Office of Administration

The Office of Administration was established within the Executive Office of the President

(EOP) by REORGANIZATION PLAN 1 of 1977 (implemented by EXECUTIVE ORDER 12,028, 42 Fed. Reg. 62, 895 [1977], issued on December 12, 1977, by President JIMMY CARTER). The office was created to help centralize the activities of all EOP offices into a single agency. The director of the Office of Administration, who is appointed by and reports directly to the president, is responsible for, according to Executive Order 12,028, "ensuring that the Office of Administration provides units within the Executive Office of the President common administrative support and services."

The Office of Administration provides administrative support services to all EOP offices in the White House, including services that are in direct support of the president. The services provided by the Office of Administration include personnel management; financial management; data processing; and office operations, including the handling of mail (except for presidential mail), messenger service, printing and duplication, graphics, word processing, procurement, and supply. The office also oversees three libraries (not open to the general public): a general reference library located in the New Executive Office Building, and a reference library and a law library in the Old Executive Office Building.

The Office of Administration consists of nearly two hundred full- and part-time employees who maintain accounts for all EOP offices; recruit employees (except for those who will staff the Office of Policy Development and the White House, all of whom are political appointees); and maintain official records, including those of the White House. In addition to the director and an assistant director, the office is managed by three deputy assistant directors, who provide supervision in the areas of general services, information management, and resources management.

Since its creation, the Office of Administration has developed sophisticated computer and communications systems to respond to the increasingly complex needs of the White House and the EOP. Of particular concern is the use of the INTERNET or other mass media to disseminate unauthorized, untruthful, or inaccurate information about the United States or its government. To help address this issue, by Executive Order 13,283 (January 21, 2003), President GEORGE W. BUSH established an Office of Global Communications within the White House Office. Section Four of the Executive Order tasked the Office of Administration with providing administrative and related support to the new unit.