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Executive Order 12704 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.29) 📜 Art. II §3: Faithful Execution of Statutory Law

Executive Order 12704—Amendments to Executive Orders Nos. 11830, 12367, and 12692

George Bush George Bush
•
Monday, February 26, 1990
•
1 min read (295 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 1 min read (295 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Amendments to Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, "Enlarging the Membership of the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees." Section 1, subsection (11) of Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, is revised to read "Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (Ex Officio)." A new section 2 shall be added to Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, which shall read as follows: "Sec. 2.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §3: Faithful Execution of Statutory Law
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Branch Departments General Body of the People
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President George Bush on February 26, 1990, this order concerns Amendments to Executive Orders Nos. 11830, 12367, and 12692. Amendments to Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, "Enlarging the Membership of the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees." Section 1, subsection (11) of Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, is revised to read "Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (Ex Officio)." A new section 2 shall be added to Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, which shall read as…

Constitutional Assessment: An early statesman would view this measure favorably under Article II, Section 3 (the Take Care Clause). The President operates strictly within the ambit of executing established laws and supervising departmental subordinates, respecting the supremacy of the legislative branch without fabricating novel statutory obligations.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Amendments to Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, "Enlarging the Membership of the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees." Section 1, subsection (11) of Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, is revised to read "Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (Ex Officio)." A new section 2 shall be added to Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, which shall read as follows: "Sec. 2.

▪

The Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees shall also be referred to as the Interagency Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities." Sec. 2.

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Amendment to Executive Order No. 12367, as amended, "President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities." Section 3(b) of Executive Order No. 12367, as amended, is revised to read as follows: "Any administrative support or other expenses of the Committee shall be paid, to the extent permitted by law, from funds available to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as determined by the agreement of those agencies." Sec. 3.

▪

Amendment to Executive Order No. 12692, "Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees." Section 1(a) of Executive Order No. 12692, which continues until September 30, 1991, the Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business Ownership, is hereby revoked.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Branch Departments 🏛️ General Body of the People

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Labor & Employment 🏷️ Civil Rights & Liberties
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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)
§

"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 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
35 / 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

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

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
295
1,873 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
10.9
High School
Language Tone Score
+0.29
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

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📑Sections Outline (3 sections)
Sec. 1Sec. 2Sec. 3

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended et seq. ), the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), and the Small Business Act, as amended et seq .), and to reflect developments in connection with Executive Orders Nos. 11830, 12367, and 12692, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Amendments to Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, "Enlarging the Membership of the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees." Section 1, subsection (11) of Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, is revised to read "Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (Ex Officio)." A new section 2 shall be added to Executive Order No. 11830, as amended, which shall read as follows: "Sec. 2. The Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees shall also be referred to as the Interagency Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities."

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Amendment to Executive Order No. 12367, as amended, "President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities." Section 3(b) of Executive Order No. 12367, as amended, is revised to read as follows: "Any administrative support or other expenses of the Committee shall be paid, to the extent permitted by law, from funds available to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as determined by the agreement of those agencies."

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Amendment to Executive Order No. 12692, "Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees." Section 1(a) of Executive Order No. 12692, which continues until September 30, 1991, the Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business Ownership, is hereby revoked. The remaining sections 1(b) through 1(k) are relettered sections 1(a) through 1(j). George Bush The White House, February 26, 1990.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 12,704 (Feb. 26, 1990), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12704-amendments-executive-orders-nos-11830-12367-and-12692.