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Executive Order 11191 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 11191—Providing for the Carrying Out of Certain Provisions of the Communications Satellite Act of 1962

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson
•
Monday, January 4, 1965
•
3 min read (658 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (658 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Secretary shall exercise the supervision provided for in Section 201(a)(4) of the Act and, in consonance with Section 201(a) (5) of the Act, shall further timely arrangements for foreign participation in the establishment and use of a communications satellite system.

View all 3 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
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 Lyndon B. Johnson on January 4, 1965, this order concerns Providing for the Carrying Out of Certain Provisions of the Communications Satellite Act of 1962. As used in this order: (a) The term "the Act" means the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 (76 Stat. 419), and includes, except as may for any reason be inappropriate, that Act as amended from time to time. (b) The term "the Corporation" means the Communications Satellite Corporation (incorporated on February 1, 1963, under title III of the Act and under the District of Columbia Business Corporation Act).

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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Secretary of State

The Secretary shall exercise the supervision provided for in Section 201(a)(4) of the Act and, in consonance with Section 201(a) (5) of the Act, shall further timely arrangements for foreign participation in the establishment and use of a communications satellite system.

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Assistance and Cooperation

The Director and the Secretary shall effect such mutual coordination, and all other federal agencies concerned, and the Corporation, shall furnish the Director and the Secretary such assistance and documents, and shall otherwise extend to them such cooperation, as will enable the Director and the Secretary properly to carry out their responsibilities under this order and best promote the implementation of the Act in an orderly and expeditious manner.

▪
Functions reserved

The functions, or parts of functions, conferred upon the President by the Act that are not assigned herein are reserved to the President.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Uncategorized
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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
JM

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)
AH

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
GM

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.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
27 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

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

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

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 in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.

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
658
4,222 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.7
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (6 sections)
Sec. 1: DefinitionsSec. 2Sec. 3: Secretary of StateSec. 4Sec. 5: Assistance and CooperationSec. 6: Functions reserved

By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Definitions. As used in this order: (a) The term "the Act" means the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 (76 Stat. 419), and includes, except as may for any reason be inappropriate, that Act as amended from time to time. (b) The term "the Corporation" means the Communications Satellite Corporation (incorporated on February 1, 1963, under title III of the Act and under the District of Columbia Business Corporation Act). (c) The term "the Director" means the Director of Telecommunications Management provided for in Executive Order No. 10995 of February 16, 1962. (d) The term "the Secretary" means the Secretary of State or his designees.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Director of Telecommunications Management, (a) Subject to the provisions of this order, the Director shall generally advise and assist the President in connection with the functions conferred upon the President by the provisions of Section 201(a) of the Act. (b) The Director shall: (1) Aid in the planning and development, and aid in fostering the execution, of a national program for the establishment and operation, as« expeditiously as possible, of a commercial communications satellite system. (2) Conduct a continuous review of all phases of the development and operation of such a system, including the activities of the Corporation. (3) Coordinate the activities of governmental agencies with responsibilities in the field of telecommunication, so as to insure that there is full and effective compliance at all times with the policies set forth in the Act. (4) Make recommendations to the President and others as appropriate, with respect to all steps necessary to insure the availability and appropriate utilization of the communications satellite system for general Government purposes in consonance with Section 201(a)(6) of the Act. (5) Help attain coordinated and efficient use of the electromagnetic spectrum and the technical compatibility of the communications satellite system with existing communications facilities both in the United States and abroad. (6) Prepare, for consideration by the President, such Presidential action documents as may be appropriate under Section 201(a) of the Act, make necessary recommendations to the President in connection therewith, and keep the President currently informed with respect to the carrying out of the Act. (7) Serve as the chief point of liaison between the President and the Corporation.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Secretary of State. (a) The Secretary shall exercise the supervision provided for in Section 201(a)(4) of the Act and, in consonance with Section 201(a) (5) of the Act, shall further timely arrangements for foreign participation in the establishment and use of a communications satellite system. (b) The Secretary shall have direction of the foreign relations of the United States with respect to the Act, including all negotiations by the United States with foreign governments or with international bodies in connection with the Act.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Annual reports, The Director shall timely submit to the President each year the report (including evaluations and recommendations) provided for in Section 404(a) of the Act.

Sec. 5. #sec-5

Assistance and Cooperation. The Director and the Secretary shall effect such mutual coordination, and all other federal agencies concerned, and the Corporation, shall furnish the Director and the Secretary such assistance and documents, and shall otherwise extend to them such cooperation, as will enable the Director and the Secretary properly to carry out their responsibilities under this order and best promote the implementation of the Act in an orderly and expeditious manner. In connection with his responsibilities under section 3 of this order, the Secretary shall consult with the Director and other federal officers concerned, and, as may be appropriate, with the Corporation.

Sec. 6. #sec-6

Functions reserved. The functions, or parts of functions, conferred upon the President by the Act that are not assigned herein are reserved to the President. LYNDON B. JOHNSON The White House, January 4, 1965.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

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

Amends Executive Order 12046—Telecommunications Functions
Jimmy Carter • 1978-03-27
References Executive Order 11556—Assigning Telecommunications Functions
Richard Nixon • 1970-09-04
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 11,191 (Jan. 4, 1965), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11191-providing-for-the-carrying-out-certain-provisions-the-communications.