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Executive Order 6097 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 6097—Veterans Regulation No. 9

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Friday, March 31, 1933
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3 min read (534 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (534 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The following Regulation is hereby promulgated: I. Where an honorably discharged veteran of any war dies after discharge a flag to drape the casket, and after burial to be given to the next of kin, shall be furnished in all cases.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities 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 Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 31, 1933, this order concerns Veterans Regulation No. 9. The following Regulation is hereby promulgated: I. Where an honorably discharged veteran of any war dies after discharge a flag to drape the casket, and after burial to be given to the next of kin, shall be furnished in all cases. II.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The following Regulation is hereby promulgated: I. Where an honorably discharged veteran of any war dies after discharge a flag to drape the casket, and after burial to be given to the next of kin, shall be furnished in all cases.

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Where an honorably discharged veteran of any war dies after discharge, a sum not exceeding $75 and not exceeding the actual cost, may be allowed for burial, funeral and transportation of the body to the place of burial, provided that no allowance shall be made— (a) If the veteran's net assets at time of death, exclusive of debts, equals or exceeds the sum of $75; (b) If the veteran has accrued benefits due from the Veterans' Administration in an amount equal to or in excess of $75; (c) If an allowance for burial and funeral (including transportation) is provided by a State, county or other political subdivision, lodge, union, fraternal organization, society or beneficial organization, insurance company, Workmans' Compensation Commission…

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If the amount available from any of the sources above named is less than $75 and not sufficient to meet the actual cost of burial and funeral and transportation of the body, the Veterans' Administration may allow a sum wliich in addition to the amount so available shall not exceed the actual cost of burial and funeral, and transportation of the body, or $75, whichever is the smaller amount.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
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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 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

"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: Strong Prerogative Support
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
38 / 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

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

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

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

Moderate Friction

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%).
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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
534
3,255 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
22.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

PAYMENT OF BURIAL EXPENSES OF DECEASED WAR VETERANS Whereas , Section 17, Title I, of Public No. 2, 73rd Congress, entitled "An Act To maintain the credit of the United States Government" provides: "That subject to such regulations as the President may prescribe, allowances may be granted for burial and funeral expenses and transportation of the bodies (including preparation of the bodies) of deceased veterans of any war to the places of burial thereof in the sum not to exceed $107 in any one case." Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me by said law, the following Regulation is hereby promulgated: I. Where an honorably discharged veteran of any war dies after discharge a flag to drape the casket, and after burial to be given to the next of kin, shall be furnished in all cases. II. Where an honorably discharged veteran of any war dies after discharge, a sum not exceeding $75 and not exceeding the actual cost, may be allowed for burial, funeral and transportation of the body to the place of burial, provided that no allowance shall be made— (a) If the veteran's net assets at time of death, exclusive of debts, equals or exceeds the sum of $75; (b) If the veteran has accrued benefits due from the Veterans' Administration in an amount equal to or in excess of $75; (c) If an allowance for burial and funeral (including transportation) is provided by a State, county or other political subdivision, lodge, union, fraternal organization, society or beneficial organization, insurance company, Workmans' Compensation Commission, State Industrial Accident Board or employer. If the amount available from any of the sources above named is less than $75 and not sufficient to meet the actual cost of burial and funeral and transportation of the body, the Veterans' Administration may allow a sum wliich in addition to the amount so available shall not exceed the actual cost of burial and funeral, and transportation of the body, or $75, whichever is the smaller amount. III. Where burial and funeral expenses have been assumed by the Veterans' Administration under paragraph IV of this Regulation, and further necessary expenses (including transportation) have been incurred, the difference between the expenses assumed by the Veterans' Administration and the expense otherwise incurred, or $75, whichever is the smaller amount, may be paid. IV. Where death occurs in a Veterans' Administration facility the necessary and actual cost of burial and funeral, not to exceed $75, will be assumed by the Veterans' Administration. Any sum paid under this paragraph will be charged against accrued monetary benefits due from the Veterans' Administration as provided in paragraph II (b), or other funds which may be immediately available for such purposes. V. Claims for reimbursement must be filed within one year subsequent to the date of death of the veteran. In the event the claimant's application is not complete at the time of original submission, the Veterans' Administration will notify the claimant of the evidence necessary to complete the application and if such evidence is not received within six months of the date of the request therefor, no allowance may be paid. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT March 31 st 1933 The White House.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 6097 (Mar. 31, 1933), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6097-veterans-regulation-no-9.