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Executive Order 13380 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 13380—Implementing Amendments to Agreement on Border Environment Cooperation Commission and North American Development Bank

George W. Bush George W. Bush
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Friday, June 17, 2005
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2 min read (458 words)
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70 Fed. Reg. 35509

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (458 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Executive Order 12916 of May 13, 1994, is amended as follows: (a) in section 1, by inserting ", as amended by the Protocol of Amendment done at Washington and Mexico City, November 25 and 26, 2002" after "North American Development Bank"; (b) by striking section 2 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "Sec. 2.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 June 17, 2005, this order concerns Implementing Amendments to Agreement on Border Environment Cooperation Commission and North American Development Bank. Executive Order 12916 of May 13, 1994, is amended as follows: (a) in section 1, by inserting ", as amended by the Protocol of Amendment done at Washington and Mexico City, November 25 and 26, 2002" after "North American Development Bank"; (b) by striking section 2 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "Sec. 2.

Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Executive Order 12916 of May 13, 1994, is amended as follows: (a) in section 1, by inserting ", as amended by the Protocol of Amendment done at Washington and Mexico City, November 25 and 26, 2002" after "North American Development Bank"; (b) by striking section 2 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "Sec. 2.

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The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall be members of the Board of Directors of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission and the North American Development Bank ("Board") as provided in clauses (1), (3), and (5) of article II in chapter III of the Agreement.

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Appointments to the Board under clauses (7) and (9) of article II in chapter III of the Agreement shall be made by the President.

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Individuals so appointed shall serve at the pleasure of the President.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Economy & Finance 🏷️ Energy & Environment
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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

"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: 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
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
458
2,801 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.6
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.23
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (2 sections)
Sec. 1Sec. 2

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 533 of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3473), it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Executive Order 12916 of May 13, 1994, is amended as follows: (a) in section 1, by inserting ", as amended by the Protocol of Amendment done at Washington and Mexico City, November 25 and 26, 2002" after "North American Development Bank"; (b) by striking section 2 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "Sec. 2. (a) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall be members of the Board of Directors of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission and the North American Development Bank ("Board") as provided in clauses (1), (3), and (5) of article II in chapter III of the Agreement. (b) Appointments to the Board under clauses (7) and (9) of article II in chapter III of the Agreement shall be made by the President. Individuals so appointed shall serve at the pleasure of the President. (c) The Secretary of the Treasury is selected to be the Chairperson of the Board during any period in which the United States is to select the Chairperson under article III in chapter III of the Agreement. (d) Except with respect to functions assigned by section 4, 5, 6, or 7 of this order, the Secretary of the Treasury shall coordinate with the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, such other agencies and officers as may be appropriate, and the individuals appointed under subsection 2(b) as may be appropriate, the development of the policies and positions of the United States with respect to matters coming before the Board."; (c) in section 3, by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c), striking "(d)", and striking "representatives" and inserting in lieu thereof "members of the Board listed in subsections 2(a) and (b)"; (d) in section 6, by striking "Advisory Committee" and inserting in lieu thereof "Community Adjustment and Investment Program Advisory Committee ("Advisory Committee") established pursuant to section 543(b) of the NAFTA Implementation Act"; and (e) in section 7(c), by striking "Members" and inserting in lieu thereof "members".

Sec. 2. #sec-2

This order is intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. GEORGE W. BUSH The White House, June 17, 2005. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., June 20, 2005]

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 13,380, 70 Fed. Reg. 35,509 (June 17, 2005).