Robert F. Fairweather

“ Adherence to the long-standing requirements of the clearance process serves the needs of the President by ensuring that agency legislative proposals and recommendations, as well as testimony, are consistent with his policies and programs. ”

“ In addition to testimonies and letters, an agency may communicate in another form, such as submitting talking points to convey comments (often informally) on a bill under consideration by Congress, or responding to questions for the record following a congressional hearing. Also, agencies have numerous requirements to submit certain reports to Congress, and reports that contain any legislative views or recommendations must be submitted to OMB for clearance to ensure consistency with Administration policy and the President's Budget. ”

“ OMB prepares a memorandum to the President for each enrolled bill which includes a summary of the bill, analysis of significant provisions in the bill, and agency and OMB recommendations for Presidential action on the bill. Any agency recommending disapproval of a bill or the issuance of a signing statement must submit for clearance a statement for the President, and early indication of this intention, including when a bill is circulated to agencies for views prior to floor consideration, is extremely helpful. ”