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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 14005 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.88) 📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process

Executive Order 14005—Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers

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Monday, January 25, 2021
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12 min read (2,344 words)
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86 Fed. Reg. 7475

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 12 min read (2,344 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The head of each agency shall, as soon as practicable and as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, including the Administrative Procedure Act, consider suspending, revising, or rescinding those agency actions that are inconsistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Foreign Nations & International Entities

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on January 25, 2021, this order concerns Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers. It is the policy of my Administration that the United States Government should, consistent with applicable law, use terms and conditions of Federal financial assistance awards and Federal procurements to maximize the use of goods, products, and materials produced in, and services offered in, the United States.

Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Review of Agency Action Inconsistent with Administration Policy

The head of each agency shall, as soon as practicable and as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, including the Administrative Procedure Act, consider suspending, revising, or rescinding those agency actions that are inconsistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

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Updating and Centralizing the Made in America Waiver Process

The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall establish within OMB the Made in America Office.

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Accounting for Sources of Cost Advantage

To the extent permitted by law, before granting a waiver in the public interest, the relevant granting agency shall assess whether a significant portion of the cost advantage of a foreign-sourced product is the result of the use of dumped steel, iron, or manufactured goods or the use of injuriously subsidized steel, iron, or manufactured goods.

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Promoting Transparency in Federal Procurement

The Administrator of General Services shall develop a public website that shall include information on all proposed waivers and whether those waivers have been granted.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ 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

"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 purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)

George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.

Anti-Federalist Stance: High Bill of Rights Scrutiny
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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
40 / 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

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
2,344
14,788 characters
Estimated Read Time
12 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
20.6
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.88
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 . It is the policy of my Administration that the United States Government should, consistent with applicable law, use terms and conditions of Federal financial assistance awards and Federal procurements to maximize the use of goods, products, and materials produced in, and services offered in, the United States. The United States Government should, whenever possible, procure goods, products, materials, and services from sources that will help American businesses compete in strategic industries and help America's workers thrive. Additionally, to promote an accountable and transparent procurement policy, each agency should vest waiver issuance authority in senior agency leadership, where appropriate and consistent with applicable law.

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Definitions. (a) "Agency" means any authority of the United States that is an "agency" under section 3502(1) of title 44, United States Code, other than those considered to be independent regulatory agencies, as defined in section 3502(5) of title 44, United States Code. (b) "Made in America Laws" means all statutes, regulations, rules, and Executive Orders relating to Federal financial assistance awards or Federal procurement, including those that refer to "Buy America" or "Buy American," that require, or provide a preference for, the purchase or acquisition of goods, products, or materials produced in the United States, including iron, steel, and manufactured goods offered in the United States. Made in America Laws include laws requiring domestic preference for maritime transport, including the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (Public Law 66-261), also known as the Jones Act. (c) "Waiver" means an exception from or waiver of Made in America Laws, or the procedures and conditions used by an agency in granting an exception from or waiver of Made in America Laws.

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

Review of Agency Action Inconsistent with Administration Policy . (a) The head of each agency shall, as soon as practicable and as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, including the Administrative Procedure Act, consider suspending, revising, or rescinding those agency actions that are inconsistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order. (b) The head of each agency shall, as soon as practicable and as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, including the Administrative Procedure Act, consider proposing any additional agency actions necessary to enforce the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

Sec. 4 . #sec-4

Updating and Centralizing the Made in America Waiver Process . (a) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall establish within OMB the Made in America Office. The Made in America Office shall be headed by a Director of the Made in America Office (Made in America Director), who shall be appointed by the Director of OMB. (b) Before an agency grants a waiver, and unless the OMB Director provides otherwise, the agency (granting agency) shall provide the Made in America Director with a description of its proposed waiver and a detailed justification for the use of goods, products, or materials that have not been mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States. (i) Within 45 days of the date of the appointment of the Made in America Director, and as appropriate thereafter, the Director of OMB, through the Made in America Director, shall: (1) publish a list of the information that granting agencies shall include when submitting such descriptions of proposed waivers and justifications to the Made in America Director; and (2) publish a deadline, not to exceed 15 business days, by which the Director of OMB, through the Made in America Director, either will notify the head of the agency that the Director of OMB, through the Made in America Director, has waived each review described in subsection (c) of this section or will notify the head of the agency in writing of the result of the review. (ii) To the extent permitted by law and consistent with national security and executive branch confidentiality interests, descriptions of proposed waivers and justifications submitted to the Made in America Director by granting agencies shall be made publicly available on the website established pursuant to section 6 of this order. (c) The Director of OMB, through the Made in America Director, shall review each proposed waiver submitted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, except where such review has been waived as described in subsection (b)(i)(2) of this section. (i) If the Director of OMB, through the Made in America Director, determines that issuing the proposed waiver would be consistent with applicable law and the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the Director of OMB, through the Made in America Director, shall notify the granting agency of that determination in writing. (ii) If the Director of OMB, through the Made in America Director, determines that issuing the proposed waiver would not be consistent with applicable law or the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the Director of OMB, through the Made in America Director, shall notify the granting agency of the determination and shall return the proposed waiver to the head of the agency for further consideration, providing the granting agency with a written explanation for the determination. (1) If the head of the agency disagrees with some or all of the bases for the determination and return, the head of the agency shall so inform the Made in America Director in writing. (2) To the extent permitted by law, disagreements or conflicts between the Made in America Director and the head of any agency shall be resolved in accordance with procedures that parallel those set forth in section 7 of Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), with respect to the Director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within OMB. (d) When a granting agency is obligated by law to act more quickly than the review procedures established in this section allow, the head of the agency shall notify the Made in America Director as soon as possible and, to the extent practicable, comply with the requirements set forth in this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed as displacing agencies' authorities or responsibilities under law.

