Official arbiter of half staff

[EmailPoster]

To whom it may concern:...

To whom it may concern:



Who is the official arbiter of when to fly flags at half staff? Is
there an official government Web site that gives the status of the flag
every day and explains why it is at half staff on the days that it is?



Thank you.



Sincerely,



Jeff Smith

[gt2313a]

The flag should be flown at half-mast for two reasons:
1. The President has declared it should be done to honor the memory of "principal figures", either foreign or American. Lately, the President has had the flag hauled to half mast in the memory of Pope John Paul II and the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. When the President decides to put the flag at half-mast, there will be a press release on Welcome to the White House.
2. There are certain times when the flag must be at half mast: the morning of Memorial Day, 30 days after the death of a present or former president, 10 days after the death of a present Vice President, and other lengths of time for Supreme Court Justices, members of Congress and other high government officials.

Sources:
Welcome to the White House
US Code TITLE 4 > CHAPTER 1 > § 7 (m)