★
Executive Orders Historical Archive
🎲
Cite
Executive Order 13585 Revoked 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23) 📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service

Executive Order 13585—Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees

Barack Obama Barack Obama
•
Friday, September 30, 2011
•
5 min read (940 words)
•
76 Fed. Reg. 62281

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (940 words) • ● Revoked
🎯 Primary Mandate

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

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 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 Barack Obama on September 30, 2011, this order concerns Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees. Each advisory committee listed below is continued until September 30, 2013. (a) Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior). (b) President's Commission on White House Fellowships; Executive Order 11183, as amended (Office of Personnel Management).

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

▪

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

▪

President's Commission on White House Fellowships; Executive Order 11183, as amended (Office of Personnel Management).

▪

President's Committee on the National Medal of Science; Executive Order 11287, as amended (National Science Foundation).

▪

Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health; Executive Order 11612, as amended (Department of Labor).

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Education 🏷️ National Security & Defense 🏷️ Labor & Employment
🏛️

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 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
35 / 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

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

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

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
940
6,271 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.23
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (9 sections)
Sec. 1Sec. 2Sec. 3Sec. 4Sec. 5Sec. 2Sec. 3Sec. 4Sec. 5

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and consistent 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, 2013. (a) Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior). (b) President's Commission on White House Fellowships; Executive Order 11183, as amended (Office of Personnel Management). (c) President's Committee on the National Medal of Science; Executive Order 11287, as amended (National Science Foundation). (d) Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health; Executive Order 11612, as amended (Department of Labor). (e) President's Export Council; Executive Order 12131, as amended (Department of Commerce). (f) President's Committee on the International Labor Organization; Executive Order 12216, as amended (Department of Labor). (g) President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities; Executive Order 12367, as amended (National Endowment for the Arts). (h) President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee; Executive Order 12382, as amended (Department of Homeland Security). (i) National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee; Executive Order 12829, as amended (National Archives and Records Administration). (j) Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee; Executive Order 12905, as amended (Office of the United States Trade Representative). (k) President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities; Executive Order 12994, as amended (Department of Health and Human Services). (l) National Infrastructure Advisory Council; Executive Order 13231, as amended (Department of Homeland Security). (m) President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition; Executive Order 13265, as amended (Department of Health and Human Services). (n) President's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities; Executive Order 13270 (Department of Education). (o) President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Executive Order 13515 (Department of Education).

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 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

Sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order 13511 are superseded by sections 1 and 2 of this order.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Executive Order 13515 of October 14, 2009, is amended: (a) in section 2(a), by striking "through the Secretaries of Education and Commerce, as Co-Chairs of the Initiative described in section 3 of this order" and inserting in lieu thereof "through the Co-Chairs of the Initiative"; (b) in section 2(c), by striking "Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce," and inserting in lieu thereof "Co-Chairs of the Initiative"; (c) in the introductory text to section 3: (1) by striking "The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Education shall serve as the Co-Chairs of the Initiative" and inserting in lieu thereof "The Secretary of Education and a senior official to be designated by the President from the membership of the Initiative shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Initiative"; and (2) by striking "Secretaries" and inserting in lieu thereof "Co-Chairs"; and (d) in section 3(b), in the list of agency members, by inserting "the Department of Commerce" after "the Department of Agriculture" and inserting "the Department of Education" after "the Department of Energy" and then redesignating the subsections of section 3(b) as appropriate.

Sec. 5. #sec-5

This order shall be effective September 30, 2011. BARACK OBAMA The White House, September 30, 2011. Order 13231, as amended (Department of Homeland Security). (m) President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition; Executive Order 13265, as amended (Department of Health and Human Services). (n) President's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities; Executive Order 13270 (Department of Education). (o) President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Executive Order 13515 (Department of Education).

Sec. 2. #sec-2-2

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 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-3-2

Sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order 13511 are superseded by sections 1 and 2 of this order.

Sec. 4. #sec-4-2

Executive Order 13515 of October 14, 2009, is amended (a) in section 2(a), by striking "through the Secretaries of Education and Commerce, as Co-Chairs of the Initiative described in section 3 of this order" and inserting in lieu thereof "through the Co-Chairs of the Initiative"; (b) in section 2(c), by striking "Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce," and inserting in lieu thereof "Co-Chairs of the Initiative"; (c) in the introductory text to section 3: (1) by striking "The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Education shall serve as the Co-Chairs of the Initiative" and inserting in lieu thereof "The Secretary of Education and a senior official to be designated by the President from the membership of the Initiative shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Initiative"; and (2) by striking "Secretaries" and inserting in lieu thereof "Co-Chairs"; and (d) in section 3(b), in the list of agency members, by inserting "the Department of Commerce" after "the Department of Agriculture" and inserting "the Department of Education" after "the Department of Energy" and then redesignating the subsections of section 3(b) as appropriate.

Sec. 5. #sec-5-2

This order shall be effective September 30, 2011. BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

September 30, 2011.

🔗

Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

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

References Executive Order 13652—Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees
Barack Obama • 2013-09-30
Revokes Executive Order 13592—Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Educational Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities
Barack Obama • 2011-12-02
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 13,585, 76 Fed. Reg. 62,281 (Sept. 30, 2011).