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. (e) 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 othorwise. 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 September 9, 1969, as amended, is hereby superseded. (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 l(b) of this Order. RONALD REAGAN The White House, May 10, 1988. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:49 a.m., May 11, 1988]