Executive Orders
Dateline: 12/18/97
"The Executive Power shall be vested..."
In Tom Clancy’s novel, Executive Orders, a terrorist crashes a jetliner into
the Capitol building killing the President, Vice President, most of Congress and Cabinet
Members, and the Supreme Court. A big news day? Somehow, Clancy’s main-man,
ex-Marine, CIA guy, Jack Ryan, finds himself appointed President. Besides having to deal
with the Iranians, who are about to attack the world with Ebola virus, Jack is also driven
from within to effect massive reforms of the entire Federal Government system. Ho,
hum, another day, another crisis. Some 800 pages later, he’s done the job, mostly by
applying the often controversial Presidential power of Executive Order.
Executive Orders Defined
An Executive Order (EO) is a directive issued to executive-level agencies, department
heads, or other employees from the President under the President's statutory, or constitutional powers.
In many ways, the EO is similar to written orders, or instructions the president of a
corporation might send to department heads or directors.Thirty days after it is officially
published in the Federal Register, an EO becomes law. While the EO does bypass the U.S.
Congress and the standard legislative law making process, no part of an EO may be illegal
or unconstitutional. The first EO was issued in 1789 by none other than George Washington.
Not until 1907 were EOs given official numbers.
Reasons for Issuing an Executive Order
Presidents typically issue an EO for one of these purposes:
1. Operational management of the executive branch
2. Operational management of federal agencies or officials
3. To carry out statutory presidential responsibilities
- - In 1970, President Nixon used this 398 word Executive Order establishing NOAA.
How Executive Orders May be Vacated
The President can retract an EO at any time. The President may also issue an EO that
supersedes an existing one. New incoming Presidents may choose to follow the EOs of their
predecessors, replace them with new ones of their own, or revoke the old ones completely.
In extreme cases, Congress may pass a law that alters an EO, and the Supreme Court can
declare them unconstitutional.
Executive Orders vs. Proclamations
Presidential Proclamations differ from EOs in that they are either ceremonial in nature or
deal with issues of trade and may or may not carry legal effect. All EOs become law.
Constitutional Authority for Executive Orders
Article II, section 1 of the Constitution reads, in part, "The executive power
shall be vested in a president of the United States of America." And, Article II,
section 3 asserts that, "The President shall take care that the laws be faithfully
executed..." Since the Constitution does not specifically define executive power,
critics of Executive Orders argue that these two passages do not imply Constitutional
authority. But, Presidents of the United States since George Washington have argued that
they do.
Modern Use of Executive Orders
Until World War I, the Executive Order was used for relatively minor, usually unnoticed
acts of state. A trend that changed drastically with passage of the War Powers Act of
1917. This act passed during WWI granted the President temporary powers to immediately
enact laws regulating trade, economy, and other aspects of policy as they pertained to
enemies of America. A key section of the War Powers act also contained language
specifically excluding American citizens from its effects.
The War Powers Act remained in effect and unchanged until 1933 when a freshly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt found America in the panic stage of the Great Depression. The first thing FDR did was to convene a special session of Congress where he introduced a bill amending the War Powers Act to remove the clause excluding American citizens from being bound by its effects. This would allow the President to declare “national emergencies” and unilaterally intact laws to deal with them. This massive amendment was approved by both houses of Congress in under 40 minutes without debate. Hours later, FDR officially declared the depression a “national emergency” and stared issuing a string of Executive Orders that effectively were the “New Deal.”
While some of FDR’s actions were, perhaps, constitutionally questionable, history recognizes them as averting the growing panic and starting our economy on its way to recovery.
Online Executive Orders, Lists, and Archives
Want to see some real live EOs? Here you go...
Executive Order
13015
A very recent EO by President Clinton, it established the Commission on Aviation
Safety and Security.
Executive Order Annotated Index
from NARA
These are brief, topical summaries of all EOs issued from 1962 thru 1997 arranged by date.
Each one contains a reference to where it can be found in the Federal Register.
The Whitehouse Virtual Library
Complete text of all of President Clinton's Executive Orders. Searchable by topic, phrase,
or EO number.
Environmentally
Focused Executive Orders
Collected by the Evirosense arm of the EPA.
John F. Kennedy's Executive Orders
A searchable collection of all of JFK's EOs. From the document collection of the
University of Michigan.
GSA
Administered Executive Orders
An interesting selection of EOs regulating areas including floodplain management, culture,
environment, Indian sacred sites, and more. From the General Services Administration.
All Those Opposed
Many people strongly oppose the Executive Order as being an unconstitutional, even
potentially dictatorial application of power. While the purpose of this article is not to
state an opinion, or editorialize either way, I feel it only fair that this alternative
point of view be represented.
The WINDS.org - Presidential Executive Orders
The opinions expressed in the web sites linked above are those of their authors, contributors, and representatives only and in no way represent the opinions of this Web site, your Guide, or the Mining Company, Inc.
Jack Ryan -- President?
Could it really happen? Could someone completely outside the federal system actually be
"appointed" President of the United States? On January 2, 1998, we'll take a
look at the Constitutional process and history of Presidential Succession.
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