CRS Report for Congress

Stephanie Smith
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
November 2000

Introduction

Since outgoing President George Washington first relinquished his office to incoming President John Adams in 1797, this peaceful transition, symbolizing both continuity and change, has demonstrated the "best of American democracy to the world." 3 In reality, however, the activities surrounding a presidential transition today begin shortly after the election, as the President-elect has less than 11 weeks to formulate the new administration before taking the oath of office on January 20.

Until 1963, the primary source of funding for transition expenses was the political party organization of the incoming President. During the 1960 presidential election, federal funding for transitions was first discussed in conjunction with the perceived need for changes in campaign finance practices. On November 8, 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on Campaign Costs to make recommendations on "improved ways of financing expenditures required of nominees for the offices of President and Vice President," as well as other relevant costs associated with presidential campaigns. 4

The following year, the bipartisan commission reported that the 1952-1953 transition for President Dwight D. Eisenhower had cost a special Republican committee more than $200,000. and the 1060-1061 transition for President Kennedy was funded by the Democratic National Committee at a total cost of $360,000. 5 Noting that such expenditures created financial hardship for the political parties, the commission recommended that transition funding not be the sole responsibility of one political party.

Recognizing the importance of presidential transitions for the continuity of government, the Commission on Campaign Costs recommended vesting the federal government with some responsibility for the transition from one administration to another. The commission's final report also proposed that the outgoing President be authorized to receive federally-funded facilities and services to assist in the orderly transfer of executive power. 6

In a May 29, 1962, letter to Congress transmitting legislation to implement the commission's final recommendations, President Kennedy stated that it was appropriate that the federal government fund the "reasonable and necessary costs" associated with a presidential transition. In addition to federal funding, he also stressed the importance of the incoming President to select "responsible public officials who must prepare themselves for their new responsibilities" during the brief transition period. 7

Presidential Transition Act of 1963

As recommended by the President's Commission on Campaign Costs, legislation was introduced during the 87th congress to provide federal funding for subsequent presidential transitions. Even though the proposed legislation received strong support from the Kennedy administration, there was no action on the bill. During the following congress, however, H.R. 4638, the Presidential Transition Act (PTA) of 1963, was introduced on April 24, 1963, and was enacted into law on March 7, 1964. 8

The legislation authorized the GSA Administration to provide the President-elect and Vice President-elect office space, staff compensation not to exceed the rate for Executive Level IV, communications services, payment of travel and subsistence, and printing and postage costs associated with the incoming administration. For each outgoing President and Vice President, the PTA also authorized the provision of such services, for a period not to exceed six months from the expiration of their terms of office. An appropriation of $900,000 was authorized for each presidential transition, although the PTA did not specify how the amount was to be divided between the incoming and outgoing administrations. However, the legislative history indicated that the funds were to be divided equally. 9

Funding Under the Presidential Transition Act

Even though the PTA was enacted in 1964, its provisions were not fully implemented following President Lyndon B. Johnson's re-election in 1964, since he was already in office. Vice President-elect Huber H. Humphrey, however, spent approximately $72,000 for transition expenses as authorized by the new law. 10 The PTA was first fully implemented during the 1968-1969 transition from the Johnson administration to that of incoming President Richard M. Nixon, when the $900,000 in transition funds was divided equally between the two administrations.

A 1970 General Accounting Office (GAO) report on implementation of the PTA recommended that the $900,000 authorization be increased to better reflect the actual costs associated with a presidential transition. The report found that incoming President Nixon had actually incurred transition costs of $1.5 million. 11 Subsequently, the GAO reported that President-elect Nixon had found it necessary to raise $1 million in private funds in order to supplement the $450,000 available to him under the PTA. 12

Based on earlier GAO recommendations, the PTA was amended by Congress in 1976 to reflect increased costs associated with presidential transitions. 13 Amendments to the PTA increased the authorization for a presidential transition to $3 million, with $2 million available to the President-elect and Vice President-elect and $1 million to the outgoing President and Vice President. The PTA was also amended to authorize the detail of personnel from the federal government on a reimbursable basis. This increase in funding was first made available to outgoing President Gerald R. Ford and President-elect Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Presidential Transitions Effectiveness Act

A decade later, the 100th Congress began consideration of legislation to provide increased amounts of federal funding for the upcoming 1988-1989 presidential transition. After examining the expenditures for previous transitions, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs expressed concern that future incoming Presidents would find it necessary to raise private funds in order to finance their transitions adequately. 14

As a result of these congressional deliberations, the Presidential Transitions Effectiveness Act was enacted in 1988 to increase federal funding to $5 million to support a change of administration. 15 Of this total, $3.5 million was authorized to be appropriated for services and facilities to the President-elect and Vice President-elect. The outgoing President and Vice President were authorized $1.5 million in federal funds. A total of $250,000 would be returned to the Treasury if the outgoing Vice President were subsequently elected President. These funds were authorized to be increased in future transitions to accommodate inflation.

In addition to funding, the new legislation amended the PTA to require that private contributions and names of transition personnel be publicly disclosed. As a condition for receiving federal funding and services, the President-elect and Vice President-elect must formally disclose the date, source, and amount of all privately-contributed funds for the transition, with a maximum contribution of $5,000 allowed from any person or organization. These written disclosures must be made to GSA not later than 30 days after the January 20 inauguration. The President-elect must also disclose information about transition team members before initial contact with a federal department or agency. The act also limited all temporary appointments to executive branch vacancies to 120 days, unless a nomination has been submitted to the Senate.

