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Executive Order 13646 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.66) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 13646—Establishing the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013
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7 min read (1,318 words)
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78 Fed. Reg. 39159

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 7 min read (1,318 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Council shall consist of: (i) the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary), and the Secretary of Education, who may designate a senior official from each of their respective departments to perform their Council duties; and (ii) not more than 22 members appointed by the President from among individuals not employed by the Federal Government.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners

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 June 25, 2013, this order concerns Establishing the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans. To contribute to the Nation's future financial stability and increase upward economic mobility, it is the policy of the Federal Government to promote financial capability among young Americans and encourage building the financial capability of young people at an early stage in schools, families, communities, and the workplace.

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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Membership and Operation of the Council

The Council shall consist of: (i) the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary), and the Secretary of Education, who may designate a senior official from each of their respective departments to perform their Council duties; and (ii) not more than 22 members appointed by the President from among individuals not employed by the Federal Government.

▪
Functions of the Council

To assist in implementing the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the Council shall: (a) collect information and views concerning financial capability from: (i) executive departments and agencies (agencies), including members of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission established under title V of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (20 U.S.C. 9702); (ii) State, local, territorial, and tribal officials; and (iii) financial capability innovators, educators and education policy experts, financial services providers, corporate leaders, and employers of young workers, as well as other experts; (b) advise the President and the Secretary on means to effectively implement the policy set forth in section 1 of…

▪
Administration of the Council

To the extent permitted by law, the Department of the Treasury shall provide funding and administrative support for the Council, as determined by the Secretary, to implement this order.

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Termination of the Council

Unless extended by the President, the Council shall terminate 2 years after the date of this order.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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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)
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"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
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
1,318
8,601 characters
Estimated Read Time
7 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
21.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.66
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

Policy . To contribute to the Nation's future financial stability and increase upward economic mobility, it is the policy of the Federal Government to promote financial capability among young Americans and encourage building the financial capability of young people at an early stage in schools, families, communities, and the workplace. By starting early, young people can begin to learn the difference between wants and needs, the importance and power of saving, and the positive and productive role money can play in their lives. Having a basic understanding of money management from an early age will make our young people better equipped to tackle more complex financial decisions in their transition to adulthood, when critical decisions about financing higher education and saving for retirement can have lasting consequences for financial security. Strengthening the financial capability of our young people is an investment in our Nation's economic prosperity. Financial capability is the capacity, based on knowledge, skills, and access, to manage financial resources prudently and effectively. Efforts to improve financial capability, which should be based on evidence of effectiveness, empower individuals to make informed choices, plan and set goals, avoid pitfalls, know where to seek help, and take other actions to better their present and long-term financial well-being.

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Establishment of the Council There is established within the Department of the Treasury the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans (Council).

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

Membership and Operation of the Council . (a) The Council shall consist of: (i) the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary), and the Secretary of Education, who may designate a senior official from each of their respective departments to perform their Council duties; and (ii) not more than 22 members appointed by the President from among individuals not employed by the Federal Government. (b) Members of the Council shall include individuals with demonstrated experience or clear commitment to improving the financial capability of young people, such as individuals working with youth-serving organizations; educators and education policy experts; business leaders and employers of young workers; State, tribal, and local government policy makers; financial services providers; and innovators in financial capability. The composition of the Council shall reflect the views of diverse stakeholders. (c) The Secretary shall invite the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to participate as a member of the Council, to the extent consistent with the Bureau's statutory authorities and legal obligations. (d) The President shall designate a Chair and a Vice Chair from among the members of the Council appointed pursuant to subsection (a)(ii) of this section. (e) Subject to the direction of the Secretary, the Chair shall convene and preside at meetings of the Council, determine its agenda, direct its work, and, as appropriate to deal with particular subjects, establish and direct the work of subgroups of the Council that shall consist exclusively of members of the Council. (f) The Vice Chair shall perform: (i) the duties of the Chair when the position of Chair is vacant; and (ii) such other functions as the Chair may from time to time assign.

Sec. 4 . #sec-4

Functions of the Council . To assist in implementing the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the Council shall: (a) collect information and views concerning financial capability from: (i) executive departments and agencies (agencies), including members of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission established under title V of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (20 U.S.C. 9702); (ii) State, local, territorial, and tribal officials; and (iii) financial capability innovators, educators and education policy experts, financial services providers, corporate leaders, and employers of young workers, as well as other experts; (b) advise the President and the Secretary on means to effectively implement the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, including means to: (i) build strong public-private partnerships between and among members of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission; other agencies; State, tribal, and local governments; and private entities to coordinate the use of high quality financial capability resources and practices in schools, families, communities, and elsewhere in order to build the financial capability of young Americans; (ii) support ongoing research and evaluation of financial education and capability activities aimed at young people to determine and disseminate effective approaches; (iii) effectively assess the financial capability, including both financial knowledge and financial behaviors, of young Americans; (iv) identify and develop strategies to pilot financial capability approaches in schools and among young people that are likely to have significant effects on young Americans' financial capability, and determine ways to test and implement such innovations in a large-scale and sustainable manner; (v) identify, develop, and measure the effectiveness of technology-driven approaches to promote financial capability among young people; (vi) identify and test promising and tested approaches for increasing planning, saving, and investing for retirement by young people; and (vii) promote the importance of starting to plan and act early for financial success broadly among Americans through public awareness campaigns or other means; (c) periodically report to the President, through the Secretary, on: (i) progress made in implementing the policy set forth in section 1 of this order; and (ii) recommended means to further implement the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, including with respect to the matters set forth in subsection (b) of this section; and (d) where appropriate in providing advice and recommendations, take into consideration the particular needs of traditionally underserved populations—including women and minorities.

Sec. 5 . #sec-5

Administration of the Council . (a) To the extent permitted by law, the Department of the Treasury shall provide funding and administrative support for the Council, as determined by the Secretary, to implement this order. (b) The heads of agencies shall provide, as appropriate and to the extent permitted by law, such assistance and information to the Council as the Secretary may request to implement this order. (c) Members of the Council appointed under section 3(a)(ii) of this order shall serve without any compensation for their work on the Council. (d) Members of the Council, while engaged in the work of the Council, may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), consistent with the availability of funds. (e) The Secretary shall designate an official within the Department of the Treasury to serve as an Executive Director to supervise the administrative support for the Council.

Sec. 6 . #sec-6

Termination of the Council . Unless extended by the President, the Council shall terminate 2 years after the date of this order.

Sec. 7 . #sec-7

General Provisions . (a) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (the "Act"), may apply to the Council, any functions of the President under the Act, except for that of reporting to the Congress, shall be performed by the Secretary in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Administrator of General Services. (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof, or the status of that department or agency within the Federal Government; or (ii) the 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, June 25, 2013.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,646, 78 Fed. Reg. 39,159 (June 25, 2013).