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Executive Order 13893 of October 10, 2019

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. In May 2005, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) implemented a budget-neutrality requirement on executive branch administrative actions affecting mandatory spending. This mechanism, commonly referred to as “Administrative pay-as-you-go” (Administrative PAYGO), requires each executive department and agency (agency) to include one or more proposals for reducing mandatory spending whenever an agency proposes to undertake a discretionary administrative action that would increase mandatory spending.

In practice, however, agencies have applied this requirement with varying degrees of stringency, sometimes resulting in higher mandatory spending. Accordingly, institutionalizing and reinvigorating Administrative PAYGO through this order is a prudent approach to keeping mandatory spending under control.

Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the executive branch to control Federal spending and restore the Nation’s fiscal security. This policy includes ensuring that agencies consider the costs of their administrative actions, take steps to offset those costs, and curtail costly administrative actions.

Sec. 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this order:

(a) the term “discretionary administrative action” means any administrative action that is not required by statute and that would impact mandatory spending, including, but not limited to, the issuance of any agency rule, demonstration, program notice, or guidance; and

(b) the term “increase” in the context of mandatory spending means an increase relative to the projection in the most recent President’s Budget, as described in 31 U.S.C. 1105, or Mid-Session Review, as described in 31 U.S.C. 1106, of what is required, under current law, to fund the mandatory-spending program.

Sec. 4. Scope. This order applies to discretionary administrative actions undertaken by agencies. If an agency determines that a proposed administrative action that would increase mandatory spending is required by statute and therefore is not a discretionary administrative action, the agency’s general counsel shall provide a written opinion to the Director of OMB (Director) explaining that legal conclusion, and the agency shall consult with OMB prior to taking further action.

Sec. 5. Agency Proposal Requirements. (a) Before an agency may undertake any discretionary administrative action, the head of the agency shall submit the proposed discretionary administrative action to the Director for review. Such submission shall include an estimate of the budgetary effects of such action.

(b) If an agency’s proposed discretionary administrative action would increase mandatory spending, the agency head’s submission under subsection (a) of this section shall include a proposal to undertake other administrative action(s) that would comparably reduce mandatory spending. Submissions to increase mandatory spending that do not include a proposal to offset such increased spending shall be returned to the agency for reconsideration.