Funding Under the Presidential Transitions Effectiveness Act

As authorized by the act, the funding for an incoming administration is available from the day following the general elections until 30 days after the inauguration. For the outgoing President and Vice President, transition funding was extended from six to seven months, beginning one month before the inauguration, to facilitate their relocation to private life. Separate legislation also provides former Presidents an annual lifetime pension and staff and office allowances after the transition period expires, as well as Secret Service protection. 16

The increasing in funding under the Presidential Transitions Effectiveness Act was first made available during the 1988-1989 transition of outgoing President Ronald Reagan and his successor, Vice President George Bush.

For FY2001, GSA requested a total of $7.1 million for the upcoming presidential transition. Of this total, $1.83 million is budgeted for the outgoing Clinton administration, with $305,000 to be returned to the Treasury if Vice President Albert Gore is elected President; $4.27 million is requested for the incoming administration. An additional $1 million was requested by GSA to fund its new responsibilities under the Presidential Transition Act of 2000. On November 2, Congress amended the GY2001 continuing funding resolution to provide $7.1 million for the 2000-2001 transition. 17

Presidential Transition Act of 2000

While the PTA, as amended, has provided federal funds and facilities to ensure smooth transitions in the past, no formalized attention was given to orientation of a President-elect's newly-appointed senior staff. In anticipation of the upcoming 2000-2001 transition, the 106th Congress enacted P.L. 106-293, the Presidential Transition Act of 2000, which was signed by the President October 13, 2000. It amends the PTA to authorize GSA to provide additional support during the upcoming 2000-2001 transition period. Most importantly, GSA will coordinate the development and presentation of orientation sessions for the President-elect's nominees for cabinet and high-level executive branch positions. Prior to the election on November 7, GSA is authorized to consult with presidential candidates in order to begin development of a computer and communications system for use during the transition period. In conjunction with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), GSA is also required to create a transition directory, composed of federal publications and materials pertaining to the statutory and administrative functions of each federal department and agency. A fourth major provision requires the Office of Government Ethics to prepare a report on needed improvements to the financial disclosure process currently required for presidential nominees.

Ideally, passage of the Presidential Transition Act of 2000 will enable the President-elect and his appointees to "hit the ground running" as they take office on January 20, and to increase their effectiveness during the crucial first year in office. According to presidential scholar Dwight Ink, key provisions of the new legislation pertaining to a formal orientation process between political appointees an career federal employees will hopefully lead to better working relationships during the next four years. 18

Online Resources

In order to facilitate the upcoming presidential transition process, several online web sites have been created:

• The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) maintains an online transition employment guide pertaining to departing employees, newly appointed employees, and the career serve [http://www.opm.gov/transition/http://www.fpc.gov/index.htm].

• Funded by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Brookings Institution has established the "Presidential Appointee Initiative" to assist newly-appointed officials during the transition period [http://www.appointee.brookings.org].

• The Council for Excellence in Government provides online transcripts of former government officials discussing the transition candidates must make from campaigning to governing [http://www.excelgov.org/].

Additional sites will be forthcoming as the transition period commences.

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Footnotes:

1. 3 U.S.C. 102 note.

2. P.L. 106-293; Oct.13, 2000.

3. Felzenberg, Alvin S., ed., The Keys to a Successful Presidency (Washington: Heritage Foundation, 2000), p.7. For a detailed discussion of early presidential transitions, see also: Laurin L. Henry, Presidential Transitions (Washington, Brookings Institution, 1960).

4. 3 C.F.R. 496 (1959-1963 Compilation).

5. U.S. President's Commission on Campaign Costs, Financing Presidential Campaigns (Washington: GPO, 1962), pp.23-24.

6. Ibid, p.24.

7. U.S. President (Kennedy), "Letter to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of May 29, 1962, Transmitting Bills to Carry Out Recommendations of the Commission on Campaign Costs," Public Papers of the Presidents (Washington:GPO, 1963) p.446.

8. 78 Stat. 153.

9. U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Government Operations, Presidential Transition Act, Distribution of Federal Surplus Property, and Records Management, hearings, 94th Cong., 2nd sess., Sept.13, 1976 (Washington:GPO, 1976), p.3.

10. U.S. General Accounting Office, Federal Assistance for Presidential Transitions, GAO Report B-149372 and B-158195 (Washington: Nov. 16, 1970), p.24.

11. Ibid, p.3.

12. U.S. General Accounting Office, The Reagan-Bush Transition Team's Activities at Six Selected Agencies, GAO Report GGD-82-17 (Washington: Jan.28, 1982), p.3.

13. 90 Stat. 2380.

14. U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Presidential Transitions Effectiveness Act of 1988, 100th Cong., 2nd sess., S.Rept.100-317 (Washington: GPO, 1988), p. 10.

15. 102 Stat. 985.

16. See: U.S. Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, Former Presidents: Federal Pension and Retirement Benefits, by Stephanie Smith, CRS Report 98-249 Gov (Washington: June 26, 2000), 6p.

17. P.L. 106-275 (Sept. 29, 2000; 114 Stat. 808), as amended by H.J.Res. 123. See: Making Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2001, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 146, Nov.2, 2000, pp.H11784-H11785 and Making Further Continuing Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2001, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 146, Nov.2, 2000, p.S11504.

18. Jennifer Miller, "New Legislation Will Impact Presidential Transitions," PA Times, Feb. 2000, p.1.

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