Policy
Directive
Effective Date: September 23, 2024
Expiration Date: September 23, 2029
|
|
NASA Policy Directive |
NPD 1450.12E Effective Date: September 23, 2024 Expiration Date: September 23, 2029 |
a. It is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) policy, for interactions with the Executive Branch (including the Executive Office of the President and Federal Departments/Agencies), the Legislative Branch, and the Judicial Branch of the United States (U.S.) Government, that:
(1) Such interactions are coordinated through designated interfaces.
(2) Related actions are appropriately assigned, coordinated, tracked, and responded to by external suspense dates.
(3) Clearance procedures for such responses, which ensure appropriate quality and internal stakeholder review, are established and documented.
b. It is NASA policy that all formal responses to actions from the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches of the U.S. Government be subject to clearance as defined by the Office of the Administrator.
c. This directive does not abridge the rights of NASA employees to communicate as private citizens with other Branches of the U.S. Government.
d. Nothing in this directive abrogates the statutory duty of the Inspector General to independently communicate with Congress.
a. This directive is applicable to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including their Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers.
b. Within this directive, "the Executive Office of the President" includes all organizations identified within the U.S. Government Manual as belonging to the Executive Office of the President and any organizations published on The White House public website but not yet incorporated into the Manual.
c. The following terms relevant for applicability are defined in Attachment A: clearance, clearance package, and formal response.
d. This directive is intended to apply to senior-level engagement across Branches of the U.S. Government. It is not intended to address routine and regular working-level interactions within the U.S. Government.
e. In this directive, the terms "may" denotes a discretionary privilege or permission, "can" denotes statements of possibility or capability, "should" denotes a good practice and is recommended, but not required, "will" denotes expected outcome, and "are/is" denotes descriptive material. f. In this directive, all document citations are assumed to be the latest version unless otherwise noted.
The National Aeronautics and Space Act, as amended, 51 U.S.C. 20113(a).
a. NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 1000.3, The NASA Organization with Change, Chapter 4.
b. NPD 2000.1, Authority to take Certain Actions for the General Counsel.
c. NPR 1450.4, Handling Congressional Correspondence and Information Concerning Congressional Activities.
d. NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 1450.10, NASA Correspondence Management and Communications Standards and Styles (under revision; to be renamed "Office of the Administrator Correspondence, Actions, and Clearance Procedural Requirements").
e. NASA Policy Instruction (NPI) 1450.91, Communication and Interactions with Members of Congress and Staff.
a. The NASA Chief of Staff:
(1) Determines, or delegates determination of, Office of the Administrator clearance requirements and procedures for Executive, Legislative, or Judicial Branch communications and responses.
(2) Serves as the primary point of contact for integrating communications with specific Offices or Councils within the Executive Office of the President or assigns specific Office of the Administrator senior advisors or specific Officials-in-Charge (OIC) of Headquarters organizations to serve as primary points of contact.
(3) Determines Office of the Administrator clearance requirements and procedures for communications at the head of agency level for other Executive Branch departments and agencies.
(4) Establishes clearance requirements and procedures for interactions with senior officials and dignitaries.
b. For the Executive Branch, Executive Office of the President, assigned primary points of contact for specific Offices or Councils (see Attachment D):
(1) Coordinate with the Chief of Staff to determine which types of formal responses require Agency-level monitoring.
(2) Coordinate with the Office of the Executive Secretariat (OES) to ensure actions tasking formal responses that require Agency-level monitoring are recorded and assigned.
(3) Recommend related clearance requirements and procedures to the Chief of Staff and coordinate with OES to document current clearance procedures.
(4) Additionally, execute any responsibilities directly assigned to them in other NASA directives such as NPD 1000.3.
c. For other Executive Branch Departments and Agencies:
(1) The Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations serves as coordinator for other U.S Executive Branch offices and agencies, per NPD 1000.3, and executes responsibilities as defined therein.
(2) The General Counsel is the point of contact for correspondence with the Executive Branch/Department of Justice, (see NPD 1000.3, The NASA Organization), subject to exceptions therein as assigned to the Office of Protective Services, or the Inspector General as described in NPD 9800.1, NASA Office of Inspector General Programs.
