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Fact Sheet: Ensuring a Smooth and Effective Presidential Transition
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary October 28, 2008

Fact Sheet: Ensuring a Smooth and Effective Presidential Transition The
Administration's Preparations for the Transition are Unprecedented in Scope
and Depth
ÿÿWhite House News


Today, the Transition Coordinating Council (TCC) will meet for the second
time, continuing the Administration's comprehensive transition efforts. The
peaceful transfer of power from one Presidential Administration to the next
is a hallmark of American democracy. With our Nation at war, our homeland
targeted by terrorist adversaries, and our economy facing serious
challenges, the Administration is committed to establishing and executing a
transition plan that minimizes disruption, maintains continuity, and
addresses the major changes in government since the 2000 transition,
including the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, as
well as the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Director
of National Intelligence, and the Homeland Security Council.
  þ The TCC will help ensure that the Administration's efforts are
    comprehensive and well coordinated. The TCC membership includes the
    President's Chief of Staff and others with authority and expertise in
    areas that affect a Presidential transition, as well as senior
    officials in critical areas such as national security, homeland
    security, and our economy.
  þ Executive Order 13476, which was signed by President Bush in October
    and created the TCC, contains a provision which allows the TCC to
    "obtain a wide range of facts and information on prior transitions and
    best practices" by seeking the expertise of outside individuals. The
    experts attending today's meeting are from both parties and varying
    backgrounds. They include:
      þ Andy Card, former Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush and
        Director of the 1992 Bush-Clinton Transition
      þ Mack McLarty, former Chief of Staff to former President Clinton
      þ Jennifer Dorn, National Academy of Public Administration
      þ Norm Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute
      þ Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service

This Administration's Transition Preparations Are Comprehensive

The President has directed his Cabinet and staff to be forward-leaning in
all of their efforts to ensure a smooth and effective transition. It has
never been more critical that a transition from one Administration to the
next be as seamless as possible. This Administration has gone to great
lengths to prepare the Federal government for the transition to a new
Administration and to help the major-party candidates prepare for a
Presidential transition. For example:
  þ Federal agencies and White House offices are preparing briefings for
    the President-elect's team on significant pending policy issues as well
    as the structure of those agencies and offices.
  þ Career executives within each agency who may assume added
    responsibilities before the arrival of new political appointees have
    been identified, briefed, and included in a wide range of preparatory
    activities. Office of Management and Budget officials continue to meet
    with these key career officials to detail their responsibilities and to
    clarify the transition process.
  þ Individual agencies are taking agency-specific steps:
      þ The Department of Defense's Transition Task Force is preparing to
        host transition teams of the President-elect.
      þ The Department of Homeland Security is holding conferences and
        exercises designed to boost incident management capabilities and
        cross-departmental awareness.
      þ On October 9-10, the Secretary of State held an offsite meeting
        with senior State Department and USAID leadership to discuss
        transition planning and foreign policy and management challenges
        facing the new Administration. The State Department is also
        preparing a list of pending political/economic commitments arranged
        by country.

The Administration Is Engaged In A Nonpartisan, Comprehensive, And
Unprecedented Effort To Help The Two Major Party Candidates Prepare To
Govern

The Administration has reached out and provided services to both campaigns.
Changes made in the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act
allow the Administration to work with the major-party candidates before the
election. This Administration is doing more than has ever been done to help
the major-party candidates prepare. The White House began working with
transition representatives of both major-party candidates during the summer
and has met regularly with them since then by phone and in person.

The Administration's efforts to prepare the major party candidates include:
      þ The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has provided
        intelligence briefings to the candidates. These briefings are
        continuing and are being supported by the entire intelligence
        community.
      þ Senior Administration officials have remained in close contact with
        the major-party candidates in recent months regarding important
        issues of national security and our current financial crisis.
      þ The Office of Government Ethics has trained additional staff to
        prepare for an increase in financial disclosure filings and has
        held extensive meetings with both campaign transition teams to
        discuss financial disclosure rules.

The Administration has also worked to facilitate a speedy security
clearance process for key transition personnel. Historically, one of the
biggest challenges faced by incoming Administrations has been the time
required to obtain security clearances for key officials. The 2004
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act allows major-party
candidates to request clearances for key transition personnel before the
election so that those individuals will have the necessary clearances
should their candidate win.
  þ The White House worked with Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau
    of Investigation, and the transition teams to create an orderly and
    efficient process. To ensure a confidential process, the White House
    does not have access to the numbers and identities of cleared
    individuals. Nevertheless, the White House confirms regularly with the
    transition teams that the process meets the transition teams' needs.

All interactions with the candidates and their transition teams have been
equitable. The cornerstone of the Administration's contact has been
uniformity of access. Materials, meetings, and guidance given to one
transition team are simultaneously offered to the other.

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