By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. I), and in order to improve the management effectiveness of Executive agencies, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1-1. Establishment of the Council. 1-101. There is hereby established the President's Management Improvement Council. 1-102. The Council shall be Co-chaired by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. The Council's membership shall consist of representatives from Executive agencies and from the non-Federal sector; such as business, industry, organized labor, foundations, universities, and State and local governments. The members shall be appointed by the President. 1-2. Functions of the Council. 1-201. The Council shall advise the President on significant and critical management problems and issues affecting Executive agencies and Government programs. 1-202. The Council shall work cooperatively with the Comptroller General, senior program management and administrative officials, and Inspectors General to provide advice and guidance on specific management improvement projects involving one or more Executive agencies. 1-203. Where feasible, the Council shall advise the Executive agencies in the development of management systems or management techniques to improve the effectiveness and responsiveness of Federal programs. 1-204. The Council shall advise the Executive agencies of solutions to critical management problems, as well as the constraints on management effectiveness. 1-205. In developing its recommendations, the Council shall utilize the experience of the public and private sectors. The Council shall also identify and facilitate the application to Federal programs of appropriate successful systems and techniques which have been used elsewhere in public and private sectors. 1-206. The Cochairman shall report to the President on the performance of the Council's functions. 1-3. Administrative Provisions. 1-301. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Council with administrative and staff services, support and facilities as may be necessary for the effective performance of its functions. 1-302. Each member of the Council, who is not otherwise a full-time employee of the Federal Government, shall receive no compensation from the United States by virtue of their service on the Council, but all members may receive the transportation and travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 5702 and 5703). 1-4. General Provisions. 1-401. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Executive order, the functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. I), except that of reporting annually to the Congress, shall be performed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management in accordance with guidelines and procedures established 'by the Administrator of General Services. 1-402. The Council shall terminate on December 31, 1980, unless sooner extended. JIMMY CARTER The White House, September 14, 1979. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:15 p.m., September 14, 1979]
Executive Order 12157 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.29)
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
Executive Order 12157—President's Management Improvement Council
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (485 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
There is hereby established the President's Management Improvement Council. 1-102.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Private Citizens & Property Owners
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 September 14, 1979, this order concerns President's Management Improvement Council. 1-1. Establishment of the Council. 1-101. There is hereby established the President's Management Improvement Council. 1-102. The Council shall be Co-chaired by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪
There is hereby established the President's Management Improvement Council. 1-102.
▪
The Council shall be Co-chaired by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management.
▪
The Council's membership shall consist of representatives from Executive agencies and from the non-Federal sector; such as business, industry, organized labor, foundations, universities, and State and local governments.
▪
The members shall be appointed by the President. 1-2.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
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.
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§
"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."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM
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.
Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
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: Supportive of Execution
GM
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.
Anti-Federalist Stance: High Bill of Rights Scrutiny
📐
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
39 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
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
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
High Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Moderate Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers
Low Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️
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%).
ℹ️
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
485
3,301 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
14.1
College Level
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Jimmy Carter • 1980-12-31
Related Executive Orders
Other executive actions signed by Jimmy Carter around this period.
EO 12158 Sep 18, 1979
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12158—Presidential Scholars
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, Section 2 of Executive Order No. 11155 is hereby amended by adding thereto the following paragraph: "(5) In addition to the Presidential Scholars provided for in…
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EO 12156 Sep 10, 1979
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12156—Federal Emergency Management Agency; Department of Energy
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
1-101. Section 5-211 of Executive Order No. 12148 of July 20, 1979, is corrected and amended to read: "Section 1-102 of Executive Order No. 12083, as amended by Executive Order No. 12121, is further amended by adding in alphabetical order "(z) The Director of the Federal…
Jimmy Carter College Level • 1m
EO 12155 Sep 10, 1979
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12155—Strategic and Critical Materials
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
Effective July 30, 1979, as follows: 1-101. The functions vested in the President by Section 3 of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act, as amended, hereinafter referred to as the Act, (50 U.S.C. 98b), are delegated to the Director of the Federal Emergency…
Jimmy Carter High School • 2m
EO 12159 Sep 20, 1979
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12159—Emergency Board To Investigate a Railway Labor Dispute
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
1-101. Establishment of Board. There is established a board of three members to be appointed by the President to investigate these disputes. No member of the board shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railroad employees or any carrier. 1-102.
Jimmy Carter College Level • 2m
EO 12154 Amended Sep 4, 1979
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12154—Executive Schedule
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
1-1. Executive Schedule Positions. 1-101. The following positions are placed in level IV of the Executive Schedule: (a) Senior Adviser to the Secretary, Department of State. (b) Deputy Under Secretary for International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor.
Jimmy Carter High School • 1m
EO 12160 Amended Sep 26, 1979
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12160—Federal Consumer Programs
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
1-1. Establishment of the Consumer Affairs Council. 1-101. There is hereby established the Consumer Affairs Council (hereinafter referred to as the "Council"). 1-102.
Jimmy Carter College Level • 7m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 12,157 (Sept. 14, 1979), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12157-presidents-management-improvement-council.
