President George Bush has delegated to the Secretary of State the submission of “certain recurring reports,” including on Tibet Negotiations Status, to the Congress. This is part of an Executive Order issued on July 31, 2003.
In the order, President Bush said, “This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a party against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees or agents, or any other person.”
The Congress passed the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (TPA), as contained in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228). The Act states that a report must be prepared 180 days following enactment, and every 12 months thereafter, concerning the steps taken by the President and the Secretary to encourage the Government of the People’s Republic of China to enter into dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives leading to a negotiated agreement on Tibet. The report is also to address the status of any discussions between the People’s Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives.
President Bush submitted the first such report to the Congress in May this year in which he reiterated the United States’ commitment to encourage negotiations to resolve the Tibet problem.
Through the Executive Order, President Bush assigned several recurring reports to the Congress to be submitted by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of CIA, and the Director of National Drug Control Policy.