By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 4 of the Act of June 28, 1940 (Public, No. 671, 76th Cong., 3d sess.), and as President of the United States, I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing certifications to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue by the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as to the percentage of cost of special additional equipment and facilities to be charged against a contract or subcontract for the construction or manufacture of any complete naval vessel or Mary or Navy aircraft or any portion thereof: (1) As used in these regulations the term-- (a) 'Secretary of the Department concerned' means the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as the case may be. (b) 'Contracting party' means the contractor or subcontractor as the case may be. (2) No certification under the provisions of section 4 of the Act of June 28, 1940 (Public, No. 671, 76th Cong., 3d sess.) shall be made, in the case of any contract or subcontract or any contract or subcontract as modified, to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue by the Secretary of the Department concerned (and any certification made shall be ineffective) unless all the requirements of these regulations are met. (3) Before a certification is made to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the contracting party shall file with the Secretary of the Department concerned a request for certification. Such request for certification shall-- (a) Specify and itemize the special additional equipment and facilities acquired (or to be acquired) to facilitate, during the national emergency declared by the President on September 8, 1939 to exist, the completion of any complete naval vessel or Army or Navy aircraft or any portion thereof; (b) State the necessity and cost (or estimated cost) of each item of such equipment and the percentage of cost of each such item which the contracting party proposes to charge against the contract or subcontract; and (c) State the action which the contracting party proposes to take in order that there shall be a compliance with the provisions of paragraph (6) of these regulations. If the request for certification is filed in the case of a subcontract or proposed subcontract, it shall be accompanied by a copy of such subcontract or proposed subcontract. (4) Such a request for certification shall be filed by the contracting party prior to the 60th day after the close of the contracting party's first income taxable year within which is completed a contract or subcontract with respect to which the particular request for certification is made. (5) On or before the date on which such request for certification is filed with the Secretary of the Department concerned, the contracting party shall file with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue at least three copies of such request for certification, together with at least three copies of excerpts of all such provisions of the contract, subcontract, or proposed contract or subcontract as are pertinent to such request for certification. (6) No certification shall be made to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue with respect to any special additional equipment and facilities unless adequate measures have been taken by the Secretary of the Department concerned-- (a) To protect the interest of the Government in such special additional equipment and facilities, the cost, or portion of the cost, of which is borne by the Government and is chargeable against the contract or subcontract in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of the above-mentioned Act; and (b) To provide that throughout the useful life of such special additional equipment and facilities the Government shall be given priority in the use thereof and that such special additional equipment and facilities shall be preserved for national defense purposes. (7) The certification to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in the case of any contract or subcontract may be made at any time prior to the 180th day after the close of the contracting party's income taxable year within which the contract or subcontract is completed, or prior to such later time as may be specified by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, but no certification shall be made in the case of any contract or subcontract unless a certification has been made on all contracts or subcontracts previously completed on which the special additional equipment and facilities were used. (8) Every certification made to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue by the Secretary of the Department concerned shall be executed in triplicate and shall-- (a) Specify and itemize the special additional equipment and facilities acquired (or to be acquired) to facilitate, during the national emergency declared by the President on September 8, 1939 to exist, the completion of any complete naval vessel or Army or Navy aircraft or any portion thereof; (b) State the necessity and cost (or estimated cost) of each item of such equipment and facilities, and the percentage of cost of each such item to be charged against the contract or subcontract; (c) Describe the measures which have been taken by the Secretary of the Department concerned to effect a compliance with the provisions of paragraph (6) of these regulations; and (d) Contain, or be accompanied by, the contracting party's agreement to such certification. (9) The Secretary of the Department concerned and the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may issue joint rules for the administration of section 4 of the above-mentioned Act and this Executive Order. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, June 29, 1940.
Executive Order 8465—Regulations Governing Certifications of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy With Respect to Special Additional Equipment and Facilities Required To Facilitate Construction of Naval Vessels and Army and Navy Aircraft
Executive Brief • At a Glance
I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing certifications to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue by the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as to the percentage of cost of special additional equipment and facilities to be charged against a contract or subcontract for the construction or manufacture of any complete naval vessel or Mary or Navy aircraft or any portion thereof: (1) As used in these regulations the term-- (a) 'Secretary of the Department concerned' means the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as the case may be.
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 June 29, 1940, this order concerns Regulations Governing Certifications of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy With Respect to Special Additional Equipment and Facilities Required To Facilitate Construction of Naval Vessels and Army and Navy Aircraft. I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing certifications to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue by the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as to the percentage of cost of special additional equipment and facilities to be charged against a contract or subcontract for the construction or manufacture of any complete naval vessel or Mary or Navy aircraft or any portion thereof: (1) As used in…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing certifications to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue by the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as to the percentage of cost of special additional equipment and facilities to be charged against a contract or subcontract for the construction or manufacture of any complete naval vessel or Mary or Navy aircraft or any portion thereof: (1) As used in these regulations the term-- (a) 'Secretary of the Department concerned' means the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy as the case may be.
No certification under the provisions of section 4 of the Act of June 28, 1940 (Public, No. 671, 76th Cong., 3d sess.) shall be made, in the case of any contract or subcontract or any contract or subcontract as modified, to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue by the Secretary of the Department concerned (and any certification made shall be ineffective) unless all the requirements of these regulations are met.
Before a certification is made to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the contracting party shall file with the Secretary of the Department concerned a request for certification.
Such request for certification shall-- (a) Specify and itemize the special additional equipment and facilities acquired (or to be acquired) to facilitate, during the national emergency declared by the President on September 8, 1939 to exist, the completion of any complete naval vessel or Army or Navy aircraft or any portion thereof; (b) State the necessity and cost (or estimated cost) of each item of such equipment and the percentage of cost of each such item which the contracting party proposes to charge against the contract or subcontract; and (c) State the action which the contracting party proposes to take in order that there shall be a compliance with the provisions of paragraph (6) of these regulations.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
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.
"When the President takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress, his power is at its lowest ebb."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands... may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." — Federalist No. 47 (1788)
Madison would express grave alarm over this order. By asserting independent authority in tension with legislative limits or the Bill of Rights, the Executive risks collapsing the separation of powers into unilateral rule. Under the Madisonian model, no emergency justifies the Executive substituting its decree for a deliberative Act of Congress.
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.
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.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Invokes broad unilateral or emergency executive authorities that test the constitutional boundary of the Take Care Clause.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order asserts independent Article II prerogative against statutory constraints, reallocates funds without explicit appropriation, or stretches executive power into realms constitutionally reserved to the legislature or judiciary.
This directive engages significant constitutional friction across statutory authorization, legislative prerogatives, or individual liberties.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8465 (June 29, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8465-regulations-governing-certifications-the-secretary-war-and-the.