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Executive Order 11570 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service

Executive Order 11570—Providing for the Regulation of Conduct for the Postal Rate Commission and its Employees

Richard Nixon Richard Nixon
•
Tuesday, November 24, 1970
•
2 min read (433 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (433 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Commission is subject to Executive Order No. 11222 of May 8, 1965, "Prescribing Standards of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees," and Part 735 of the regulations of the Civil Service Commission (5 CFR Part 735).

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
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 Richard Nixon on November 24, 1970, this order concerns Providing for the Regulation of Conduct for the Postal Rate Commission and its Employees. The Commission is subject to Executive Order No. 11222 of May 8, 1965, "Prescribing Standards of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees," and Part 735 of the regulations of the Civil Service Commission (5 CFR Part 735). Section 102. The Civil Service Commission shall prepare initial standards of conduct regulations for the Commission.

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The Commission is subject to Executive Order No. 11222 of May 8, 1965, "Prescribing Standards of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees," and Part 735 of the regulations of the Civil Service Commission (5 CFR Part 735).

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The Civil Service Commission shall prepare initial standards of conduct regulations for the Commission.

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The regulations shall contain such provisions as will ensure that the Commissioners and employees of the Commission are fully guarded against involvement in conflicts of interest situations, or the appearance thereof, or other conduct that may lessen public confidence.

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The regulations shall include provision for: (a) concurrent filing of confidential statements of outside employment and financial interests by employees of the Commission with a designated official of the Commission and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission; (b) strict control of ex parte contacts with the Commission and the Commissioners or employees of the Commission regarding particular matters at issue in contested proceedings before the Commission.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Government Operations & Civil Service
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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

"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: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
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
53 / 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

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

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
433
2,832 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.7
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
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Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (3 sections)
Sec. 101Sec. 102Sec. 103

Under the Postal Reorganization Act (Public Law 91-375), the Postal Rate Commission (referred to hereafter as the "Commission") is charged with the establishment and adjustment of fair and equitable rates of postage, fees for postal services, and classifications of mail. It is essential to public confidence in the United States Postal Service that the activities, procedures, decisions, and recommendations of the Commission be impartial and disinterested and free from taint or suspicion of favoritism of any kind whatsoever, both in fact and in appearance. NOW THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 301 of Title 3, and Section 7301 of Title 5, United States Code, and the Postal Reorganization Act, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 101. #sec-101

The Commission is subject to Executive Order No. 11222 of May 8, 1965, "Prescribing Standards of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees," and Part 735 of the regulations of the Civil Service Commission (5 CFR Part 735).

Section 102. #sec-102

The Civil Service Commission shall prepare initial standards of conduct regulations for the Commission. The regulations shall contain such provisions as will ensure that the Commissioners and employees of the Commission are fully guarded against involvement in conflicts of interest situations, or the appearance thereof, or other conduct that may lessen public confidence. The regulations shall include provision for: (a) concurrent filing of confidential statements of outside employment and financial interests by employees of the Commission with a designated official of the Commission and the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission; (b) strict control of ex parte contacts with the Commission and the Commissioners or employees of the Commission regarding particular matters at issue in contested proceedings before the Commission. The control of such contacts shall include, but not be limited to, the maintenance of public records of such contacts which fully identify the individuals involved and the nature of the subject matter discussed; and (c) prohibition against the receipt of honoraria, travel expenses, entertainment, gifts, loans, favors, or any thing of value by a Commissioner or employee of the Commission from an individual (other than one having a close family or personal relationship) or organization having, or likely to have, business with the Commission.

Section 103. #sec-103

The Civil Service Commission shall issue the initial standards of conduct regulations applicable to the Commission not later than 120 days after the effective date of this Order. Thereafter, the Commission may from time to time amend the regulations, consistent with this Order. The regulations and any amendments thereto shall be published in the Federal Register. RICHARD NIXON The White House November 24, 1970

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 11,570 (Nov. 24, 1970), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11570-providing-for-the-regulation-conduct-for-the-postal-rate-commission.