Appointment and duties of Director and Deputy Directors

There shall be at the head of the Office a Director who shall hold the same rank and status as the head of an executive department listed in section 101 of title 5. The Director shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the President. There shall be a Deputy Director who shall report directly to the Director, and who shall be appointed by the President, and shall serve at the pleasure of the President. The following coordinators shall be appointed by the Director: The Director shall designate or appoint a United States Demand Reduction Coordinator to be responsible for the activities described in section 1701(3) of this title. For purposes of carrying out the previous sentence, the Director shall designate or appoint an appointee in the Senior Executive Service or an appointee in a position at level 15 of the General Schedule (or equivalent). The Deputy Director of National Drug Control Policy shall— If the Director dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office, the Deputy Director shall perform the functions and duties of the Director temporarily in an acting capacity pursuant to subchapter III of chapter 33 of title 5. No person shall serve as Director or a Deputy Director while serving in any other position in the Federal Government. Any officer or employee of the Office who is appointed to that position by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may not participate in Federal election campaign activities, except that such officer or employee is not prohibited by this paragraph from making contributions to individual candidates. No funds authorized under this chapter may be obligated for the purpose of expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a State or local ballot initiative. The Director— shall provide, by July 1 of each year, budget recommendations, including requests for specific initiatives that are consistent with the priorities of the President under the National Drug Control Strategy, to the heads of departments and agencies with responsibilities under the National Drug Control Program, which recommendations shall— shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I of section 812 of this title and take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that— shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees on an annual basis, not later than 60 days after the date of the last day of the applicable period, a summary of— shall ensure that drug prevention and drug treatment research and information is effectively disseminated by National Drug Control Program agencies to State and local governments and nongovernmental entities involved in demand reduction by— supporting the substance abuse information clearinghouse administered by the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and established in section 290aa(d)(16) of title 42 by— in order to formulate the national drug control policies, goals, objectives, and priorities— shall consult with and assist— may— For each fiscal year, the head of each department, agency, or program of the Federal Government with responsibilities under the National Drug Control Program Strategy shall transmit to the Director a copy of the proposed drug control budget request of the department, agency, or program at the same time as that budget request is submitted to their superiors (and before submission to the Office of Management and Budget) in the preparation of the budget of the President submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31. The head of each National Drug Control Program agency shall ensure timely development and submission to the Director of each proposed drug control budget request transmitted pursuant to this paragraph, in such format as may be designated by the Director with the concurrence of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. A drug control budget request submitted by a department, agency, or program under this paragraph shall include all requests for funds for any drug control activity undertaken by that department, agency, or program, including demand reduction, supply reduction, and State, local, and tribal affairs, including any drug law enforcement activities. If an activity has both drug control and nondrug control purposes or applications, the department, agency, or program shall estimate by a documented calculation the total funds requested for that activity that would be used for drug control, and shall set forth in its request the basis and method for making the estimate. For each fiscal year, following the transmission of proposed drug control budget requests to the Director under paragraph (1), the Director shall, in consultation with the head of each National Drug Control Program agency and the head of each major national organization that represents law enforcement officers, agencies, or associations— develop a consolidated National Drug Control Program budget proposal designed to implement the National Drug Control Strategy and to inform Congress and the public about the total amount proposed to be spent on all supply reduction, demand reduction, State, local, and tribal affairs, including any drug law enforcement, and other drug control activities by the Federal Government, which shall conform to the content requirements set forth in paragraph (1)(C) and include— The Director shall review each drug control budget request submitted to the Director under paragraph (1). If the Director concludes that a budget request submitted under paragraph (1) is inadequate, in whole or in part, to implement the objectives of the National Drug Control Strategy with respect to the department, agency, or program at issue for the year for which the request is submitted, the Director shall submit to the head of the applicable National Drug Control Program agency a written description of funding levels and specific initiatives that would, in the determination of the Director, make the request adequate to implement those objectives. If the Director concludes that a budget request submitted under paragraph (1) is adequate to implement the objectives of the National Drug Control Strategy with respect to the department, agency, or program at issue for the year for which the request is submitted, the Director shall submit to the head of the applicable National Drug Control Program agency a written statement confirming the adequacy of the request. The Director shall maintain a record of each description submitted under clause (i) and each statement submitted under clause (ii). The Director shall not confirm the adequacy of any budget request that requests a level of funding that will not enable achievement of the goals of the National Drug Control Strategy, including— The head of a National Drug Control Program agency that receives a description under subparagraph (B)(i) shall include the funding levels and initiatives described by the Director in the budget submission for that