Executive Order 13741-Amending Executive Order 13467 To Establish the Roles and Responsibilities of the National Background Investigations Bureau and Related Matters
Issued 2016-09-29 by Barack Obama
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
This executive order establishes a new entity called the National Background Investigations Bureau within the Office of Personnel Management. The bureau's job is to conduct background investigations for the federal government—the checks done on people seeking government jobs, contractor positions, security clearances, or access to federal facilities and information systems. The order amends an earlier executive order from 2008 to define this bureau's role and make it the primary investigative service provider for these background checks across the executive branch.
The action affects anyone who needs a background investigation for federal employment, contractor work, security clearances, or credentials to access federal facilities and computer systems. It also restructures oversight by establishing a council that includes the Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget, various security officials, and the Director of the National Background Investigations Bureau itself. This council is responsible for coordinating policies across different agencies to ensure consistent standards and reciprocal recognition of clearances.
The stated purpose is to create a more efficient, secure, and timely system for conducting background investigations while keeping pace with technological advances and protecting against security threats. The order cites the President's constitutional authority and specific federal statutes governing personnel management. However, the constitutional assessment notes that while presidents have authority to manage the executive branch, creating or fundamentally restructuring agencies can raise questions about whether legislative authorization is required, depending on how the changes interact with existing laws that created those agencies.
AI-generated summary for educational purposes
Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
Executive Order 13741 ("Executive Order 13741-Amending Executive Order 13467 To Establish the Roles and Responsibilities of the National Background Investigations Bureau and Related Matters") restructures or establishes federal entities. The stated purpose: "National Background Investigations Bureau shall comply with applicable information technology standards and, to the extent practicable, ensure security and interoperability with other Federal background investigation information technology systems." The President has authority to manage the executive branch under Article II, including creating task forces, councils, and working groups within the White House. However, creating independent agencies with binding regulatory authority, or fundamentally restructuring congressionally created departments, typically requires legislative authorization.
The Reorganization Act historically provided a framework for executive reorganization subject to congressional review. Current reorganization authority is more limited. The constitutionality depends on whether this order creates White House advisory bodies (acceptable) or attempts to restructure agencies in ways that conflict with their enabling statutes (questionable).
Official Summary
Administration of Barack Obama, 2016 Executive Order 13741—Amending Executive Order 13467 To Establish the Roles and Responsibilities of the National Background Investigations Bureau and Related Matters September 29, 2016 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1 . Executive Order 13467 of June 30, 2008, is amended as follows: (a) The preamble is replaced with the following: "By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including 5 U.S.C. 3301 and 7103(b), and in order to strengthen and ensure a secure, efficient, timely, reciprocal, and aligned system for investigating and determining suitability or fitness for Government employment, contractor employee fitness, eligibility for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position, and authorization to be issued a Federal credential, while taking appropriate account of title III of Public Law 108–458, it is hereby ordered as follows:" (b) Section 1.1 is amended to read as follows: "Section 1.1 . Policy : Executive branch policies and procedures relating to suitability, contractor or