By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including Section 11 of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977 (42 FR 62461 (December 13, 1977)), Section 202 of the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 (31 U.S.C. 581c), and Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States of America, in order to provide for the establishment of the International Communication Agency, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. (a) Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977 (42 FR 62461), which establishes the International Communication Agency, except for Section 7(a) (14) thereof, is hereby effective. (b) Section 7(a)(14) of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977, relating to the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968, shall be effective on July 1, 1978. SEC. 2. The functions vested in the Secretary of State by Executive Order No. 11312 are assigned and redelegated to the Director of the International Communication Agency. All authority vested in the United States Information Agency or its Director by Executive order is reassigned and redelegated to the International Communication Agency or its Director, respectively. SEC. 3. In order to ensure appropriate coordination among the Executive agencies, the Director of the International Communication Agency shall exercise primary responsibility for Governmentwide policy guidance for international informational, educational, and cultural activities, including exchange programs. The Director shall take into account the statutory functions of the other concerned Executive agencies. SEC. 4. The Director of the International Communication Agency, with the assistance of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, shall prepare and submit to the President the reports which the President is to transmit to the Congress pursuant to Section 108(b) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2458). SEC. 5. The functions vested in the President by Sections 108(c) and 108(d) of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended, are delegated to the Director of the International Communication Agency; because, (a) such a delegation is in the interest of the purposes expressed in that Act and the efficient administration of the programs undertaken pursuant thereto, (b) the Director is an appropriate official to perform those functions, and (c) those functions are not now delegated to any other officer of the Government. SEC. 6. The Director of the International Communication Agency shall be the principal adviser to the President, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of State on international informational, educational, and cultural matters. As such, the Director shall provide advice within the policy formulation activities of the National Security Council when such matters are considered. The Director shall ensure that the senior official of the Agency at each diplomatic mission provides advice to the Chief of Mission on such matters. The scope of the Director's advice shall include assessments of the impact of actual and proposed United States foreign policy decisions on public opinion abroad. SEC. 7. The records, property, personnel, and unexpended balances of appropriations, available or to be made available, which relate to the functions transferred or reassigned, or redelegated as provided in this Order, are hereby transferred to the Director of the International Communication Agency. SEC. 8. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall make such determinations, issue such orders, and take all actions, necessary or appropriate to effectuate the transfers or reassignments provided in this Order, including the transfer of funds, records, property, and personnel. SEC. 9. This Order shall be effective on April 1, 1978. JIMMY CARTER The White House, March 27, 1978. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 1: 14 p.m., March 28, 1978]
Executive Order 12048—International Communication Agency
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977 (42 FR 62461), which establishes the International Communication Agency, except for Section 7(a) (14) thereof, is hereby effective.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Jimmy Carter on March 27, 1978, this order concerns International Communication Agency. Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977 (42 FR 62461), which establishes the International Communication Agency, except for Section 7(a) (14) thereof, is hereby effective. (b) Section 7(a)(14) of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977, relating to the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968, shall be effective on July 1, 1978. SEC. 2.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977 (42 FR 62461), which establishes the International Communication Agency, except for Section 7(a) (14) thereof, is hereby effective.
Section 7(a)(14) of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977, relating to the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968, shall be effective on July 1, 1978.
The functions vested in the Secretary of State by Executive Order No. 11312 are assigned and redelegated to the Director of the International Communication Agency.
In order to ensure appropriate coordination among the Executive agencies, the Director of the International Communication Agency shall exercise primary responsibility for Governmentwide policy guidance for international informational, educational, and cultural activities, including exchange programs.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
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
"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.
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)
George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.
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
Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
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 (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 12,048 (Mar. 27, 1978), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12048-international-communication-agency.