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Executive Order 11438 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 11438—Prescribing Procedures Governing Interdepartmental Cash Awards to the Members of the Armed Forces

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson
•
Tuesday, December 3, 1968
•
2 min read (465 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

This executive order, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on 1968-12-03, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Prescribing Procedures Governing Interdepartmental Cash Awards to the Members of the Armed Forces." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

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

▪ By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1124 (b) and (e) of title 10, United States Code, and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1.
▪ Awards shall be made under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Transportation, as appropriate.
▪ Funds to cover the costs of cash awards to members of the armed forces shall be transferred from the account of any executive department or agency which recommends the award to the appropriate account of the Department of Transportation or the Department of Defense, as the case may.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
465
2,892 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
25.6
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 11438, Lyndon B. Johnson (Dec 3, 1968). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11438-prescribing-procedures-governing-interdepartmental-cash-awards-the.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1124 (b) and (e) of title 10, United States Code, and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Any suggestion, invention, or scientific achievement by a member of the armed forces that contributes to the efficiency, economy, or other improvement of operations of the Government of the United States through its adoption or use by an executive department or agency other than the executive department having jurisdiction over the armed force of the member concerned may be the basis for honorary recognition or a cash award by the Secretary of Transportation in the case of a member of the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy or by the Secretary of Defense in the case of any other member of the armed forces. SEC. 2. An executive department or agency that adopts or uses the suggestion, invention, or scientific achievement of a' member of the armed forces who is not under its jurisdiction may recommend to the Department of Defense or to the Department of Transportation, as appropriate, a cash award or honorary recognition of the member and shall justify its recommendation with appropriate documentation and explanation of how the suggestion, invention, or scientific achievement contributes to the efficiency, economy, or other improvement of the operations of the Government of the United States. Awards shall be made under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Transportation, as appropriate. The regulations of the Department of Defense and Department of Transportation may include designations of officials to whom authority for receiving, evaluating, and making awards may be assigned. SEC. 3. No cash awards, hereunder for a single suggestion, invention, or scientific achievement may exceed $25,000 regardless of the number of agencies or departments which may adopt or use the suggestion, invention, or scientific achievement. SEC. 4. Funds to cover the costs of cash awards to members of the armed forces shall be transferred from the account of any executive department or agency which recommends the award to the appropriate account of the Department of Transportation or the Department of Defense, as the case may. be. When several executive departments or agencies benefit from the adoption or use of the suggestion, invention, or scientific achievement, the amount transferred from each such benefiting department or agency to the Department of Transportation or the Department of Defense to cover the proportionate share of the cost of the cash award shall be determined under procedures prescribed by the Civil Service Commission in accordance with the same guidelines and standards applying to awards to civilian employees. LYNDON B. JOHNSON The White House December 3, 1968