By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, particularly the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970, as amended, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Subsection (a) of section 1 of Executive Order No. 11640 of January 26, 1972, is amended by inserting in lieu of the first sentence thereof the following: "The Pay Board and Price Commission established by sections 7 and 8 of Executive Order No. 11627 of October 15, 1971, are hereby continued, except to the extent that the language prescribing the composition of the Pay Board and the Price Commission has been modified by sections 7 (b) and 8(b) of this Order, as amended, and shall act as agencies of the United States. The Chairman of each of these bodies, acting in accordance with the majority vote of its members, shall, pursuant to the goals established by the Cost of Living Council, take such steps as may be necessary, and authorized by or pursuant to this Order, to stabilize prices, rents, wages, and salaries." SEC. 2. Subsection (b) of section 7 of Executive Order No. 11640 is amended by inserting in lieu of the first four sentences thereof the following: "The Board shall be composed of such members as the President has appointed or may, from time to time, appoint and who arc serving pursuant to such appointment. Such members shall be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate ; except that the foregoing requirement with respect to Senate confirmation does not apply to any member of the Board who was serving, pursuant to appointment by the President, on December 22, 1971, and who continues to serve pursuant to such appointment, after such time. The members of the Board shall serve at the pleasure of the President and one of the members designated by the President shall serve as Chairman." SEC. 3. (a) Subsection (b) of section 8 of Executive Order No. 11640 is amended by inserting in lieu of the first two sentences thereof the following: "The Commission shall be composed of such members as the President has appointed or may, from time to time, appoint and who are serving pursuant to such appointment. Such members shall be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; except that the foregoing requirement with respect to Senate confirmation does not apply to any member of the Commission who was serving, pursuant to appointment by the President, on December 22, 1971, and who continues to serve pursuant to such appointment, after such time." SEC. 3. (b) The penultimate sentence of section 8 (b) of Executive Order No. 11640 is amended by deleting "Executive Director of the Board" and inserting in lieu thereof "Executive Director of the Commission". SEC. 4. All orders, regulations, circulars, or other directives issued and all other actions taken pursuant to Executive Order No. 11615, as amended, Executive Order No. 11627, as amended, and Executive Order No. 11640, and in effect on the date of this Order, are hereby confirmed and ratified, and shall remain in full force and effect, unless and until altered, amended, or revoked by competent authority. RICHARD NIXON The White House, March 23, 1972
Executive Order 11660 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order 11660—Amending Executive Order No. 11640, Further Providing for the Stabilization of the Economy
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 3 min read (539 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
Subsection (a) of section 1 of Executive Order No. 11640 of January 26, 1972, is amended by inserting in lieu of the first sentence thereof the following: "The Pay Board and Price Commission established by sections 7 and 8 of Executive Order No. 11627 of October 15, 1971, are hereby continued, except to the extent that the language prescribing the composition of the Pay Board and the Price Commission has been modified by sections 7 (b) and 8(b) of this Order, as amended, and shall act as agencies of the United States.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Branch Departments General Body of the People
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 March 23, 1972, this order concerns Amending Executive Order No. 11640, Further Providing for the Stabilization of the Economy. Subsection (a) of section 1 of Executive Order No. 11640 of January 26, 1972, is amended by inserting in lieu of the first sentence thereof the following: "The Pay Board and Price Commission established by sections 7 and 8 of Executive Order No. 11627 of October 15, 1971, are hereby continued, except to the extent that the language prescribing the composition of the Pay Board and the Price Commission has been…
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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Subsection (a) of section 1 of Executive Order No. 11640 of January 26, 1972, is amended by inserting in lieu of the first sentence thereof the following: "The Pay Board and Price Commission established by sections 7 and 8 of Executive Order No. 11627 of October 15, 1971, are hereby continued, except to the extent that the language prescribing the composition of the Pay Board and the Price Commission has been modified by sections 7 (b) and 8(b) of this Order, as amended, and shall act as agencies of the United States.
▪
The Chairman of each of these bodies, acting in accordance with the majority vote of its members, shall, pursuant to the goals established by the Cost of Living Council, take such steps as may be necessary, and authorized by or pursuant to this Order, to stabilize prices, rents, wages, and salaries." SEC. 2.
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Subsection (b) of section 7 of Executive Order No. 11640 is amended by inserting in lieu of the first four sentences thereof the following: "The Board shall be composed of such members as the President has appointed or may, from time to time, appoint and who arc serving pursuant to such appointment.
▪
Such members shall be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate ; except that the foregoing requirement with respect to Senate confirmation does not apply to any member of the Board who was serving, pursuant to appointment by the President, on December 22, 1971, and who continues to serve pursuant to such appointment, after such time.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Branch Departments
🏛️ General Body of the People
Policy Areas & Topics
🏛️
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating 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
30 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
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
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
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
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
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
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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
539
3,180 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
14.5
College Level
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Richard Nixon • 1973-01-11
Related Executive Orders
3 orders cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 11640 Jan 26, 1972
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.29)
Executive Order 11640—Further Providing for the Stabilization of the Economy
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
On August 15, 1971, I issued Executive Order No. 11615 providing for the stabilization of prices, rents, wages, and salaries, for a period of 90 days from the date of that Order.
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 18m
EO 11627 Oct 15, 1971
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.29)
Executive Order 11627—Further Providing for the Stabilization of the Economy
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
On August 15, 1971, I issued Executive Order No. 11615 providing for the stabilization of prices, rents, wages, and salaries, for a period of 90 days from the date of that Order.
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 14m
EO 11615 Aug 15, 1971
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.29)
Executive Order 11615—Providing for Stabilization of Prices, Rents, Wages, and Salaries
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Prices, rents, wages, and salaries shall be stabilized for a period of 90 days from the date hereof at levels not greater than the highest of those pertaining to a substantial volume of actual transactions by each individual, business, firm or other entity of any kind during…
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 5m
EO 11661 Mar 24, 1972
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11661—Relating to Facilitating Coordination of Federal Education Programs
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order No. 11260 of December 11, 1965, which amended Executive Order No. 11185, of October 16, 1964, relating to facilitating coordination of Federal education programs, is hereby revoked, and Executive Order No. 11185 shall, until otherwise provided, be deemed to be…
Richard Nixon High School • 1m
EO 11659 Mar 22, 1972
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11659—Establishment of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission. It is hereby declared that the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission is established under the provisions of Title II of the Water Resources Planning Act (42 U.S.C. 1962b et seq.). SEC. 2. Jurisdiction of the Commission.
Richard Nixon College Level • 3m
EO 11658 Mar 22, 1972
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11658—Establishment of the Missouri River Basin Commission
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Missouri River Basin Commission. It is hereby declared that the Missouri River Basin Commission is established under the provisions of Title II of the Water Resources Planning Act (42 U.S.C. 1962b et seq.). SEC. 2. Jurisdiction of the Commission.
Richard Nixon College Level • 3m
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,660 (Mar. 23, 1972), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11660-amending-executive-order-no-11640-further-providing-for-the.
