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Executive Order 11117 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 11117—Establishing an Interagency Committee on International Athletics

John F. Kennedy

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Tuesday, August 13, 1963

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3 min read (505 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (505 words) • ● In Effect

🎯 Primary Mandate

There is hereby established the Interagency Committee on International Athletics.

View all 4 directives ↓

⚖️ Constitutional Footing

🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority

Express or Implied Congressional Authorization

📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Framers' constitutional debate ↓

🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors

Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Foreign Nations & International Entities Public Health & Medical Institutions

Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President John F. Kennedy on August 13, 1963, this order concerns Establishing an Interagency Committee on International Athletics. . There is hereby established the Interagency Committee on International Athletics. The Committee shall collect, exchange, and review information concerning amateur athletic matters that might tend to affect the foreign relations or general welfare of the United States.

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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There is hereby established the Interagency Committee on International Athletics.

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The Committee shall collect, exchange, and review information concerning amateur athletic matters that might tend to affect the foreign relations or general welfare of the United States.

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The Committee shall be composed of representatives to be designated by the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (in his capacity as Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness), and the heads of such other departments and agencies as the President may from time to time designate, or as may be invited to participate in the activities of the Committee upon its request.

▪

The head of each department or agency represented on the Committee shall designate one or more alternates.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Education

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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 1 (Maximum Authority)

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)

Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)

Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.

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

41 / 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

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.

Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

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

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization

⚖️ 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%).

ℹ️

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

505

3,303 characters

Estimated Read Time

3 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

21.4

Post-Graduate Legal

Language Tone Score

+0.02

Constitutional Neutral

How is this scored?

Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

WHEREAS it is vital that the United States be constantly informed concerning all events, activities, and conditions that might have a potential effect upon the foreign relations of this Nation and the well-being of its people; and WHEREAS international amateur athletic competitions and related activities conducted by private individuals and organizations free from government sponsorship, interference, or control frequently make significant contributions to international good will and elevate standards of physical welfare throughout the world; and WHEREAS these activities merit sympathetic attention and encouragement by the United States; and WHEREAS it would be advantageous for the Department of State to have the advice and assistance of other departments and agencies in discharging its responsibilities in this regard:

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 (a) . There is hereby established the Interagency Committee on International Athletics. The Committee shall collect, exchange, and review information concerning amateur athletic matters that might tend to affect the foreign relations or general welfare of the United States. The Committee shall be composed of representatives to be designated by the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (in his capacity as Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness), and the heads of such other departments and agencies as the President may from time to time designate, or as may be invited to participate in the activities of the Committee upon its request. The head of each department or agency represented on the Committee shall designate one or more alternates. The representative of the Department of State shall serve as chairman of the Committee. (b) As deemed necessary to facilitate its work, the Committee may request any executive department or agency whose activities have significant implications for the work of the Committee to designate a liaison officer to consult with and advise the Committee. (c) The departments and agencies represented on the Committee shall, in accordance with law, furnish such assistance as may be required for the work of the Committee, in conformity with section 214 of the Act of May 3, 1945 (59 Stat. 134, 81 U.S.C. 691). SEC. 2. To facilitate the collection, coordination, and review of information by the Committee, the Committee may request information and views from Federal departments and agencies and from such organizations and individuals as may be willing and able to provide information pertaining to its work. The Committee shall, from time to time, submit reports and recommendations, as appropriate, to the President and to the Secretary of State, and shall keep officials of the departments and agencies represented on the Committee currently informed of its activities. SEC. 3. The representative of the Department of State, in addition to serving as chairman, shall have primary responsibility for the collection of comprehensive information on current and impending developments pertaining to amateur athletics, and he shall make such information available to the Committee. JOHN F. KENNEDY

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

August 13, 1963

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

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

Revokes Executive Order 11515—Terminating Certain Bodies Established by the President

Richard Nixon • 1970-03-13

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,117 (Aug. 13, 1963), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11117-establishing-interagency-committee-international-athletics.