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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 13138 Partially revoked 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 13138—Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees

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Thursday, September 30, 1999
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6 min read (1,101 words)
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64 Fed. Reg. 53879

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 6 min read (1,101 words) • ● Partially revoked
🎯 Primary Mandate

Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior).

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

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 September 30, 1999, this order concerns Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees. Each advisory committee listed below is continued until September 30, 2001. (a) Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior). (b) Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health; Executive Order 12196, as amended (Department of Labor). (c) National Partnership Council; Executive Order 12871, as amended (Office of Personnel Management).

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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Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior).

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Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health; Executive Order 12196, as amended (Department of Labor).

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National Partnership Council; Executive Order 12871, as amended (Office of Personnel Management).

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President's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities; Executive Order 13021, as amended (Department of Education).

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
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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
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
1,101
7,350 characters
Estimated Read Time
6 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.2
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.23
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Each advisory committee listed below is continued until September 30, 2001. (a) Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior). (b) Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health; Executive Order 12196, as amended (Department of Labor). (c) National Partnership Council; Executive Order 12871, as amended (Office of Personnel Management). (d) President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans; Executive Order 12900 (Department of Education). (e) President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities; Executive Order 12876 (Department of Education). (f) President's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities; Executive Order 13021, as amended (Department of Education). (g) President's Commission on White House Fellowships; Executive Order 11183, as amended (Office of Personnel Management). (h) President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology; Executive Order 12882 (Office of Science and Technology Policy). (i) President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities; Executive Order 12367, as amended (National Endowment for the Arts). (j) President's Committee on the International Labor Organization; Executive Order 12216, as amended (Department of Labor). (k) President's Committee on the National Medal of Science; Executive Order 11287, as amended (National Science Foundation). (l) President's Committee on Mental Retardation, Executive Order 12994 (Department of Health and Human Services). (m) President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; Executive Order 12345, as amended (Department of Health and Human Services). (n) President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, Executive Order 12382, as amended (Department of Defense). (o) Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee; Executive Order 12905 (Office of the United States Trade Representative). (p) President's Export Council; Executive Order 12131, as amended (Department of Commerce).

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Executive order, the functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act that are applicable to the committees listed in section 1 of this order, except that of reporting annually to the Congress, shall be performed by the head of the department or agency designated after each committee, in accordance with the guidelines and procedures established by the Administrator of General Services.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

The following Executive orders, or sections thereof, which established committees that have terminated and whose work is completed, are revoked: (a) Executive Order 13017, as amended by Executive Orders 13040 and 13056, establishing the Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry; (b) Executive Order 13038, establishing the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligation of Digital Television Broadcasters, as amended by section 5 of Executive Order 13062, and Executive Orders 13065, 13081, and 13102; (c) Section 5 and that part of section 6(f) of Executive Order 13010, as amended by section 3 of Executive Order 13025, Executive Order 13041, sections 1, 2, and that part of section 3 of Executive Order 13064, and Executive Order 13077, establishing the Advisory Committee to the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection; (d) Executive Order 13037, as amended by Executive Orders 13066 and 13108, establishing the Commission to Study Capital Budgeting; (e) Executive Order 13050, establishing the President's Advisory Board on Race; (f) Executive Order 12852, as amended by Executive Orders 12855, 12965, 12980, 13053, and 13114, establishing the President's Council on Sustainable Development; and (g) Executive Order 12961, as amended by Executive Order 13034, establishing the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Sections 1 through 4 of Executive Order 13062 are superseded.

Sec. 5. #sec-5

Executive Order 12131, as amended, is further amended by adding in section 1-102(a) a new paragraph as follows: "(9) Department of Energy."

Sec. 6. #sec-6

Executive Order 13115 is amended by adding the Department of the Treasury and the Office of National Drug Control Policy to the Interagency Task Force on the Roles and Mission of the United States Coast Guard, so that the list in section 1(b) of that order shall read as follows: "(1) Department of State; (2) Department of the Treasury; (3) Department of Defense; (4) Department of Justice; (5) Department of Commerce; (6) Department of Labor; (7) Department of Transportation; (8) Environmental Protection Agency; (9) Office of Management and Budget; (10) National Security Council; (11) Office of National Drug Control Policy; (12) Council on Environmental Quality; (13) Office of Cabinet Affairs; (14) National Economic Council; (15) Domestic Policy Council; and (16) United States Coast Guard."

Sec. 7. #sec-7

Executive Order 12367, as amended, is further amended as follows: (a) in section 1, the text "the director of the International Communication Agency," is deleted; (b) in section 2, delete the first sentence and insert in lieu thereof "The Committee shall advise, provide recommendations to, and assist the President, the National Endowment of the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services on matters relating to the arts and the humanities. The Committee shall initiate and assist in the development of (i) ways to promote public understanding and appreciation of the arts and the humanities; (ii) ways to promote private sector support for the arts and humanities; (iii) ways to evaluate the effectiveness of Federal support for the arts and humanities and their relationship with the private sector; (iv) the planning and coordination of appropriate participation (including productions and projects) in major national cultural events, including the Millennium; (v) activities that incorporate the arts and the humanities in government objectives; and (vi) ways to promote the recognition of excellence in the fields of the arts and the humanities."; and (c) in section 3(b), add the following sentence after the first sentence: "Private funds accepted under the National Endowment for the Arts' or the National Endowment for the Humanities' gift authority may also be used to pay expenses of the Committee."

Sec. 8. #sec-8

Executive Order 12345, as amended, is further amended by deleting the first sentence of section 2(b) and inserting in lieu thereof the following three sentences. "The council shall be composed of twenty members appointed by the President. Each member shall serve a term of 2 years and may continue to serve after the expiration of their term until a successor is appointed. A member appointed to fill an unexpired term will be appointed for the remainder of such term."

Sec. 9. #sec-9

This order shall be effective September 30, 1999. William J. Clinton The White House, September 30, 1999. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:23 a.m., October 1, 1999]

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

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

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,138, 64 Fed. Reg. 53,879 (Sept. 30, 1999).