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Executive Order 11811 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations

Executive Order 11811—Adjusting Rates of Pay for Certain Statutory Pay Systems

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Monday, October 7, 1974
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3 min read (571 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (571 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The per annum salaries of Foreign Service officers in the schedule contained in section 412 of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 867), are adjusted as follows: (b).

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Foreign Nations & International Entities Public Health & Medical Institutions

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Gerald R. Ford on October 7, 1974, this order concerns Adjusting Rates of Pay for Certain Statutory Pay Systems. General Schedule SECTION 1. The rates of basic pay in the General Schedule contained in section 5332(a) of title 5 of the United States Code are adjusted as follows: Schedules for the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the Veterans' Administration SEC. 2.

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 per annum salaries of Foreign Service officers in the schedule contained in section 412 of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 867), are adjusted as follows: (b).

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The per annum salaries of staff officers and employees in the schedule contained in section 415 of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 870(a)), are adjusted as follows: Salary Limitation SEC. 4.

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Notwithstanding the rates of basic pay or salaries established by sections 1, 2, and 3 of this order, under section 5308 of title 5 of the United States Code no rate of basic pay or salary may be paid which is in excess of the rate now or hereafter provided for level V of the Executive Schedule.

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The following orders are hereby superseded: (1) Executive Order No. 11413 of June 11, 1968; (2) Executive Order No. 11474 of June 16, 1969; (3) Executive Order No. 11524 of April 15, 1970; (4) Executive Order No. 11576 of January 8, 1971; (5) Executive Order No. 11637 of December 22, 1971; (6) Executive Order No. 11691 of December 15, 1972, as amended; and (7) Executive Order No. 11739 of October 3, 1973.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
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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)
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"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

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

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

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

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
571
3,479 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
9.4
High School
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 subchapter I of chapter 53 of title 5 of the United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows: General Schedule SECTION 1. The rates of basic pay in the General Schedule contained in section 5332(a) of title 5 of the United States Code are adjusted as follows: Schedules for the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the Veterans' Administration SEC. 2. The schedules contained in section 4107 of title 38 of the United States Code, for certain positions within the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the Veterans' Administration, are adjusted as follows: "Section 4103 Schedule "Associate Deputy Chief Medical Director, at the annual rate provided in section 5316 of title 5 of the United States Code for positions in level V of the Executive Schedule. "Assistant Chief Medical Director, $46,336 1 . "Medical Director, $40,062 minimum 1 to $45,402 maximum 1 . "Director of Nursing Service, $40,062 minimum* to $45,402 maximum 1 . "Director of Chaplain Service, $34,607 minimum to $43,839 maximum 1 . "Director of Pharmacy Service, $34,607 minimum to $43,839 maximum 1 . "Director of Dietetic Service, $34,607 minimum to $43,839 maximum 1 . "Director of Optometry, $34,607 minimum to $43,839 maximum 1 . "Physician and Dentist Schedule "Director grade, $34,607 minimum to $43,839 maximum 1 . "Executive grade, $32,129 minimum to $41,768 maximum 1 . "Chief grade, $29,818 minimum to $38,764 maximum 1 . "Senior grade, $25,581 minimum to $33,258 maximum. "Intermediate grade, $21,816 minimum to $28,359 maximum. "Full grade, $18,463 minimum to $23,998 maximum. "Associate grade, $15,481 minimum to $20,125 maximum. "Nurse Schedule "Director grade, $29,818 minimum to $38,764 maximum 1 . "Assistant Director grade, $25,581 minimum to $33,258 maximum. "Chief grade, $21,816 minimum to $28,359 maximum. "Senior grade, $18,463 minimum to $23,998 maximum. "Intermediate grade, $15,481 minimum to $20,125 maximum. "Full grade, $12,841 minimum to $16,693 maximum. "Associate grade, $11,070 minimum to $14,391 maximum. "Junior grade, $9,473 minimum to $12,317 maximum. Foreign Service Schedules SEC. 3. (a). The per annum salaries of Foreign Service officers in the schedule contained in section 412 of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 867), are adjusted as follows: (b). The per annum salaries of staff officers and employees in the schedule contained in section 415 of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended (22 U.S.C. 870(a)), are adjusted as follows: Salary Limitation SEC. 4. Notwithstanding the rates of basic pay or salaries established by sections 1, 2, and 3 of this order, under section 5308 of title 5 of the United States Code no rate of basic pay or salary may be paid which is in excess of the rate now or hereafter provided for level V of the Executive Schedule. Prior Orders Superseded SEC. 5. The following orders are hereby superseded: (1) Executive Order No. 11413 of June 11, 1968; (2) Executive Order No. 11474 of June 16, 1969; (3) Executive Order No. 11524 of April 15, 1970; (4) Executive Order No. 11576 of January 8, 1971; (5) Executive Order No. 11637 of December 22, 1971; (6) Executive Order No. 11691 of December 15, 1972, as amended; and (7) Executive Order No. 11739 of October 3, 1973. Effective Date SEC. 6. This order shall take effect as of the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 1974. GERALD R. FORD

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

October 7, 1974.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

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

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11,811 (Oct. 7, 1974), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11811-adjusting-rates-pay-for-certain-statutory-pay-systems.