★
Executive Orders Historical Archive
🎲
Cite
Executive Order 13501 Revoked 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.66) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 13501—Establishing the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board

Barack Obama Barack Obama
•
Friday, February 6, 2009
•
4 min read (703 words)
•
74 Fed. Reg. 6983

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (703 words) • ● Revoked
🎯 Primary Mandate

The PERAB shall meet regularly and shall: (a) solicit information and ideas from across the country and from all sectors of our economy about the functioning of the economy, the condition of the financial and banking system, and the prosperity of the American people and of American industry that can serve to inform the decisionmaking of the President, and, with respect to matters deemed appropriate by the President, provide information and recommendations to any other agency with responsibilities related to the economy or financial markets or to the National Economic Council; (b) report directly to the President on the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies to promote the growth of the American economy, establish a stable and…

View all 3 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
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Foreign Nations & International Entities
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 Barack Obama on February 6, 2009, this order concerns Establishing the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. There is hereby established within the Department of the Treasury the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB). The PERAB shall consist of not more than 17 members, who shall be appointed by the President from among distinguished citizens from outside the Government who are qualified on the basis of achievement, experience, independence, and integrity.

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

▪
The functions of the PERAB are advisory only

The PERAB shall meet regularly and shall: (a) solicit information and ideas from across the country and from all sectors of our economy about the functioning of the economy, the condition of the financial and banking system, and the prosperity of the American people and of American industry that can serve to inform the decisionmaking of the President, and, with respect to matters deemed appropriate by the President, provide information and recommendations to any other agency with responsibilities related to the economy or financial markets or to the National Economic Council; (b) report directly to the President on the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies to promote the growth of the American economy, establish a stable and…

▪
Administration of the PERAB

All executive departments and agencies and all entities within the Executive Office of the President shall cooperate with the PERAB and provide such information and assistance to the PERAB as the PERAB may request, to the extent permitted by law.

▪
Termination

The PERAB shall terminate 2 years after the date of this order unless extended by the President.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Economy & Finance
🏛️

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
📐

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
48 / 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

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%).
ℹ️
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
703
4,433 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.9
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.66
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (5 sections)
Sec. 1Sec. 2Sec. 3: Administration of the PERABSec. 4: TerminationSec. 5: General Provisions

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to enhance the strength and competitiveness of the Nation's economy and the prosperity of the American people by ensuring the availability of independent, nonpartisan information, analysis, and advice to the President as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

There is hereby established within the Department of the Treasury the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB). The PERAB shall consist of not more than 17 members, who shall be appointed by the President from among distinguished citizens from outside the Government who are qualified on the basis of achievement, experience, independence, and integrity. The overall membership of the PERAB shall reflect a diverse set of perspectives from across the country and from various sectors of the economy. The President shall designate a Chair from among the members. The Chair shall appoint a Staff Director, who shall supervise the staff of the PERAB.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

The functions of the PERAB are advisory only. The PERAB shall meet regularly and shall: (a) solicit information and ideas from across the country and from all sectors of our economy about the functioning of the economy, the condition of the financial and banking system, and the prosperity of the American people and of American industry that can serve to inform the decisionmaking of the President, and, with respect to matters deemed appropriate by the President, provide information and recommendations to any other agency with responsibilities related to the economy or financial markets or to the National Economic Council; (b) report directly to the President on the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies to promote the growth of the American economy, establish a stable and sound financial and banking system, create jobs, and improve the long-term prosperity of the American people; and (c) provide analysis and information with respect to the operation, regulation, and healthy functioning of the economy and of the financial and banking system. As deemed appropriate by the President, this analysis and information shall be provided to the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to any other agency with responsibilities related to the economy or financial markets, or to the National Economic Council.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Administration of the PERAB. (a) All executive departments and agencies and all entities within the Executive Office of the President shall cooperate with the PERAB and provide such information and assistance to the PERAB as the PERAB may request, to the extent permitted by law. (b) The Department of the Treasury shall provide funding and administrative support for the PERAB to the extent permitted by law and within existing appropriations. (c) Members of the PERAB shall serve without compensation but may receive transportation expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the Government (5 U.S.C. 5701–5707), consistent with the availability of funds.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Termination. The PERAB shall terminate 2 years after the date of this order unless extended by the President.

Sec. 5. #sec-5

General Provisions. (a) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (the "Act"), may apply to the PERAB, any functions of the President under the Act, except for those in section 6 of the Act, shall be performed by the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with the guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator of General Services. (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (d) This order 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, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. BARACK OBAMA The White House, February 6, 2009.

🔗

Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

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

References Executive Order 13564—Establishment of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
Barack Obama • 2011-01-31
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 13,501, 74 Fed. Reg. 6983 (Feb. 6, 2009).