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Executive Order 9778 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution

Executive Order 9778—Regulations Governing Travel and Transportation Expenses of New Appointees to Positions in the Government Service Located Outside the United States and Such Expenses of Employees Returning to the United States

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Tuesday, September 10, 1946
•
2 min read (490 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (490 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the expenses of travel of new appointees, expenses of transportation of their immediate families and expenses of transportation of their household goods and personal effects from places of actual residence at time of appointment to places of employment outside continental United States and for such expenses on return of employees from their posts of duty outside continental United States to places of their actual residence at time of assignment to duty outside the United States.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Foreign Nations & International Entities
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President Harry S Truman on September 10, 1946, this order concerns Regulations Governing Travel and Transportation Expenses of New Appointees to Positions in the Government Service Located Outside the United States and Such Expenses of Employees Returning to the United States. I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the expenses of travel of new appointees, expenses of transportation of their immediate families and expenses of transportation of their household goods and personal effects from places of actual residence at time of appointment to places of employment outside continental United States and for such expenses on return of employees from their posts of duty…

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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I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the expenses of travel of new appointees, expenses of transportation of their immediate families and expenses of transportation of their household goods and personal effects from places of actual residence at time of appointment to places of employment outside continental United States and for such expenses on return of employees from their posts of duty outside continental United States to places of their actual residence at time of assignment to duty outside the United States.

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Expenses authorized by section 7 of the said act of August 2, 1946, shall not be allowed new appointees unless and until the person selected for appointment shall agree in writing to remain in the Government service for the twelve months following his appointment, unless separated for reasons beyond his control.

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In case of a violation of such agreement, any moneys expended by the United States on account of such travel or transportation shall be considered as a debt due by the individual concerned to the United States.

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The travel expenses of new appointees from their places of actual residence at time of appointment to places of employment outside continental United States and of employees returning from their posts of duty outside continental United States to the places of their actual residence at the time of their assignment to duty outside the United States shall, until November 1, 1946, be in accordance with the Subsistence Expense Act of 1926, as amended (5 U.S.C. 821-823), the Standardized Government Gravel Regulations and the act of February 14, 1931, as amended (5 U.S.C. 73(a)).

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Infrastructure & Transportation 🏷️ Labor & Employment
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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)
§

"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
35 / 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

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
490
3,001 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
23.7
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by section 7 of the act of August 2 1946, Public Law 600-79th Congress, I hereby prescribe the following regulations governing the expenses of travel of new appointees, expenses of transportation of their immediate families and expenses of transportation of their household goods and personal effects from places of actual residence at time of appointment to places of employment outside continental United States and for such expenses on return of employees from their posts of duty outside continental United States to places of their actual residence at time of assignment to duty outside the United States. SECTION 1. Expenses authorized by section 7 of the said act of August 2, 1946, shall not be allowed new appointees unless and until the person selected for appointment shall agree in writing to remain in the Government service for the twelve months following his appointment, unless separated for reasons beyond his control. In case of a violation of such agreement, any moneys expended by the United States on account of such travel or transportation shall be considered as a debt due by the individual concerned to the United States. SECTION 2. The travel expenses of new appointees from their places of actual residence at time of appointment to places of employment outside continental United States and of employees returning from their posts of duty outside continental United States to the places of their actual residence at the time of their assignment to duty outside the United States shall, until November 1, 1946, be in accordance with the Subsistence Expense Act of 1926, as amended (5 U.S.C. 821-823), the Standardized Government Gravel Regulations and the act of February 14, 1931, as amended (5 U.S.C. 73(a)). SECTION 3. The expenses of transportation of the immediate families and expenses of transportation of the household goods and personal effects of new appointees from places of actual residence at time of appointment to places of employment outside continental United States and such expense on return of employees from their posts of duty outside continental United States to places of their actual residence at time of assignment to duty outside the United States shall, until November 1, 1946, be in accordance with Executive Order 9743 and Executive Order 8588, as amended. SECTION 4. Beginning November 1, 1946, expenditures within the purview of section 2 and 3 of this order shall be in accordance with regulations to be issued under authority of section 1 of the aforesaid act of August 2, 1946. SECTION 5. The provisions of these regulations shall not apply to expenditures from appropriations for the Foreign Service, Department of State, or to persons whose pay and allowances are established by the Pay Readjustment Act of 1942 (37 U.S.C. 101). This order shall be effective as of August 2, 1946, and shall be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. HARRY S. TRUMAN

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

September 10, 1946

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

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

Revokes Executive Order 11012—Providing for the Performance of Certain Functions Under Sections 1(a) and 1(b) of the Administrative Expenses Act of 1946
John F. Kennedy • 1962-03-27
Amends Executive Order 10177—Amendment of Section 1 of Executive Order No. 9778 of September 10, 1946, Prescribing Regulations Governing Travel and Transportation Expenses of New Appointees to Positions in the Government Service Located Outside the United States and Such Expenses of Employees Returnng to the United States
Harry S Truman • 1950-10-27
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 9778 (Sept. 10, 1946), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9778-regulations-governing-travel-and-transportation-expenses-new.