By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 621 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2381), and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: PART 1. FOREIGN ASSISTANCE Executive Order No. 10973 of November 3, 1961, as amended, is hereby amended as follows: 1. Section 101 is amended by redesignating clause (5) as clause (6) and inserting after the comma at the end of clause (4) a new clause (5), as follows: "(5) Section 8(d) of the Act of January 12, 1971 (P.L. 91-672; 84 Stat. 2055)3" 2. Subsections (b) and (c) of section 102 are amended to read as follows: "(b) The Agency shall be headed by an Administrator who shall be appointed pursuant to section 624(a) of the Act. "(c) The other officers provided for in section 624(a) of the Act shall also serve in the Agency." 3. Section 103 is revoked. 4. Paragraph (a) of Section 201 is amended by inserting "(except Chapter 4 thereof)" after "Part II". 5. Section 203 is amended as follows: (a) In paragraph (a), delete "506(a)" and insert in lieu thereof "505(a)". (b) In paragraph (b), delete "506 (b)" and insert in lieu thereof "505 (b)". (c) Paragraph (c) and paragraph (d) are revoked. (d) A new paragraph (f) is added at the end of section 203 as follows: "(f) Those under section 514 of the Act." 6. Section 301 is amended as follows: (a) Paragraph (a) is amended to read as follows: "(a) The functions conferred upon the President by subsections (a) (2) and (b) of section 514 of the Act and by the second sentence of section 612(a) of the Act." (b) A new paragraph (c) is added at the end of section 301 as follows: "(c) In carrying out the functions under section 514 of the Act delegated to him by this order, the Secretary of the Treasury shall consult with the Secretary of State." 7. Section 401 is amended as follows: (a) In paragraph (a), delete ", and 634(a)" and insert "and" after "633(a),". (b) In paragraph (c), delete the section numbers therein and insert in lieu thereof "202 (b), 205, 303, 481, 505(b) (4), 506(a), 604(a), 610, 614(c), 624(d)(7), 632(b), and 634(c) of the Act." (c) In subparagraph (d) (2), delete "506(b) (1), (2), and (3)" and insert in lieu thereof "505(b) (1), (2), and (3)". (d) Subparagraph (d) (3) is revoked. (e) A new subparagraph (d) (5) shall be added at the end of paragraph (d) as follows: "(5) That under the second sentence of section 654(c) with respect to the publication in the Federal Register of any finding or determination reserved to the President: Provided, that any officer to whom there is delegated the function of making any finding or determination within the purview of section 654(a) is also authorized to reach the conclusion specified in the second sentence of section 654(c) in performance of the function delegated to him." (f) Paragraph (g) is amended to read as follows: "(g) That under section 502 of the Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Appropriation Act, 1972 (86 Stat. 55), with respect to certification." 8. Section 601 is amended by inserting ", as amended," after "Foreign Assistance Act of 1961." 9. Section 604 is amended by adding thereto a new subsection (f), as follows: "(f) In conformity with section 202(b) of the Act of February 7, 1972 (P.L. 92-226; 86 Stat. 27), references in this order to Part I of the Act shall be deemed to include also chapter 4 of Part II of the Act, and references in this order to Part II of the Act shall be deemed to exclude chapter 4 of Part II of the Act." PART II. FOREIGN MILITARY SALES Section 1(i) of Executive Order No. 11501 of December 22, 1969, is hereby amended by deleting "42 (b)" and inserting in lieu thereof "42(c)." RICHARD NIXON The White House, September 25, 1972.
Executive Order 11685—Amending Executive Order No. 10973, Relating to Administration of Foreign Assistance and Related Functions, and Executive Order No. 11501, Relating to Administration of Foreign Military Sales
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Executive Order No. 10973 of November 3, 1961, as amended, is hereby amended as follows: 1.
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 September 25, 1972, this order concerns Amending Executive Order No. 10973, Relating to Administration of Foreign Assistance and Related Functions, and Executive Order No. 11501, Relating to Administration of Foreign Military Sales. Executive Order No. 10973 of November 3, 1961, as amended, is hereby amended as follows: 1. Section 101 is amended by redesignating clause (5) as clause (6) and inserting after the comma at the end of clause (4) a new clause (5), as follows: "(5) Section 8(d) of the Act of January 12, 1971 (P.L. 91-672; 84 Stat. 2055)3" 2.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Executive Order No. 10973 of November 3, 1961, as amended, is hereby amended as follows: 1.
Is amended by redesignating clause (5) as clause (6) and inserting after the comma at the end of clause (4) a new clause (5), as follows: "(5) Section 8(d) of the Act of January 12, 1971 (P.L. 91-672; 84 Stat. 2055)3" 2.
Subsections (b) and (c) of section 102 are amended to read as follows: "(b) The Agency shall be headed by an Administrator who shall be appointed pursuant to section 624(a) of the Act.
"(c) The other officers provided for in section 624(a) of the Act shall also serve in the Agency." 3.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
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.
"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."
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.
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.
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.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
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.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,685 (Sept. 25, 1972), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11685-amending-executive-order-no-10973-relating-administration-foreign.