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Executive Order 13260 Revoked 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.60) 📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process

Executive Order 13260—Establishing the Presidents Homeland Security Advisory Council and Senior Advisory Committees for Homeland Security

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Tuesday, March 19, 2002
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4 min read (772 words)
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67 Fed. Reg. 13241

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (772 words) • ● Revoked
🎯 Primary Mandate

The PHSAC shall meet periodically at the Assistant's request to: (a) provide advice to the President through the Assistant on developing and coordinating the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks; (b) recommend to the President through the Assistant ways to improve coordination, cooperation, and communication among Federal, State, and local officials and private and other entities, and provide a means to collect scholarly research, technological advice, and information concerning processes and organizational management practices both inside and outside of the Federal Government; (c) provide advice to the President through the Assistant regarding the feasibility of…

⚖️ 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 Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Public Health & Medical Institutions

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 W. Bush on March 19, 2002, this order concerns Establishing the Presidents Homeland Security Advisory Council and Senior Advisory Committees for Homeland Security. Establishment and Membership. I hereby establish the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council (PHSAC). The PHSAC shall be composed of not more than 21 members appointed by the President. In addition, the Chair and the Vice Chair of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council; the Chairman of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee; and the Chair of the Panel on the Science and…

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

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Functions

The PHSAC shall meet periodically at the Assistant's request to: (a) provide advice to the President through the Assistant on developing and coordinating the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks; (b) recommend to the President through the Assistant ways to improve coordination, cooperation, and communication among Federal, State, and local officials and private and other entities, and provide a means to collect scholarly research, technological advice, and information concerning processes and organizational management practices both inside and outside of the Federal Government; (c) provide advice to the President through the Assistant regarding the feasibility of…

▪
Administration

Upon the request of the Chair of the PHSAC, through the Assistant, and to the extent permitted by law, the heads of executive departments and agencies shall provide the PHSAC with such information relating to homeland security matters as the PHSAC may need for the purpose of carrying out its functions.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
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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 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
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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
55 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

High Friction

Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.

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

High Friction

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

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
772
5,077 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.60
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, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

President's Homeland Security Advisory Council. (a) Establishment and Membership. I hereby establish the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council (PHSAC). The PHSAC shall be composed of not more than 21 members appointed by the President. In addition, the Chair and the Vice Chair of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council; the Chairman of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee; and the Chair of the Panel on the Science and Technology of Combating Terrorism, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, shall serve as ex officio members of the PHSAC. The appointed members of the PHSAC shall be selected from the private sector, academia, professional service associations, federally funded research and development centers, nongovernmental organizations, State and local governments, and other appropriate professions and communities. (b) Chair and Vice Chair. The President shall designate a Chair and Vice Chair from among the appointed members of the PHSAC. (c) Senior Advisory Committees. (i) Establishment and Membership. The following four Senior Advisory Committees for Homeland Security (SACs) are hereby established to advise the PHSAC: (1) State and Local Officials; (2) Academia and Policy Research; (3) Private Sector; and (4) Emergency Services, Law Enforcement, and Public Health and Hospitals. Each SAC shall generally be composed of not more than 17 members selected by the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security (Assistant). The President may establish additional SACs as appropriate, consistent with this order. (ii) Chairs and Vice Chairs. The Assistant shall from time to time designate a Chair and Vice Chair for each of the SACs from among the PHSAC's members. (iii) Subcommittees. The Chair of each SAC, in consultation with the PHSAC, may as appropriate establish subcommittees to advise the SAC.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Functions. The PHSAC shall meet periodically at the Assistant's request to: (a) provide advice to the President through the Assistant on developing and coordinating the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks; (b) recommend to the President through the Assistant ways to improve coordination, cooperation, and communication among Federal, State, and local officials and private and other entities, and provide a means to collect scholarly research, technological advice, and information concerning processes and organizational management practices both inside and outside of the Federal Government; (c) provide advice to the President through the Assistant regarding the feasibility of implementing specific measures to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist threats or attacks within the United States; (d) examine, and advise the President through the Assistant on, the effectiveness of the implementation of specific strategies to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist threats or attacks within the United States; and (e) report periodically, as appropriate, to the President through the Assistant on matters within the scope of the PHSAC's functions as described in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Administration. (a) Upon the request of the Chair of the PHSAC, through the Assistant, and to the extent permitted by law, the heads of executive departments and agencies shall provide the PHSAC with such information relating to homeland security matters as the PHSAC may need for the purpose of carrying out its functions. (b) The PHSAC shall have an Executive Director selected by the Assistant. (c) Members shall serve without compensation for their work on the PHSAC, the SACs, and any subcommittees thereof. However, members shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in Federal Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701–5707). (d) To the extent permitted by law, and subject to the availability of appropriations, the Office of Administration shall provide the PHSAC with administrative support and with such funds as may be necessary for the performance of the PHSAC's functions.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

General Provisions. (a) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (Act), may apply to the administration of any portion of this order, any functions of the President under that Act, except that of reporting to the Congress, shall be performed by the Administrator of General Services in accordance with the guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator. (b) The PHSAC, any SACs, and any SAC subcommittees shall terminate 2 years from the date of this order unless extended by the President. GEORGE W. BUSH The White House, March 19, 2002. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:11 p.m., March 20, 2002]

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

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

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,260, 67 Fed. Reg. 13,241 (Mar. 19, 2002).