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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 13035 Amended 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.60) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 13035—Advisory Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next Generation Internet

William J. Clinton William J. Clinton
•
Tuesday, February 11, 1997
•
3 min read (513 words)
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62 Fed. Reg. 7131

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (513 words) • ● Amended
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Committee shall provide the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), through the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy ("Director"), with advice and information on high-performance computing and communications, information technology, and the Next Generation Internet.

View all 3 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
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 William J. Clinton on February 11, 1997, this order concerns Advisory Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next Generation Internet. There is established the "Advisory Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next Generation Internet" ("Committee"). The Committee shall consist of not more than 25 nonfederal members appointed by the President, including representatives of the research, education, and library communities, network providers, and representatives from critical industries.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Functions

The Committee shall provide the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), through the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy ("Director"), with advice and information on high-performance computing and communications, information technology, and the Next Generation Internet.

▪
Administration

To the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, the Department of Defense shall provide the financial and administrative support for the Committee.

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General

Notwithstanding any other Executive order, the functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, except that of reporting to the Congress, that are applicable to the Committee shall be performed by the Director of the NCO in accordance with guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator of General Services.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Technology & Cybersecurity
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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: Strong Prerogative Support
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
32 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

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

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
513
3,499 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.2
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.60
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (4 sections)
Sec. 1: EstablishmentSec. 2: FunctionsSec. 3: AdministrationSec. 4: General

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-194) ("Act"), and in order to establish an advisory committee on high-performance computing and communications, Information Technology, and the Next Generation Internet, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Establishment. There is established the "Advisory Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next Generation Internet" ("Committee"). The Committee shall consist of not more than 25 nonfederal members appointed by the President, including representatives of the research, education, and library communities, network providers, and representatives from critical industries. The President shall designate co-chairs from among the members of the Committee.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Functions. The Committee shall provide the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), through the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy ("Director"), with advice and information on high-performance computing and communications, information technology, and the Next Generation Internet. The Committee shall provide an independent assessment of: (1) progress made in implementing the High-Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program; (2) progress in designing and implementing the Next Generation Internet initiative; (3) the need to revise the HPCC Program; (4) balance among components of the HPCC Program; (5) whether the research and development undertaken pursuant to the HPCC Program is helping to maintain United States leadership in advanced computing and communications technologies and their applications; and (6) other issues as specified by the Director.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Administration. To the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, the Department of Defense shall provide the financial and administrative support for the Committee. Further, the Director of the National Coordination Office for Computing Information, and Communications ("Director of the NCO") shall provide such coordination and technical assistance to the Committee as the co-chairs of the Committee may request. (a) The heads of executive agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide to the Committee such information as it may require for the purpose of carrying out its functions. (b) The co-chairs may, from time to time, invite experts to submit information to the Committee and may form subcommittees or working groups within the Committee to review specific issues. (c) Members of the Committee shall serve without compensation but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707).

Sec. 4. #sec-4

General. (a) Notwithstanding any other Executive order, the functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, except that of reporting to the Congress, that are applicable to the Committee shall be performed by the Director of the NCO in accordance with guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator of General Services. (b) The Committee shall terminate 2 years from the date of this order unless extended by the President prior to such date. William J. Clinton The White House, February 11, 1997. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., February 13, 1997]

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (5)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

Amends Executive Order 13305—Extension of the Presidents Information Technology Advisory Committee and the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
George W. Bush • 2003-05-28
Amends Executive Order 13215—Presidents Information Technology Advisory Committee, Further Amendment to Executive Order 13035, as Amended
George W. Bush • 2001-05-31
Amends Executive Order 13200—Presidents Information Technology Advisory Committee, Further Amendment to Executive Order 13035, as Amended
George W. Bush • 2001-02-11
Amends Executive Order 13113—President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, Further Amendments to Executive Order 13035, as Amended
William J. Clinton • 1999-02-10
Amends Executive Order 13092—President's Information Technology Advisory Committee, Amendments to Executive Order 13035
William J. Clinton • 1998-07-24
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 13,035, 62 Fed. Reg. 7131 (Feb. 11, 1997).