New Freedom Initiative -- Executive Order 13217

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

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Executive Order 13217

As a part of the New Freedom Initiative, the President issued Executive Order 13217, "Community-Based Alternatives for Individuals with Disabilities," on June 18, 2001. The Order called upon the federal government to assist states and localities to swiftly implement the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C., stating: "The United States is committed to community-based alternatives for individuals with disabilities and recognizes that such services advance the best interests of the United States."

Executive Order 13217 directed six federal agencies, including the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and Housing and Urban Development and the Social Security Administration to "evaluate the policies, programs, statutes and regulations of their respective agencies to determine whether any should be revised or modified to improve the availability of community-based services for qualified individuals with disabilities" and to report back to the President with their findings. The departments of Transportation and Veterans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, and the Office of Personnel Management, though not named in the Executive Order, also joined in the implementation effort. Together, these agencies formed the Interagency Council on Community Living under the leadership of HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson.

Because any plans to improve community integration of people with disabilities must include the ideas and advice of the people who are most affected, the President ensured that public input would be a central component of the federal review mandated by the Order. To encourage the broad participation of people with disabilities, family caregivers, providers and advocates in the public input, the Interagency Council on Community Living sponsored a national listening session in Washington, D.C., a national teleconference, and a Federal Register notice soliciting written public comments. More information on the public input process, including a transcript of the national listening session, is available.

HHS presented President Bush with Delivering on the Promise: Compilation of Individual Federal Agency Reports of Actions to Eliminate Barriers and Promote Community Integration, a compilation of reports from all participating federal agencies, on March 25, 2002. The agencies' preliminary report to the President was released on December 21, 2001, and is also available.

Last revised: October 16, 2003