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Executive Order 10728 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 10728—Establishing the President's Committee on Fund-Raising Within the Federal Service

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Friday, September 6, 1957
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5 min read (909 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (909 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Fund-raising campaigns and solicitations within the executive branch of the Government shall be in accordance with and subject to the following rules and regulations: (a) There shall be a uniform fund-raising program of true voluntary giving for all executive departments and agencies, including the armed forces of the United States.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Public Health & Medical Institutions

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 6, 1957, this order concerns Establishing the President's Committee on Fund-Raising Within the Federal Service. Fund-raising campaigns and solicitations within the executive branch of the Government shall be in accordance with and subject to the following rules and regulations: (a) There shall be a uniform fund-raising program of true voluntary giving for all executive departments and agencies, including the armed forces of the United States.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Fund-raising campaigns and solicitations within the executive branch of the Government shall be in accordance with and subject to the following rules and regulations: (a) There shall be a uniform fund-raising program of true voluntary giving for all executive departments and agencies, including the armed forces of the United States.

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There shall be not more than three solicitations annually; provided that exceptions to this rule may be made for emergency and disaster appeals.

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Each recognized and approved national voluntary agency shall be assigned an appropriate period for its solicitation; and no solicitation shall be made in any period other than that assigned therefor.

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Persons on duty shall be subjected to a minimum of disturbance.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§

"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)

Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.

Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
47 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Moderate Friction

The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.

Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
909
5,953 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.1
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

WHEREAS it has been the traditional policy of the executive branch of the United States Government to permit certain national voluntary health and welfare agencies and certain other voluntary agencies to solicit funds from Federal employees and members of the armed forces at their places of employment or duty stations; and WHEREAS such solicitations should be conducted so as to afford an opportunity for true voluntary giving to such agencies for charitable and other purposes; and WHEREAS it is essential that solicitations for these voluntary agencies be conducted in such manner as will occasion minimum interruption of Government functions; and WHEREAS it is desirable that solicitations be conducted on a basis of uniform standards:

NOW, THEREFORE, #now-therefore

by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. fund-raising campaigns and solicitations within the executive branch of the Government shall be in accordance with and subject to the following rules and regulations: (a) There shall be a uniform fund-raising program of true voluntary giving for all executive departments and agencies, including the armed forces of the United States. (b) There shall be not more than three solicitations annually; provided that exceptions to this rule may be made for emergency and disaster appeals. (c) Each recognized and approved national voluntary agency shall be assigned an appropriate period for its solicitation; and no solicitation shall be made in any period other than that assigned therefor. (d) Persons on duty shall be subjected to a minimum of disturbance. (e) The record-keeping relating to, and the administration of, fund-raising programs shall be held to a minimum by all Government departments and agencies concerned. (f) There shall be preserved the right of the giver to choose the agency or agencies which shall receive his gift. (g) The identity of each recognized national voluntary agency shall be preserved. (h) Each national voluntary agency shall be afforded an opportunity to inform potential givers with respect to the purposes, functions, administration and operations of the agency. (i) There shall be reserved to the individual giver the option of disclosing his contribution or keeping it confidential. The principles enumerated above shall not be construed to affect contractual agreements with respect to the distribution of gifts between voluntary fund-raising agencies recognized for solicitation under this program. SEC. 2. There is hereby established the President's Committee on Fund-Raising within the Federal Service, hereinafter referred to as the Committee. The Committee shall be composed of five persons from the executive branch appointed by the President, who shall designate the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Committee. The Chairman, Vice Chairman, and other members of the Committee shall serve at the pleasure of the President. SEC. 3. The Committee shall: (a) Periodically review the conduct and operation of the fund-raising program under the policy reflected by this order. (b) Recommend to the President such changes in policy as it believes necessary to improve the functioning of the program based upon its review of the conduct and operation of the fund-raising program. (c) Make modifications in the fund-raising program as necessary to improve its functioning within the provision of this order. (d) Review requests for participation in the said fund-raising program received from national voluntary health and welfare organizations, make determinations as to their acceptance, and assign the appropriate solicitation period to such acceptable organization. SEC. 4. The Chairman of the Committee shall establish an Advisory Council which shall be composed of the following persons or their personal representatives: The Surgeon General of the Public Health Service The President of the American National Red Cross The President of the United Community Funds and Councils of America The President of a participating national health agency, who shall serve on a rotating basis The Chairman of the Government Employees' Council (AFL-CIO) The President of the National Federation of Federal Employees The President of a participating international agency, who shall serve on a rotating basis A member at large who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Chairman of the Committee The Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Advisory Council shall be designated by the Chairman of the Committee. SEC. 5. The Advisory Council shall provide the Committee with advice and counsel concerning the policies, procedures and eligibility for solicitation within the Federal establishment. SEC. 6. The head of each department or agency shall: (a) See that voluntary fund-raising within his department or agency is conducted in accordance with the policies, principles, and procedures prescribed by or pursuant to this order. (b) Cooperate with the Committee and the participating voluntary agencies under this order. (c) Designate a representative to work with the Committee as necessary to put the fund-raising program into effect within his department or agency. SEC. 7. This order shall not apply to solicitations conducted by organizations composed of civilian employees or members of the armed forces among their own members for organizational support or for benefit or welfare funds for their members. Such solicitations shall be conducted under policies and procedures approved by the head of the department or agency concerned. SEC. 8. Federal officers and employees shall receive no additional compensation for services performed for, or as members of, the Committee or the Advisory Council. Non-Federal members of the Advisory Council and their personal representatives shall receive no Federal compensation for their services as such members or representatives. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

September 6, 1957.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 10,728 (Sept. 6, 1957), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10728-establishing-the-presidents-committee-fund-raising-within-the.