E.o. 13559

Monday,
November 22, 2010

Part IV

The President

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Executive Order 13559—Fundamental
Principles and Policymaking Criteria for
Partnerships With Faith-Based and Other
Neighborhood Organizations

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Presidential Documents

Federal Register
Vol. 75, No. 224
Monday, November 22, 2010

Title 3—

Executive Order 13559 of November 17, 2010

The President

Fundamental Principles and Policymaking Criteria for Partnerships With Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood Organizations
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, and in order to guide Federal agencies
in formulating and developing policies with implications for faith-based
and other neighborhood organizations, to promote compliance with constitutional and other applicable legal principles, and to strengthen the capacity
of faith-based and other neighborhood organizations to deliver services effectively to those in need, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Amendments to Executive Order 13279. Executive Order 13279
of December 12, 2002 (Equal Protection of the Laws for Faith-Based and
Community Organizations), as amended, is hereby further amended:
(a) in section 1, by striking subsection (e), and inserting in lieu thereof
the following:
‘‘(e) ‘Specified agency heads’ means:
(i) the Attorney General;
(ii) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(iii) the Secretary of Commerce;
(iv) the Secretary of Labor;
(v) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(vi) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(vii) the Secretary of Education;
(viii) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
(ix) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(x) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xi) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration;

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(xii) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development; and
(xiii) the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and
Community Service.’’;
(b) by striking section 2, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
‘‘Sec. 2. Fundamental Principles. In formulating and implementing policies
that have implications for faith-based and other neighborhood organizations,
agencies that administer social service programs or that support (including
through prime awards or sub-awards) social service programs with Federal
financial assistance shall, to the extent permitted by law, be guided by
the following fundamental principles:
(a) Federal financial assistance for social service programs should be distributed in the most effective and efficient manner possible.
(b) The Nation’s social service capacity will benefit if all eligible organizations, including faith-based and other neighborhood organizations, are able
to compete on an equal footing for Federal financial assistance used to
support social service programs.

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 224 / Monday, November 22, 2010 / Presidential Documents
(c) No organization should be discriminated against on the basis of religion
or religious belief in the administration or distribution of Federal financial
assistance under social service programs.
(d) All organizations that receive Federal financial assistance under social
service programs should be prohibited from discriminating against beneficiaries or prospective beneficiaries of the social service programs on the
basis of religion or religious belief. Accordingly, organizations, in providing
services supported in whole or in part with Federal financial assistance,
and in their outreach activities related to such services, should not be
allowed to discriminate against current or prospective program beneficiaries
on the basis of religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious
belief, or a refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice.
(e) The Federal Government must implement Federal programs in accordance with the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as other applicable law, and must monitor and enforce standards regarding the relationship
between religion and government in ways that avoid excessive entanglement
between religious bodies and governmental entities.
(f) Organizations that engage in explicitly religious activities (including
activities that involve overt religious content such as worship, religious
instruction, or proselytization) must perform such activities and offer such
services outside of programs that are supported with direct Federal financial
assistance (including through prime awards or sub-awards), separately in
time or location from any such programs or services supported with direct
Federal financial assistance, and participation in any such explicitly religious
activities must be voluntary for the beneficiaries of the social service program
supported with such Federal financial assistance.

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(g) Faith-based organizations should be eligible to compete for Federal
financial assistance used to support social service programs and to participate
fully in the social service programs supported with Federal financial assistance without impairing their independence, autonomy, expression outside
the programs in question, or religious character. Accordingly, a faith-based
organization that applies for, or participates in, a social service program
supported with Federal financial assistance may retain its independence
and may continue to carry out its mission, including the definition, development, practice, and expression of its religious beliefs, provided that it does
not use direct Federal financial assistance that it receives (including through
a prime award or sub-award) to support or engage in any explicitly religious
activities (including activities that involve overt religious content such as
worship, religious instruction, or proselytization), or in any other manner
prohibited by law. Among other things, faith-based organizations that receive
Federal financial assistance may use their facilities to provide social services
supported with Federal financial assistance, without removing or altering
religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols from these facilities. In
addition, a faith-based organization that applies for, or participates in, a
social service program supported with Federal financial assistance may retain
religious terms in its name, select its board members on a religious basis,
and include religious references in its organization’s mission statements
and other chartering or governing documents.
(h) Each agency responsible for administering or awarding Federal financial
assistance for social service programs shall offer protections for beneficiaries
of such programs pursuant to the following principles:
(i) Referral to an Alternative Provider. If a beneficiary or prospective
beneficiary of a social service program supported by Federal financial
assistance objects to the religious character of an organization that provides
services under the program, that organization shall, within a reasonable
time after the date of the objection, refer the beneficiary to an alternative
provider.
(ii) Agency Responsibilities. Each agency responsible for administering
a social service program or supporting a social service program with

