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Executive Order 11223 Amended 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 11223—Relating to the Performance of Functions Authorized by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as Amended

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Wednesday, May 12, 1965
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5 min read (1,038 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (1,038 words) • ● Amended
🎯 Primary Mandate

For purposes of the tax imposed by section 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code, the following areas are designated as economically less developed countries: (a) All foreign countries (including Trust Territories) in existence on or after the effective date of this order, other than Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, and any foreign country within the Sino-Soviet bloc, as defined in section 2: (b) Each territory, department, province, and possession (other than the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Hong Kong), of any…

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

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 May 12, 1965, this order concerns Relating to the Performance of Functions Authorized by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as Amended. For purposes of the tax imposed by section 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code, the following areas are designated as economically less developed countries: (a) All foreign countries (including Trust Territories) in existence on or after the effective date of this order, other than Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein…

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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For purposes of the tax imposed by section 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code, the following areas are designated as economically less developed countries: (a) All foreign countries (including Trust Territories) in existence on or after the effective date of this order, other than Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, and any foreign country within the Sino-Soviet bloc, as defined in section 2: (b) Each territory, department, province, and possession (other than the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Hong Kong), of any…

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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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)
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"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

"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
31 / 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

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

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

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%).
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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
1,038
6,294 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
13.9
College Level
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 633 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, 75 Stat. 454 (22 U.S.C. 2393), it is hereby determined that, to the extent hereinafter indicated, the performance of functions authorized by that Act, as amended, and any predecessor legislation, without regard to the laws specified in the numbered subdivisions of Sections 1 and 2 of this order and without regard to consideration as specified in Sections 3 and 4 of this order will further the purposes of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended:

Section 1. #sec-1

With respect to functions authorized by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), and any predecessor legislation except those functions exercised by the Department of Defense under authority of Sections 621 and 623 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2381 and 2383): (1) The Act of March 26, 1934, 48 Stat. 500, as amended (15 TJ.S.C. 616a). (2) Section 3648 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, 60 Stat. 809 (31U.S.C.529). (3) Section 305 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, 63 Stat. 396, as amended (41 U.S.C. 255). (4) Section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (41 TJ.S.C. 5). (5) Section 3710 of the Revised Statutes (41 TJ.S.C. 8). (6) Section 2 of Title III of the Act of March 3, 1933, 47 Stat. 1520 (41 U.S.C. 10a). (7) Section 3735 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 13). (8) Section 304(c) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as added by the Act of October 31, 1951, 65 Stat. 700 ( 41 U.S.C. 254(c)), but only with respect to contracts entered into with foreign governments or agencies thereof for the rendering of services to the United States or an agency thereof within the continental limits of the United States. (9) Section 901 (a) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936,49 Stat. 2015, as amended (46 U.S.C. 1241 (a)).

Sec. 2. #sec-2

With respect to purchases authorized to be made outside the limits of the United States or the District of Columbia under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and any predecessor legislation: (1) Section 2276(a) of Title 10 of the United States Code. (2) Section 2313(b) of Title 10 of the United States Code. (3) Section 304(c) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as added by the Act of October 31,1951, 65 Stat. 700 (41 U.S.C. 254(c)). (4) Section 1301 of the Second War Powers Act, 1942, 56 Stat. 185 (50 U.S.C. App. 643), as extended by the provisions of the Act of June 30,1953,67 Stat. 120. (5) Section 3(b) of the Act of August 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 972 (50 U.S.C. 1433(b)), but only with respect to contracts in which the inclusion of the clause required by Section 3(b), or the compliance with that clause, if included in a contract, is deemed by the executive or military department concerned to be impracticable.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

With respect to cost-type contracts heretofore or hereafter made with non-profit institutions under which no fee is charged or paid, amendments and modifications of such contracts may be made with or without consideration and may be utilized to accomplish the same things as any original contract could have accomplished, irrespective of the time or circumstances of the making, or the form of the contract amended or modified, or of the amending or modifying contract and irrespective of rights which may have accrued under the contract or the amendments or modifications thereof.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

With respect to contracts heretofore or hereafter made, other than those described in Section 3 of this order, amendments and modifications of such contracts may be made with or without consideration and may be utilized to accomplish the same things as any original contract could have accomplished, irrespective of the time or circumstances of the making, or the form of the contract amended or modified, or of the amending or modifying contract, and irrespective of rights which may have accrued under the contract or the amendments or modifications thereof, if the Secretary of State determines in each case that such action is necessary to protect the foreign policy interests of the United States.

Sec. 5. #sec-5

Executive Order No. 10784 of October 1, 1958, and Executive Order No. 10845 of October 12, 1959, are hereby superseded. DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AS ECONOMICALLY LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES FOR PURPOSES OF THE INTEREST EQUALIZATION TAX WHEREAS the Senate and House of Representatives have been duly notified of my intention to terminate the designation of the Bahamas, Bermuda, Ireland, Kuwait, and Portugal as economically less developed countries for purposes of the tax imposed by section 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code;

NOW, THEREFORE, #now-therefore

by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 4916(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as added by section 2 of the Interest Equalization Tax Act, approved September 2, 1964 (Public Law 88-563), 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-1-2

Economically less developed countries. For purposes of the tax imposed by section 4911 of the Internal Revenue Code, the following areas are designated as economically less developed countries: (a) All foreign countries (including Trust Territories) in existence on or after the effective date of this order, other than Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, and any foreign country within the Sino-Soviet bloc, as defined in section 2: (b) Each territory, department, province, and possession (other than the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Hong Kong), of any foreign country in existence on or after the effective date of this order, other than a foreign country within the Sino-Soviet bloc, as defined in section 2, if the territory, department, province, or possession is overseas from the foreign country of which it is a territory, department, province, (c) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and all possessions of the United States. LYNDON B. JOHNSON The White House, May 12, 1965

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (6)

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

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,223 (May 12, 1965), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11223-relating-the-performance-functions-authorized-the-foreign-assistance.