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Executive Order 12573 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 12573—Amending Executive Order No. 11157 as It Relates to Incentive Pay for Hazardous Duty

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Thursday, November 6, 1986
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3 min read (509 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (509 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Executive Order No. 11157 of June 22, 1964, as amended, is further amended by adding at the end of subsection (h) of Section 109 of Part I, the following sentence: "The use of solid fumigant formulations, such as aluminum phosphide, magnesium phosphide and calcium cyanide, in the outdoor control of burrowing animals does not qualify a member for incentive pay under this subsection." (b) Executive Order No. 11157 is further amended by adding at the end of Section 109 of Part I, the following new subsection: "(j) The term the handling of chemical munitions for components of such munitions)' shall be construed to mean duty performed by members as a primary duty which routinely requires (1) direct physical handling of toxic chemical munitions…

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986, this order concerns Amending Executive Order No. 11157 as It Relates to Incentive Pay for Hazardous Duty. Executive Order No. 11157 of June 22, 1964, as amended, is further amended by adding at the end of subsection (h) of Section 109 of Part I, the following sentence: "The use of solid fumigant formulations, such as aluminum phosphide, magnesium phosphide and calcium cyanide, in the outdoor control of burrowing animals does not qualify a member for incentive pay under this subsection." (b) Executive Order No. 11157 is…

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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Executive Order No. 11157 of June 22, 1964, as amended, is further amended by adding at the end of subsection (h) of Section 109 of Part I, the following sentence: "The use of solid fumigant formulations, such as aluminum phosphide, magnesium phosphide and calcium cyanide, in the outdoor control of burrowing animals does not qualify a member for incentive pay under this subsection." (b) Executive Order No. 11157 is further amended by adding at the end of Section 109 of Part I, the following new subsection: "(j) The term the handling of chemical munitions for components of such munitions)' shall be construed to mean duty performed by members as a primary duty which routinely requires (1) direct physical handling of toxic chemical munitions…

▪

The amendment made by this Order to Executive Order No. 11157 relating to chemical munitions shall be effective as of October 1, 1985.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises

Policy Areas & Topics

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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 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"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

"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.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
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
40 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

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

Moderate Friction

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

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

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%).
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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
509
3,276 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.5
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (2 sections)

By the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America by Section 301(a) of Title 37 of the United States Code, and in order to further define duties involving exposure to toxic pesticides and to define an additional category of hazardous duty, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

(a) Executive Order No. 11157 of June 22, 1964, as amended, is further amended by adding at the end of subsection (h) of Section 109 of Part I, the following sentence: "The use of solid fumigant formulations, such as aluminum phosphide, magnesium phosphide and calcium cyanide, in the outdoor control of burrowing animals does not qualify a member for incentive pay under this subsection." (b) Executive Order No. 11157 is further amended by adding at the end of Section 109 of Part I, the following new subsection: "(j) The term the handling of chemical munitions for components of such munitions)' shall be construed to mean duty performed by members as a primary duty which routinely requires (1) direct physical handling of toxic chemical munitions incident to storage, maintenance, testing, surveillance, assembly, disassembly, demilitarization, or disposal of said munitions; (2) direct physical handling of chemical surety material, as defined by the Secretary concerned, incident to manufacture, storage, testing, laboratory analysis, detoxification, or disposal of said material; (3) direct physical handling of toxic chemical munitions incident to technical escort of shipments of said munitions; (4) direct physical handling of chemical surety material, as defined by the Secretary concerned incident to technical escort of shipments of said material. The term does not include the handling of the individual components of binary chemical agents or munitions. The term does not include user handling incident to loading, firing, or otherwise launching the toxic chemical munitions nor field storage operations during hostilities. The term also excludes the handling of Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation Dilute Solutions of toxic chemicals as defined by the Secretary concerned. It also excludes the handling of riot control agents, chemical defoliants and herbicides, smoke, flame and incendiaries, and industrial chemicals. The entitlement to the pay provided for in this subsection is based upon the performance of such duty that has the potential for accidental exposure to chemical agents and not upon actual quantifiable exposure to such agents. Therefore, neither the construction of the term nor the receipt of pay provided for in this subsection may be construed as indicating that any person entitled to such pay actually has been exposed to chemical agents contrary to the provisions of any statute, executive order, rule, or regulations relating to the health and safety which is applicable to the uniformed services."

Sec. 2. #sec-2

The amendment made by this Order to Executive Order No. 11157 relating to chemical munitions shall be effective as of October 1, 1985. The amendment made by this Order to Executive Order No. 11157 relating to highly toxic pesticides shall be effective immediately upon signature. RONALD REAGAN The White House, November 6, 1986. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:49 a.m., November 7, 1986]

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 12,573 (Nov. 6, 1986), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12573-amending-executive-order-no-11157-it-relates-incentive-pay-for.