By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America by the Constitution and statutes of the United Sates, including the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-379,84 Stat. 799), as amended, the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-159), the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. App. 2061, et seq.), as amended, and Section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. There is hereby established in the Executive Office of the President a Federal Energy Office. The Office shall be under the immediate supervision and direction of an Administrator and a Deputy Administrator of the Federal Energy Office. The Administrator shall be the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. SEC. 2. The Administrator of the Federal Energy Office shall advise the President with respect to the establishment and integration of domestic and foreign policies relating to the production, conservation, use, control, distribution, and allocation of energy and with respect to all other energy matters. SEC. 3 (a) There is hereby delegated to the Administrator all the authority vested in the President by the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973. (b) The Administrator shall either submit to the Congress the reports required by Section 4 (c) (2) of the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act, or may require any other officer or any department or agency of the United States to submit the required reports to Congress. SEC. 4 (a) There is hereby delegated to the Administrator the authority vested in the President by Section 203 (a) (3) of the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970, as amended. (b) The Chairman of the Cost of Living Council shall, from time to time, delegate to the Administrator such authority under the Economic Stabilization Act as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of that Act with respect to energy matters. SEC. 5. There is hereby delegated to the Administrator the authority vested in the President by the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, as it relates to the production, conservation, use, control, distribution, and allocation of energy. Any provision of Executive Order No. 10480, as amended, which is inconsistent with the exercise of such authority is hereby suspended for so long as this Section remains in effect. SEC. 6. Executive Order No. 11726 of June 29, 1973, is hereby superseded to the extent that it is inconsistent with this Order. SEC. 7. All Orders, regulations, circulars, or other directives issued and all other actions taken pursuant to any authority delegated to the Administrator by this Order prior to and in effect on the date of this Order are hereby confirmed and ratified, and shall remain in full force and effect, as if issued under this Order, unless or until altered, amended, or revoked by the Administrator or by such competent authority as he may specify. SEC. 8. All authority delegated to and placed in the Administrator by this Order may be further delegated, in whole or in part, by the Administrator to any other officer or any department or agency of the United States. SEC. 9 (a) Necessary expenses of the Federal Energy Office may be paid from the Emergency Fund of the President or from such other funds as may be available. (b) The Administrator of the General Services Administration shall provide, on a reimbursable basis, such administrative support as may be needed by the Federal Energy Office. (c) All departments and agencies of the executive branch shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide assistance and information to the Administrator of the Federal Energy Office. RICHARD NIXON The White House, December 4, 1973.
Executive Order 11748—Federal Energy Office
Executive Brief • At a Glance
There is hereby established in the Executive Office of the President a Federal Energy Office.
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 December 4, 1973, this order concerns Federal Energy Office. There is hereby established in the Executive Office of the President a Federal Energy Office. The Office shall be under the immediate supervision and direction of an Administrator and a Deputy Administrator of the Federal Energy Office. The Administrator shall be the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. SEC. 2.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
There is hereby established in the Executive Office of the President a Federal Energy Office.
The Office shall be under the immediate supervision and direction of an Administrator and a Deputy Administrator of the Federal Energy Office.
The Administrator shall be the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
The Administrator of the Federal Energy Office shall advise the President with respect to the establishment and integration of domestic and foreign policies relating to the production, conservation, use, control, distribution, and allocation of energy and with respect to all other energy matters.
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 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."
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.
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
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Referenced By Later Executive Orders (4)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,748 (Dec. 4, 1973), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11748-federal-energy-office.