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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 13311 Amended ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 13311—Homeland Security Information Sharing

George W. Bush George W. Bush
•
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
•
3 min read (519 words)
•
68 Fed. Reg. 45149

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (519 words) • ● Amended
🎯 Primary Mandate

This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the Federal Government and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, against the United States, its departments, agencies, or other entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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 W. Bush on July 29, 2003, this order concerns Homeland Security Information Sharing. The functions of the President under section 892 of the Act are assigned to the Secretary of Homeland Security (the "Secretary"), except the functions of the President under subsections 892(a)(2) and 892(b)(7). (b) Subject to section 2(b) of this order, the function of the President under section 893 of the Act is assigned to the Secretary.

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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General Provision

This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the Federal Government and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, against the United States, its departments, agencies, or other entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

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Procedures issued by the Secretary in the performance of the function of the President under section 892(a)(1) of the Act shall apply to all agencies of the Federal Government.

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Such procedures shall specify that the President may make, or may authorize another officer of the United States to make, exceptions to the procedures.

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In performing the functions assigned to the Secretary by subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Energy, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of Central Intelligence, the Archivist of the United States, and as the Secretary deems appropriate, other officers of the United States.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ National Security & Defense 🏷️ Economy & Finance
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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 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§

"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)

Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.

Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
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
47 / 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

Moderate Friction

The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.

Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️ 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
519
3,181 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.5
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (3 sections)
Sec. 1: Assignment of FunctionsSec. 2: Rules of ConstructionSec. 3: General Provision

By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including sections 892 and 893 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (the "Act") (6 U.S.C. 482 and 483) and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Assignment of Functions. (a) The functions of the President under section 892 of the Act are assigned to the Secretary of Homeland Security (the "Secretary"), except the functions of the President under subsections 892(a)(2) and 892(b)(7). (b) Subject to section 2(b) of this order, the function of the President under section 893 of the Act is assigned to the Secretary. (c) Procedures issued by the Secretary in the performance of the function of the President under section 892(a)(1) of the Act shall apply to all agencies of the Federal Government. Such procedures shall specify that the President may make, or may authorize another officer of the United States to make, exceptions to the procedures. (d) The function of the President under section 892(b)(7) of the Act is delegated to the Attorney General and the Director of Central Intelligence, to be exercised jointly. (e) In performing the functions assigned to the Secretary by subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Energy, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of Central Intelligence, the Archivist of the United States, and as the Secretary deems appropriate, other officers of the United States. (f) A determination, under the procedures issued by the Secretary in the performance of the function of the President under section 892(a)(1) of the Act, as to whether, or to what extent, an individual who falls within the category of "State and local personnel" as defined in sections 892(f)(3) and (f)(4) of the Act shall have access to information classified pursuant to Executive Order 12958 of April 17, 1995, as amended, is a discretionary determination and shall be conclusive and not subject to review or appeal.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Rules of Construction. Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (a) the authority of the Director of Central Intelligence under section 103(c)(7) of the National Security Act of 1947, as amended (50 U.S.C. 403–3(c)(7)), to protect intelligence sources and methods from unauthorized disclosure; (b) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals; or (c) the provisions of Executive Orders 12958 of April 17, 1995, as amended, and 12968 of August 2, 1995, as amended.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

General Provision. This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the Federal Government and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, against the United States, its departments, agencies, or other entities, its officers or employees, or any other person. GEORGE W. BUSH The White House, July 29, 2003. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:18 a.m., July 30, 2003]

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

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

Amends Executive Order 13388—Further Strengthening the Sharing of Terrorism Information To Protect Americans
George W. Bush • 2005-10-25
Amends Executive Order 13356—Strengthening the Sharing of Terrorism Information To Protect Americans
George W. Bush • 2004-08-27
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 13,311, 68 Fed. Reg. 45,149 (July 29, 2003).