By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, including the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 
                1998, 5 U.S.C. 3345 et seq., it is hereby ordered that:

                Section 1. Subject to the provisions of section 3 of 
                this order, the officers named in section 2, in the 
                order listed, shall act as and perform the functions 
                and duties of the Office of the Secretary of Health and 
                Human Services (Secretary), if they are eligible to act 
                as Secretary under the provisions of the Federal 
                Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, during any period in 
                which the Secretary has died, resigned, or become 
                otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of 
                the office of Secretary.

                Sec. 2. Order of Succession.

                (a) Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services;

                (b) General Counsel of the Department of Health and 
                Human Services;

                (c) Assistant Secretary (Resources and Technology);

                (d) Assistant Secretary (Planning and Evaluation);

                (e) Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and 
                Medicaid Services;

                (f) Commissioner of Food and Drugs;

                (g) Director of the National Institutes of Health;

                (h) Assistant Secretary for Family Support;

                (i) Other Assistant Secretaries of the Department of 
                Health and Human Services appointed by the President, 
                in the order in which they shall have taken the oath of 
                office as such;

                (j) Director, Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention; and

                (k) Director, Region 4.

                Sec. 3. Exceptions.

                (a) No individual who is serving in an office listed in 
                section 2 of this order in an acting capacity, by 
                virtue of so serving, shall act as Secretary pursuant 
                to this order.

                (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this order, the 
                President retains discretion, consistent with the 
                Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, to depart from 
                this order in designating an acting Secretary.

[[Page 9438]]

                Sec. 4. Revocation. Executive Order 13250 of December 
                28, 2001 (Providing An Order of Succession Within the 
                Department of Health and Human Services), and the 
                President's memorandum of March 19, 2002 (Designation 
                of Officers of the Department of Health and Human 
                Services), are hereby revoked.
                
                
                    President, George Bush

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    February 15, 2008.