Executive Order 13208—Amendment to Executive Order 13202, Preservation of Open Competition and Government Neutrality Towards Government Contractors Labor Relations on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, 40 U.S.C. 471 et seq., and in order to (1) promote and ensure open competition on Federal and federally funded or assisted construction projects; (2) maintain Government neutrality towards Government contractors' labor relations on Federal and federally funded or assisted construction projects; (3) reduce construction costs to the Federal Government and to the tax payers; (4) expand job opportunities, especially for small and disadvantaged businesses; (5) prevent discrimination against Government contractors or their employees based upon labor affiliation or lack thereof; and (6) prevent the inefficiency that may result from the disruption of a previously established contractual relationship in particular cases; thereby promoting the economical, nondiscriminatory, and efficient administration and completion of Federal and federally funded or assisted construction projects, it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 13202 of February 17, 2001, is amended by adding to section 5 of that order the following new subsection: (c) The head of an executive agency, upon application of an awarding authority, a recipient of grants or financial assistance, a party to a cooperative agreement, or a construction manager acting on behalf of the foregoing, may exempt a particular project from the requirements of any or all of the provisions of sections 1 and 3 of this order, if the agency head finds: (i) that the awarding authority, recipient of grants or financial assistance, party to a cooperative agreement, or construction manager acting on behalf of the foregoing had issued or was a party to, as of the date of this order, bid specifications, project agreements, agreements with one or more labor organizations, or other controlling documents with respect to that particular project, which contained any of the requirements or prohibitions set forth in sections 1(a) or (b) of this order; and (ii) that one or more construction contracts subject to such requirements or prohibitions had been awarded as of the date of this order. GEORGE W. BUSH The White House, April 6, 2001. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., April 10, 2001]