agency to the Office of Management and Budget. The head of a National Drug Control Program agency that has altered its budget submission under this subparagraph shall include as an appendix to the budget submission for that agency to the Office of Management and Budget an impact statement that summarizes— The head of a National Drug Control Program agency shall submit a copy of any impact statement under clause (ii) to the Senate and the House of Representatives and the appropriate congressional committees, at the time the budget for that agency is submitted to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31. At the time a National Drug Control Program agency submits its budget request to the Office of Management and Budget, the head of the National Drug Control Program agency shall submit a copy of the budget request to the Director. The Director shall— submit to the appropriate congressional committees— a written statement that either— No National Drug Control Program agency shall submit to Congress a reprogramming or transfer request with respect to any amount of appropriated funds in an amount exceeding $5,000,000 or 10 percent of a specific program or account that is included in the National Drug Control Program budget unless the request has been approved by the Director. If the Director has not responded to a request for reprogramming subject to this subparagraph within 30 days after receiving notice of the request having been made, the request shall be deemed approved by the Director under this subparagraph and forwarded to Congress. The head of any National Drug Control Program agency may appeal to the President any disapproval by the Director of a reprogramming or transfer request under this paragraph. The Director shall designate or appoint a United States Performance-Budget Coordinator to— For purposes of carrying out subparagraph (A), the Director shall designate or appoint an appointee in the Senior Executive Service or an appointee in a position at level 15 of the General Schedule (or equivalent). Whenever the Director submits any budget estimate or request to the President or the Office of Management and Budget, the Director shall concurrently transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a detailed statement of the budgetary needs of the Office to execute its mission based on the good-faith assessment of the Director. In carrying out subsection (b), the Director may— monitor implementation of the National Drug Control Program, including— transfer funds made available to a National Drug Control Program agency for National Drug Control Strategy programs and activities to another account within such agency or to another National Drug Control Program agency for National Drug Control Strategy programs and activities, except that— the Director shall— funds may only be used for— Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 43 of title 5, the Director shall perform the evaluation of the performance of any employee detailed to the Office for purposes of the applicable performance appraisal system established under such chapter for any rating period, or part thereof, that such employee is detailed to such office. Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Director may provide periodic bonus payments to any employee detailed to the Office. An amount paid under this paragraph to an employee for any period— The aggregate amount paid during any fiscal year to an employee detailed to the Office as basic pay, awards, bonuses, and other compensation shall not exceed the annual rate payable at the end of such fiscal year for positions at level III of the Executive Schedule. The maximum number of personnel who may be detailed to another department or agency (including the Office) under subsection (d)(2) during any fiscal year is— A fund control notice may direct that all or part of an amount appropriated to the National Drug Control Program agency account be obligated by— An officer or employee of a National Drug Control Program agency shall not make or authorize an expenditure or obligation contrary to a fund control notice issued by the Director. In the case of a violation of paragraph (2) by an officer or employee of a National Drug Control Program agency, the head of the agency, upon the request of and in consultation with the Director, may subject the officer or employee to appropriate administrative discipline, including, when circumstances warrant, suspension from duty without pay or removal from office. A copy of each fund control notice shall be transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees. The Director shall not issue a fund control notice to direct that all or part of an amount appropriated to the National Drug Control Program agency account be obligated, modified, or altered in any manner contrary, in whole or in part, to a specific appropriation or statute. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the National Intelligence Program, the Joint Military Intelligence Program, and Tactical and Related Activities, unless such program or an element of such program is designated as a National Drug Control Program— jointly by— Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as derogating the authorities and responsibilities of the Director of National Intelligence or the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency contained in the National Security Act of 1947 [50 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.], the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 [50 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.], or any other law. The Director shall provide for or shall enter into an agreement with a nonprofit organization to— There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $1,250,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2023. The Director shall designate or appoint a United States State, Local, and Tribal Affairs Coordinator to perform the duties of the Office outlined in this section and section 1705 of this title and such other duties as may be determined by the Director with respect to coordination of drug control efforts between agencies and State, local, and Tribal governments. For purposes of carrying out the previous sentence, the Director shall designate or appoint an appointee in the Senior Executive Service or an appointee in a position at level 15 of the General Schedule (or equivalent). When developing the national drug control policy, any policy of the Director, including policies relating to syringe exchange programs for intravenous drug users, shall be based on the best available medical and scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of such policy in promoting individual health and preventing the spread of infectious disease and the impact of such policy on drug addiction and use. In making any policy relating to harm reduction programs, the Director shall consult with the National Institutes of Health and the National Academy of Sciences.