Delegation of Authority to Appoint Commissioned Officers of the Ready Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service

This memorandum delegates presidential authority to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to appoint commissioned officers of the Ready Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service, with commissions limited to 6-month terms. The delegation explicitly prohibits redelegation and preserves presidential appointment authority for longer terms or transfers to the Regular Corps.

Federal Register Open PDF 76 FR 33117

Impact dates

Date TBD
Maximum term length for commissions issued under delegation

Key directives

Assign to Secretary of HHS the functions of the President under section 203 of the Public Health Service Act to appoint commissioned officers of the Ready Reserve Corps
Limit commissions issued under this delegation to maximum 6-month terms
Prohibit appointment to Ready Reserve Corps for terms greater than 6 months except by the President
Prohibit appointment to Regular Corps except by President with Senate advice and consent
Prohibit redelegation of this authority
Direct publication in Federal Register

Who is ordered

Secretary of Health and Human Services · Department of Health and Human Services

Timeline

Immediate

Delegation of appointment authority to HHS Secretary takes effect
Publication in Federal Register authorized

Near term (90d)

—

Long term

Ongoing appointment process for Ready Reserve Corps officers subject to 6-month term limits

Risks & tensions

6-month term limit may create administrative burden with frequent reappointments
Prohibition on redelegation centralizes control but may bottleneck appointment process
Ambiguity about whether this responds to implementation challenges of Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) expansion of Public Health Service Corps