag rule is
unwarranted. It is not mandated by the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961, which only prohibits the use of federal funds for certain
abortion-related activities. Moreover, it has seriously
undermined much-needed efforts to promote safe and effective
family planning programs abroad. As a result of the action that
I have taken today, any conditions not explicitly required by the
Foreign Assistance Act will be removed from all current AID
grants to nongovernmental organizations, and such conditions will
be excluded from all future AID grants.
- 5 -
PRIVATELY FUNDED ABORTIONS AT U.S. MILITARY HOSPITALS
Third, I have directed the Secretary of Defense to lift
immediately the nearly total ban on abortions at U.S. military
facilities, and to permit abortions to be performed at those
facilities if the procedure is paid for entirely with private
funds. Congress has only prohibited the use of Department of
Defense funds to pay for abortions. The present Department of
Defense ban goes well beyond this statutory requirement, and
applies even where an abortion is privately funded by the men and
women of our nation's military. The ban has adversely affected
the lives of scores of men and women who are either themselves
serving in our nation's armed forces around the world, or who are
married to members of the military.
As a result of the action that I have taken today
abortions may be performed at U.S. military hospitals, provided
that the procedure is not paid for with Department of Defense
funds.
- 6 -
RU-486 AND FETAL TISSUE TRANSPLANTATION RESEARCH
I am also acting today to separate our national health
and medical policy from the conflict over abortion. The
confusion of these issues has excluded from the United States
medical options available overseas, and brought to a halt
promising research on treatment for serious conditions and
diseases that afflict millions of American men, women and
children. My actions in this area are designed to ensure that
the United States will continue to be in the forefront of
scientific research, thereby giving Americans access to the very
latest and best in medical treatment. To these ends, I have
instructed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take
immediate action in two critical areas.
First, I have directed the Secretary to instruct the
Food and Drug Administration to determine whether there is
sufficient evidence to justify the current import ban on
Mifepristine -- the drug that is commonly known as RU-486 -- and
to rescind the ban immediately if the FDA concludes that there is
no basis for it. RU-486 is currently used in other countries as
a non-surgical means of abortion, and moreover, is being tested
as a possible treatment for cancer, brain tumors, and other
serious diseases and medical conditions. Here in the United
States, RU-486 has been held hostage by the ideological divide
over abortion.
- 7 -
It is time to liberate science from politics. We
should learn what the health and safety risks of RU-486 really
are, and what potential medical advances the drug may bring.
Under the action that I have taken today, if the FDA determines
that the import ban may be rescinded, Americans will be able to
bring RU-486 into this country for their personal use, consistent
with existing FDA policies and procedures governing the use of
drugs that have not yet been approved by the FDA for
distribution. To advance the possibility that RU-486 could be
distributed in the United States, I have also ordered a prompt
assessment of initiatives through which the Department of Health
and Human Services can promote the testing of the drug here, as
well as its possible licensing and manufacturing.
My second action in the medical and scientific fields
today is to direct the Secretary of HHS immediately to lift the
moratorium on federal funding of research involving
transplantation of fetal tissue. The moratorium is another
example of abortion politics at work. Initially imposed in March
1988, the moratorium was extended indefinitely in November 1989,
notwithstanding the recommendation of a blue ribbon National
Institute of Health advisory panel that it be ended. After five
years, the moratorium has dramatically limited the development of
possible treatments for individuals suffering from serious
diseases and disorders, including Parkinson's disease,
Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and leukemia. As is true with RU-
- 8 -
486, we must let medicine and science proceed unencumbered by
anti-abortion politics.
MEMORANDUM FROM THE PRESIDENT
To: The Secretary of Health and Human Services
Re: The Title X "Gag Rule"
Title X of the Public Health Services Act provides federal
funding for family planning clinics to provide services for low-
income patients. The Act specifies that Title X funds may not be
used for the performance of abortions, but places no restrictions
on the ability of clinics that receive Title X funds to provide
abortion counseling and referrals or to perform abortions using
non-Title X funds. During the first 18 years of the program,
medical professionals at Title X clinics provided complete,
uncensored information, including nondirective abortion counseling.
In February 1988, the Department of Health and Human Services
adopted regulations, which have become known as the "Gag Rule,"
prohibiting Title X recipients from providing their patients with
information, counseling or referrals concerning abortion.