Sec. 5 . #sec-5

Accounting for Sources of Cost Advantage . To the extent permitted by law, before granting a waiver in the public interest, the relevant granting agency shall assess whether a significant portion of the cost advantage of a foreign-sourced product is the result of the use of dumped steel, iron, or manufactured goods or the use of injuriously subsidized steel, iron, or manufactured goods. The granting agency may consult with the International Trade Administration in making this assessment if the granting agency deems such consultation to be helpful. The granting agency shall integrate any findings from the assessment into its waiver determination as appropriate.

Sec. 6 . #sec-6

Promoting Transparency in Federal Procurement. (a) The Administrator of General Services shall develop a public website that shall include information on all proposed waivers and whether those waivers have been granted. The website shall be designed to enable manufacturers and other interested parties to easily identify proposed waivers and whether those waivers have been granted. The website shall also provide publicly available contact information for each granting agency. (b) The Director of OMB, through the Made in America Director, shall promptly report to the Administrator of General Services all proposed waivers, along with the associated descriptions and justifications discussed in section 4(b) of this order, and whether those waivers have been granted. Not later than 5 days after receiving this information, the Administrator of General Services shall, to the extent permitted by law and consistent with national security and executive branch confidentiality interests, make this information available to the public by posting it on the website established under this section.

Sec. 7 . #sec-7

Supplier Scouting. To the extent appropriate and consistent with applicable law, agencies shall partner with the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), discussed in the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Improvement Act (title V of Public Law 114-329), to conduct supplier scouting in order to identify American companies, including small- and medium-sized companies, that are able to produce goods, products, and materials in the United States that meet Federal procurement needs.

Sec. 8 . #sec-8

Promoting Enforcement of the Buy American Act of 1933. (a) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) shall consider proposing for notice and public comment amendments to the applicable provisions in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), title 48, Code of Federal Regulations, consistent with applicable law, that would: (i) replace the "component test" in Part 25 of the FAR that is used to identify domestic end products and domestic construction materials with a test under which domestic content is measured by the value that is added to the product through U.S.-based production or U.S. job-supporting economic activity; (ii) increase the numerical threshold for domestic content requirements for end products and construction materials; and (iii) increase the price preferences for domestic end products and domestic construction materials. (b) The FAR Council shall consider and evaluate public comments on any regulations proposed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and shall promptly issue a final rule, if appropriate and consistent with applicable law and the national security interests of the United States.

Sec. 9 . #sec-9

Updates to the List of Nonavailable Articles. Before the FAR Council proposes any amendment to the FAR to update the list of domestically nonavailable articles at section 25.104(a) of the FAR, the Director of OMB, through the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), shall review the amendment in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Made in America Director, paying particular attention to economic analyses of relevant markets and available market research, to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the article, material, or supply is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality. The Director of OMB, through the Administrator of OFPP, shall make these findings available to the FAR Council for consideration.

Sec. 10 . #sec-10

Report on Information Technology That Is a Commercial Item. The FAR Council shall promptly review existing constraints on the extension of the requirements in Made in America Laws to information technology that is a commercial item and shall develop recommendations for lifting these constraints to further promote the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law.

Sec. 11 . #sec-11

Report on Use of Made in America Laws. Within 180 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency shall submit to the Made in America Director a report on: (a) the agency's implementation of, and compliance with, Made in America Laws; (b) the agency's ongoing use of any longstanding or nationwide waivers of any Made in America Laws, with a written description of the consistency of such waivers with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order; and (c) recommendations for how to further effectuate the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

Sec. 12 . #sec-12

Bi-Annual Report on Made in America Laws. Bi-annually following the initial submission described in section 11 of this order, the head of each agency shall submit to the Made in America Director a report on: (a) the agency's ongoing implementation of, and compliance with, Made in America Laws; (b) the agency's analysis of goods, products, materials, and services not subject to Made in America Laws or where requirements of the Made in America Laws have been waived; (c) the agency's analysis of spending as a result of waivers issued pursuant to the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 2511, separated by country of origin; and (d) recommendations for how to further effectuate the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

Sec. 13 . #sec-13

Ensuring Implementation of Administration Policy on Federal Government Property. Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of General Services shall submit to the Made in America Director recommendations for ensuring that products offered to the general public on Federal property are procured in accordance with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.

Sec. 14 . #sec-14

Revocation of Certain Presidential and Regulatory Actions. (a) Executive Order 13788 of April 18, 2017 (Buy American and Hire American), section 5 of Executive Order 13858 of January 31, 2019 (Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects), and Executive Order 13975 of January 14, 2021 (Encouraging Buy American Policies for the United States Postal Service), are hereby revoked. (b) Executive Order 10582 of December 17, 1954 (Prescribing Uniform Procedures for Certain Determinations Under the Buy-America Act), and Executive Order 13881 of July 15, 2019 (Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials), are superseded to the extent that they are inconsistent with this order.

Sec. 15 . #sec-15

Severability. If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its other provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

Sec. 16 . #sec-16

General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (c) 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. JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR. The White House, January 16, 2021.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

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

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 14,005, 86 Fed. Reg. 7475 (Jan. 25, 2021).