(3) Other OICs have delegated responsibilities as specified within other NASA directives.
d. For the Legislative Branch, including members of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, and the Congressional Budget Office, the Associate Administrator for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Chief Financial Officer are the points of contact for integrating communications and coordinating and clearing responses, in accordance with NPR 1450.4., Handling Congressional Correspondence and Information Concerning Congressional Activities and NPI 1450.91, Communication and Interactions with Members of Congress and Staff.
e. For the Judicial Branch, the General Counsel is the point of contact for integrating communications and clearing responses, per NPD 2000.1 and unless otherwise specified in NASA directives.
f. The NASA Executive Secretary within OES, in accordance with NPR 1450.10 and at the direction of the Chief of Staff, manages certain electronic and paper actions from the Executive Office of the President, establishes requirements for clearance packages, and concurs on all clearance packages routed through the Office of the Administrator. OES:
(1) Receives and assigns certain actions from the Executive Office of the President, including but not limited to published Executive Orders.
(2) Implements Office of the Administrator clearance standards and procedures to ensure the policies of this directive are met.
(3) Applies these standards and procedures to ensure timeliness, quality, and appropriate review for Office of the Administrator clearance packages.
(4) Manages physical correspondence from the Executive Office of the President, ensuring appropriate controls for correspondence marked to be opened by a specific NASA official, the Office of the Inspector General, or a labor union official, so identified by title.
(5) Is included on appropriate distribution lists which may contain actions from the Executive Office of the President.
g. OICs of Headquarters Offices and NASA Center Directors (CD) are responsible for meeting required suspense dates for actions originating from the Executive Office of the President, including but not limited to Executive Orders, and for meeting required suspense dates for Legislative or Judiciary Branch actions. OICs and CDs will:
(1) Coordinate with primary points of contact above when interfacing with other agencies and Branches of the U.S. Government.
(2) Expeditiously provide OES a copy of any correspondence received directly from the Executive Office of the President that should be brought to the attention of the Chief of Staff or assigned primary point of contact.
(3) Furnish the Chief of Staff or assigned primary point of contact with the details of requests for information that were made directly by the Executive Office of the President.
a. Delegations from the Chief of Staff for establishing clearance requirements and tracking actions are documented in Attachment D. The Chief of Staff retains authority for overall determination of clearance requirements for final products/submissions. It is expected that offices or advisors documented in Attachment D may also conduct routine, working level interactions with external entities, subject to the clearance requirements agreed to with the Chief of Staff for each entity.
b. Roles or delegations outside the Office of the Administrator established in other NASA directives include:
(1) Those related to Executive Branch Departments and Agencies, as specified or referenced in NPD 1000.3, for the Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations.
(2) Those related to the Department of Justice, as specified in NPD 1000.3, for the General Counsel, Assistant Administrator for Procurement, and/or Inspector General.
(3) Those related to the Department of Justice, as specified in NPD 9800.1, for the Inspector General.
(4) Those related to the Judiciary Branch, as specified in NPD 2000.1, for the General Counsel.
None.
NPD 1450.12D, Handling Correspondence and Information from the Executive Office of the President, dated March 26, 1999.
Clearance: Approval, whether informal or through a clearance package, to communicate with or submit responses to another branch of Government or component of that branch.
Clearance Package: A set of documents that must undergo a formal review process, including quality review, concurrence, and signature, as well as official records management. This process often involves routing through OES and other relevant organizations. The specific categories of clearances requiring such routed packages are detailed in NPR 1450.
Formal Response: A document used to communicate to another Branch of the U.S. Government that:
• Establishes a position of NASA as an Agency;
• Commits the Agency to a course of action; or
• Communicates at a senior-most level an intended or draft course of action in response to a formal action from the other Branch. The Office of the Administrator reserves the ability to establish clearance requirements and expectations for formal responses.
CD Center Directors
NPD NASA Policy Directive
NPI NASA Policy Instruction
NPR NASA Procedural Requirements
OES Office of the Executive Secretariat
OIC Officials-in-Charge
U.S. United States
U.S.C. United States Code
a. NPD 1000.3, The NASA Organization.
b. NPD 9800.1, NASA Office of Inspector General Programs.
c. U.S. Government Manual.
D.1 Currently assigned or delegated senior points of contact are maintained at the following link: https://nasa.sharepoint.com/sites/oes/Lists/NPD1450/AllItems.aspx
D.2 The Chief of Staff, through the Director, Office of the Executive Secretariat, maintains the list as a living document. The Director, Office of the Executive Secretariat, ensures that the list is reviewed and updated at least once in every four-year presidential term, early in the term.
None.
This document does not bind the public, except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract. This document is uncontrolled when printed. Check the NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) Library to verify that this is the correct version before use: https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov.