In my address to the Congress on October 8, 1974, I expressed my intention to create a new National Energy Board, under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Interior, to develop, coordinate, and assure the implementation of Federal energy policy. Subsequent to my delivery of that address, the Congress completed action on the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 which I have just approved into law. Section 108 of that act creates in the Executive Office of the President a new Energy Resources Council which would be charged with performing functions that are essentially the same as those I had intended to assign to the National Energy Board. Consequently, I have determined that it would serve no useful purpose to create that Board. Instead, I am now exercising the authority vested in me by section 108 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, to activate immediately the Energy Resources Council, to designate the Secretary of the Interior as its Chairman, and to designate additional officials as members thereof. Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America by the Constitution and laws of the United States, particularly section 108 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Section 108 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 shall be effective as of the date of this order and the Energy Resources Council shall be deemed to have been activated as of that date. SEC. 2. The Council shall consist of the Secretary of the Interior, who shall be its Chairman, the Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transportation, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, the Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, the Administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration (upon entry into office), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Executive Director of the Domestic Council, and such other members as the President may, from time to time, designate. SEC. 3. The Energy Resources Council shall perform such functions as are assigned to it by section 108 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, shall develop a single national energy policy and program, and shall perform such other functions as may be assigned to it, from time to time, by the President. SEC. 4. All departments and agencies shall cooperate with the Council and shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide it with such assistance and information as the Chairman of the Council may request. SEC. 5. The Committee on Energy, the establishment of which was announced on June 14, 1974, is hereby abolished. SEC. 6. The Council shall terminate in accordance with the provisions of section 108 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974. GERALD R. FORD The White House, October 11, 1974.
Executive Order 11814—Activation of the Energy Resources Council
Executive Brief • At a Glance
In my address to the Congress on October 8, 1974, I expressed my intention to create a new National Energy Board, under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Interior, to develop, coordinate, and assure the implementation of Federal energy policy.
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 11, 1974, this order concerns Activation of the Energy Resources Council. In my address to the Congress on October 8, 1974, I expressed my intention to create a new National Energy Board, under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Interior, to develop, coordinate, and assure the implementation of Federal energy policy. Subsequent to my delivery of that address, the Congress completed action on the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 which I have just approved into law.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
In my address to the Congress on October 8, 1974, I expressed my intention to create a new National Energy Board, under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Interior, to develop, coordinate, and assure the implementation of Federal energy policy.
Subsequent to my delivery of that address, the Congress completed action on the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 which I have just approved into law.
Of that act creates in the Executive Office of the President a new Energy Resources Council which would be charged with performing functions that are essentially the same as those I had intended to assign to the National Energy Board.
Consequently, I have determined that it would serve no useful purpose to create that Board.
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
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
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 (5)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,814 (Oct. 11, 1974), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11814-activation-the-energy-resources-council.