Creation of the Gulf Coast Recovery and 
                Rebuilding Council

                By the authority vested in me as President of the 
                United States by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States of America, including the Robert T. 
                Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 
                as amended (42 U.S.C. 5121-5206) (the ``Stafford 
                Act'), and in order to further strengthen Federal 
                support for the recovery and rebuilding of the Gulf 
                Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina and 
                Hurricane Rita, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United 
                States to provide effective, integrated, and fiscally 
                responsible support from across the Federal Government 
                to support State, local, and tribal governments, the 
                private sector, and faith-based and other community 
                humanitarian relief organizations in the recovery and 
                rebuilding of the Gulf Coast region affected by 
                Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

                Sec. 2. Establishment. (a) There is established, within 
                the Executive Office of the President, the Gulf Coast 
                Recovery and Rebuilding Council (the ``Council'). The 
                Assistant to the President for Economic Policy shall 
                serve as the Chairman of the Council (the 
                ``Chairman'). The Council shall consist exclusively of 
                the following members or full-time Federal officers or 
                employees designated by them, respectively:

  (i) Secretary of the Treasury;

  (ii) Secretary of Defense;

  (iii) Attorney General;

  (iv) Secretary of the Interior;

  (v) Secretary of Agriculture;

  (vi) Secretary of Commerce;

  (vii) Secretary of Labor;

  (viii) Secretary of Health and Human Services;

  (ix) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;

  (x) Secretary of Transportation;

  (xi) Secretary of Energy;

  (xii) Secretary of Education;

  (xiii) Secretary of Veterans Affairs;

  (xiv) Secretary of Homeland Security;

  (xv) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;

  (xvi) Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers;

  (xvii) Administrator of the Small Business Administration;

  (xviii) Director of the Office of Management and Budget;

  (xix) Coordinator of Federal Support for the Recovery and Rebuilding of 
the Gulf Coast Region;

  (xx) Assistant to the President for Economic Policy;

  (xxi) Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy;

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  (xxii) Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and 
Counterterrorism; and

  (xxiii) Such other officers and employees of the executive branch as the 
Chairman may from time to time designate.

                    (b) The Chairman, in consultation with the 
                Coordinator, shall convene and preside over meetings of 
                the Council, determine its agenda, direct its work, 
                and, as appropriate to particular subject matters, 
                establish and direct subgroups of the Council, which 
                shall consist of Council members or their designees 
                under subsection 2(a) of this order, and including 
                those officers and employees of the executive branch as 
                designated by the Chairman.

                Sec. 3. Functions of Council. The Council shall:

                    (a) at the request of the Chairman, the Coordinator 
                of Federal Support for the Recovery and Rebuilding of 
                the Gulf Coast Region, or any agency head who is a 
                member of the Council (subject to the approval of the 
                Chairman), promptly review and provide advice and 
                guidance, for the purpose of furthering the policy set 
                forth in section 1 of this order, regarding any issue 
                relating to the implementation of that policy;
                    (b) make recommendations to the President, as 
                appropriate, regarding any issue considered by the 
                Council pursuant to section 3(a) of this order; and
                    (c) give no vote or veto over the activities or 
                advice of the Council to any individual to whom 
                subsection (b) of this section refers.

                Sec. 4. General. (a) To the extent permitted by law:

  (i) agencies shall assist and provide information to the Council for the 
performance of its functions under this order; and

  (ii) the Director of the Office of Administration shall provide or 
arrange for the provision of administrative support to the Council.

                    (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to 
                impair or otherwise affect the functions of the 
                Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
                relating to budget, administrative, or legislative 
                proposals.
                    (c) This order shall be implemented in a manner 
                consistent with applicable law and subject to the 
                availability of appropriations.
                    (d) This order is intended only to improve the 
                internal management of the executive branch and is not 
                intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, 
                substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in 
                equity by a party against the United States, its 
                departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, 
                its officers or employees, or any other person.

                Sec. 5. Termination. The Council shall terminate 3 
                years from the date of this order, unless extended by 
                the President.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    November 1, 2005.