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Federal financial assistance shall establish policies and procedures designed to ensure that (1) appropriate and timely referrals are made to
an alternative provider; (2) all referrals are made in a manner consistent
with all applicable privacy laws and regulations; (3) the organization
subject to subsection (h)(i) notifies the agency of any referral; (4) such
organization has established a process for determining whether the beneficiary has contacted the alternative provider; and (5) each beneficiary
of a social service program receives written notice of the protections
set forth in this subsection prior to enrolling in or receiving services
from such program.
(i) To promote transparency and accountability, agencies that provide
Federal financial assistance for social service programs shall post online,
in an easily accessible manner, regulations, guidance documents, and policies
that reflect or elaborate upon the fundamental principles described in this
section. Agencies shall also post online a list of entities that receive Federal
financial assistance for provision of social service programs, consistent with
law and pursuant to guidance set forth in paragraph (c) of section 3 of
this order.
(j) Decisions about awards of Federal financial assistance must be free
from political interference or even the appearance of such interference and
must be made on the basis of merit, not on the basis of the religious
affiliation of a recipient organization or lack thereof.’’;
(c) by striking section 3, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
‘‘Sec. 3. Ensuring Uniform Implementation Across the Federal Government.
In order to promote uniformity in agencies’ policies that have implications
for faith-based and other neighborhood organizations and in related guidance,
and to ensure that those policies and guidance are consistent with the
fundamental principles set forth in section 2 of this order, there is established
an Interagency Working Group on Faith-Based and Other Neighborhood
Partnerships (Working Group).
(a) Mission and Function of the Working Group. The Working Group
shall meet periodically to review and evaluate existing agency regulations,
guidance documents, and policies that have implications for faith-based
and other neighborhood organizations. Where appropriate, specified agency
heads shall, to the extent permitted by law, amend all such existing policies
of their respective agencies to ensure that they are consistent with the
fundamental principles set forth in section 2 of this order.

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(b) Uniform Agency Implementation. Within 120 days of the date of this
order, the Working Group shall submit a report to the President on amendments, changes, or additions that are necessary to ensure that regulations
and guidance documents associated with the distribution of Federal financial
assistance for social service programs are consistent with the fundamental
principles set forth in section 2 of this order. The Working Group’s report
should include, but not be limited to, a model set of regulations and guidance
documents for agencies to adopt in the following areas:
(i) prohibited uses of direct Federal financial assistance and separation
requirements; (ii) protections for religious identity; (iii) the distinction between ‘‘direct’’ and ‘‘indirect’’ Federal financial assistance; (iv) protections
for beneficiaries of social service programs; (v) transparency requirements,
consistent with and in furtherance of existing open government initiatives;
(vi) obligations of nongovernmental and governmental intermediaries; (vii)
instructions for peer reviewers and those who recruit peer reviewers; and
(viii) training on these matters for government employees and for Federal,
State, and local governmental and nongovernmental organizations that receive
Federal financial assistance under social service programs. In developing
this report and in reviewing agency regulations and guidance for consistency
with section 2 of this order, the Working Group shall consult the March
2010 report and recommendations prepared by the President’s Advisory
Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships on the topic of
reforming the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

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(c) Guidance. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
following receipt of a copy of the report of the Working Group, and in
coordination with the Department of Justice, shall issue guidance to agencies
on the implementation of this order, including in particular subsections
2(h)–(j).
(d) Membership of the Working Group. The Director of the Office of
Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and a senior official from the
OMB designated by the Director of the OMB shall serve as the Co-Chairs
of the Working Group. The Co-Chairs shall convene regular meetings of
the Working Group, determine its agenda, and direct its work. In addition
to the Co-Chairs, the Working Group shall consist of a senior official with
knowledge of policies that have implications for faith-based and other neighborhood organizations from the following agencies and offices:
(i) the Department of State;
(ii) the Department of Justice;
(iii) the Department of the Interior;
(iv) the Department of Agriculture;
(v) the Department of Commerce;
(vi) the Department of Labor;
(vii) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(viii) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(ix) the Department of Education;
(x) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(xi) the Department of Homeland Security;
(xii) the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xiii) the Small Business Administration;
(xiv) the United States Agency for International Development;
(xv) the Corporation for National and Community Service; and
(xvi) other agencies and offices as the President, from time to time, may
designate.
(e) Administration of the Initiative. The Department of Health and Human
Services shall provide funding and administrative support for the Working
Group to the extent permitted by law and within existing appropriations.’’;
and

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(d) by striking in the title, preamble, and section 1(c), ‘‘community’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘other neighborhood’’.
Sec. 2. General Provisions.
(a) This order amends the requirements contained in Executive Order
13279. This order supplements, but does not supersede, the requirements
contained in Executive Orders 13198 and 13199 of January 29, 2001, and
Executive Order 13498 of February 5, 2009.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the
head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and
subject to the availability of appropriations.

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(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or
benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its
officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE,
November 17, 2010.
[FR Doc. 2010–29579
Filed 11–19–10; 11:15 am]

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