Part II, sections 207 and 208, of the act entitled "AN ACT Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1933, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1932, amends the Subsistence Expense Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 688, 689) by amending sections 3 and 7 thereof, and repealing sections 4, 5, and 6 thereof, effectiv July 1, 1932. The Standardized Government Travel Regulations, as amended effective July 1, 1931, approved by the President April 21, 1931, shall continue in effect from and including July 1, 1932, until such time as amended standardized regulations are approved, subject to the following conditions, viz: (1) All provisions relating to reimbursement of actual expenses for subsistence are revoked. (2) Per diem in lieu of actual expenses for subsistence may be allowed not to exceed the rate of $5 within the limits of continental United States, and not to exceed an average of $6 beyond the limits of continental United States. (3) Reimbursable transportation charges will not include gratuitous fees or tips of any kind. The rates of the per diem in lieu of actual expenses for subsistence authorized by the amendatory law and which are set forth above represent the maximum allowable, not the minimum. It is the responsibility of the heads of the departments and establishments to see that travel orders authorize only such per diem rates as are justified by the nature of the travel. HERBERT HOOVER The White House, June 30, 1932.
Executive Order 5870 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order 5870—Continuing Temporarily the Present Standardized Government Travel Regulations, Subject to Certain Modifications
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (250 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
Part II, sections 207 and 208, of the act entitled "AN ACT Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1933, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1932, amends the Subsistence Expense Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 688, 689) by amending sections 3 and 7 thereof, and repealing sections 4, 5, and 6 thereof, effectiv July 1, 1932.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Herbert Hoover on June 30, 1932, this order concerns Continuing Temporarily the Present Standardized Government Travel Regulations, Subject to Certain Modifications. Part II, sections 207 and 208, of the act entitled "AN ACT Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1933, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1932, amends the Subsistence Expense Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 688, 689) by amending sections 3 and 7 thereof, and repealing sections 4, 5, and 6 thereof, effectiv July 1, 1932.
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
▪
Part II, sections 207 and 208, of the act entitled "AN ACT Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1933, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1932, amends the Subsistence Expense Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 688, 689) by amending sections 3 and 7 thereof, and repealing sections 4, 5, and 6 thereof, effectiv July 1, 1932.
▪
The Standardized Government Travel Regulations, as amended effective July 1, 1931, approved by the President April 21, 1931, shall continue in effect from and including July 1, 1932, until such time as amended standardized regulations are approved, subject to the following conditions, viz: (1) All provisions relating to reimbursement of actual expenses for subsistence are revoked.
▪
The rates of the per diem in lieu of actual expenses for subsistence authorized by the amendatory law and which are set forth above represent the maximum allowable, not the minimum.
▪
It is the responsibility of the heads of the departments and establishments to see that travel orders authorize only such per diem rates as are justified by the nature of the travel.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Policy Areas & Topics
🏛️
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
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: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
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
38 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
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
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
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
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
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
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️
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
250
1,505 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
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📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5870 (June 30, 1932), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5870-continuing-temporarily-the-present-standardized-government-travel.
