Economy, finance and labor

Executive Order 13457: Protecting American Taxpayers From Government Spending on Wasteful Earmarks

President: George W. Bush

Told agencies to base spending on statute and merit, not nonstatutory earmark requests.

Status: In effect. Is Executive Order 13457 still in effect? Yes. Executive Order 13457 remains in effect. See Federal Register record.

What does Executive Order 13457 do?

For later legislation, agencies were to use statutory and merit criteria, require written congressional earmark communications and publish them within 30 days absent a stated exception. GAO’s 2008 legal decision addressed incorporation by reference and cited EO 13457 while distinguishing binding statutory text from report language.

Administration position: Told agencies to base spending on statute and merit, not nonstatutory earmark requests.
SignedJanuary 29, 2008
Earlier frameworkCommittee reports and Member requests can describe preferred projects without themselves becoming enacted law.
Responsible bodyAgency heads and OMB
Follow-up evidence2008: GAO’s 2008 legal decision addressed incorporation by reference and cited EO 13457 while distinguishing binding statutory text from report language.

Before and after

Before the order

Committee reports and Member requests can describe preferred projects without themselves becoming enacted law.

After the order

For later legislation, agencies were to use statutory and merit criteria, require written congressional earmark communications and publish them within 30 days absent a stated exception.

GAO’s 2008 legal decision addressed incorporation by reference and cited EO 13457 while distinguishing binding statutory text from report language.

What did the signed order change?

Committee reports and Member requests can describe preferred projects without themselves becoming enacted law. For later legislation, agencies were to use statutory and merit criteria, require written congressional earmark communications and publish them within 30 days absent a stated exception.

What happened later?

GAO — incorporation by reference decision: GAO’s 2008 legal decision addressed incorporation by reference and cited EO 13457 while distinguishing binding statutory text from report language.

What does that evidence establish?

The order expressly yields to law and allows projects chosen under valid statutory or merit criteria; it does not cancel enacted appropriations. The GAO decision does not audit every agency earmark decision. The signed order states the original requirements.

Who had to do what

Source: Signed Federal Register text.
Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Heads of executive agencies, the United States Postal Service, and the Postal Regulatory CommissionBase earmark spending on statutory text and transparent merit criteria; reject oral congressional requests, publish written requests, implement the policy, and supply compliance information to OMB on request.Applies to legislation enacted after January 29, 2008; publish written requests within 30 days of receipt, unless the agency head personally approves confidentiality after consulting OMB.
Director of the Office of Management and BudgetMay prescribe implementation instructions; be consulted on agency-head confidentiality exceptions and receive requested earmark-compliance information.For implementation and individual confidentiality decisions; no fixed deadline.

What happened next

EO 13457 signed.