PCAP - Presidential Climate Action Project

C. Improve Federal StewardshipDirect agencies to include carbon impact statements in their submissions to OMB,legislative proposals and reports to Congress and the American people.C-16. Make greenhouse gases visible and climate action personal.Greenhouse gas emissions should become a more visible factor for policymakers andconsumers. The President should:• Require federal agencies to include climate impact statements in their annualbudget submissions and performance evaluations;• Direct agencies to address climate impacts in relevant reports to Congress and tothe American public. . . . PCAP Report 2:7.Background. There are three parts to this proposal, including impact statements: 1) in budgetsubmissions; (2) in legislative proposals and reports to Congress; and (3) in communications “tothe American people.”Much of the work of executive oversight takes place within the organizations which comprise theExecutive Office of the President (EOP). The EOP includes not only the President’s personaladvisors, who comprise the White House Office, but also permanent organizations. The mostimportant of these units to the regulatory agencies is the Office of Management and Budget(OMB), which has the primary responsibility of formulating the annual executive budget whichthe President transmits to Congress. The OMB receives budget requests from the individualagencies and modifies them in accordance with the Administration’s priorities. The OMB alsoreviews the agencies’ requests for substantive legislation, including agency officials’ proposedtestimony before congressional committees, for consistency with the Administration’s position.Both of these procedures give rise to extensive negotiations between OMB staff and agencyofficials. Usually, a compromise is reached but major disagreements are sometimes resolved bythe President. 271Statutes and Agency Regulations. The President’s authority over the federal executive budgetis broad. The procedure required is found in the Congressional Budget and ImpoundmentControl Act of 1974 (the Budget Act). 272 Pursuant to the Budget Act, “The President shallprepare budgets of the United States Government . . . .” 273 Further, “[e]xcept as provided in this271 See Boundaries Report, Chapter VI(3).272 Codified at 31 U.S.C. §§ 1103 et. seq. (formerly the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950).273 31 U.S.C. § 1104(a).CEES 67 | P age