Subsequent attempts by the Bush Administration to modify the Gag
Rule and ensuing litigation have created confusion and uncertainty
about the current legal status of the regulations.
The Gag Rule endangers women's lives and health by preventing
them from receiving complete and accurate medical information, and
interferes with the doctor-patient relationship by prohibiting
information that medical professionals are otherwise ethically and
legally required to provide to their patients. Furthermore, the
Gag Rule contravenes the clear intent of a majority of the members
of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, which twice
passed legislation to block the Gag Rule's enforcement but failed
to override presidential vetoes.
For these reasons, you have informed me that you will suspend
the Gag Rule pending the promulgation of new regulations in
accordance with the "notice and comment" procedures of the
Administrative Procedure Act. I hereby direct you to take that
action as soon as possible. I further direct that, within 30 days,
you publish in the Federal Register new proposed regulations for
public comment.
You are hereby authorized and directed to publish this
memorandum in the Federal Register.
Bill Clinton
The White House
January 22, 1993
MEMORANDUM FROM THE PRESIDENT
To: The Administrator of the Agency for International Development
Re: AID Family Planning Grants/Mexico City Policy
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 prohibits nongovernmental
organizations ("NGO's") that receive federal funds from using those
funds "to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of
family planning, or to motivate or coerce any person to practice
abortions." 22 U.S.C. § 2151b (f) (i). Since the August 1984
announcement by President Reagan of what has become known as the
"Mexico City Policy," the Agency for International Development
("AID") has expanded this limitation and withheld AID funds from
NGO's that engage in a wide range of activities, including
providing advice, counseling or information regarding abortion, or
lobbying a foreign government to legalize or make abortion
available. AID imposes these conditions even where an NGO uses
non-AID funds for abortion-related activities.
These excessively broad anti-abortion conditions are
unwarranted. I am informed that the conditions are not mandated
by the Foreign Assistance Act. Moreover, they have seriously
undermined efforts to promote safe and efficacious family planning
programs in foreign nations. Accordingly, I hereby direct that AID
remove the conditions not explicitly mandated by the Foreign
Assistance Act from all current AID grants to NGO's, and exclude
them from future grants.
Bill Clinton
The White House
January 22, 1993
MEMORANDUM FROM THE PRESIDENT
To: The Secretary of Defense
Re: Privately Funded Abortions at Military Hospitals
Section 1093 of Title 10 of the United States Code prohibits
the use of Department of Defense ("DOD") funds to perform abortions
except where the life of a woman would be endangered if the fetus
were carried to term. By memoranda of December 21, 1987 and June
21, 1988, DOD has gone beyond what I am informed are the
requirements of the statute and has banned all abortions at U.S.
military facilities, even where the procedure is privately funded.
This ban is unwarranted. Accordingly, I hereby direct that you
reverse the ban immediately, and permit abortion services to be
provided, if paid for entirely with non-DOD funds, and in
accordance with other relevant DOD policies and procedures.
You are hereby authorized and directed to publish this
memorandum in the Federal Register.
Bill Clinton
The White House
January 22, 1993
January 21, 1993
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM: BERNARD NUSSBAUM
RE: Regulatory Management Actions
I recommend that you sign the attached memorandum on
regulatory management.
The memorandum:
--Confirms the termination of the Council on Competitiveness,
sometimes known as the "Quayle Council". Legally, the Quayle
Council expired yesterday. Confirming and highlighting that it
is gone fulfills campaign statements that were critical of it.
-- Instructs OMB to work with the Cabinet departments and other
agencies (except for the "independent" agencies such as SEC, FCC,
etc.) to withdraw for further review regulations sent to the
Federal Register in the past several days by the Bush
Administration. This is a precautionary measure designed to let
Clinton Administration appointees look at these regulations to
decide whether publication is warranted.
--Requires that new regulations be approved by Clinton appointees
at each agency before publication.
-- Leaves in place for now existing Executive Orders authorizing
OMB to review regulations, pending a review of those Executive
Orders.
This action is time-sensitive because the Federal Register will
continue to publish a portion of the Bush Administration
regulatory backlog unless and until it receives instructions to
the contrary.
Senior White House staff are aware of and approve this action.