President Clinton instructed federal agencies last year to rewrite by 2002 all documents that the public sees.

Shortly after taking office, the president signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to embrace transparency.

Instead, what the Democrats will omit is the long explanations usually appended to each spending bill to instruct federal agencies how to spend the money.

Still, Mr. Aronsohn insisted that the governor had not specifically instructed agencies not to answer questions without checking for the official policy.

"We have instructed ministries and agencies to study what we would be able to launch and what functions it would be able to perform."

After Mr. Pataki's request, the office also instructed agencies to limit their hiring to essential postings.

In January, President Obama issued an Executive Order instructing federal agencies to identify and take steps to reduce regulations that are outdated or overly burdensome to entrepreneurs.

The waste of power inspired President Bush to sign an executive order in 2001 instructing federal agencies to buy energy-efficient devices.

The Bush administration has instructed federal agencies to evaluate 800,000 jobs to see if they could be privatized.

On December 6, 2011, he instructed agencies to consider LGBT rights when issuing financial aid to foreign countries.