Executive Order 11501 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 11501—Administration of Foreign Military Sales

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Monday, December 22, 1969

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2 min read (430 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 Richard Nixon on 1969-12-22, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Administration of Foreign Military Sales." 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 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1.

▪ 90-629), hereinafter referred to as the "Act", are hereby delegated as follows: (a) Those under section 3 (a) of the Act, with the exception of 3 (a) (1), to the Secretary of State.

▪ To the extent the standards and criteria for credit and guaranty transactions are based upon national security and financial policies, the Secretary of State shall obtain the prior concurrence of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively.

▪ Nothing in this order shall be construed as modifying in any way the responsibility conferred upon the Secretary of State by section 2 (b) of the Act for the continuous supervision and general direction of sales under the Act, including, but not limited to, determining whether a sale should be negotiated, concluded, or terminated and the amount thereof.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities

Total Words

430

2,482 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

13.1

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11501, Richard Nixon (Dec 22, 1969). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11501-administration-foreign-military-sales.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The following functions conferred upon the President by the Foreign Military Sales Act (P.L. 90-629), hereinafter referred to as the "Act", are hereby delegated as follows: (a) Those under section 3 (a) of the Act, with the exception of 3 (a) (1), to the Secretary of State. (b) Those under section 21 of the Act to the Secretary of Defense. (c) Those under section 22 of the Act to the Secretary of Defense. (d) That under section 23 of the Act to the Secretary of Defense. (e) Those under section 24 of the Act to the Secretary of Defense. (f) Those under section 34 of the Act to the Secretary of State. To the extent the standards and criteria for credit and guaranty transactions are based upon national security and financial policies, the Secretary of State shall obtain the prior concurrence of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively. (g) Those under section 35 (a) of the Act to the Secretary of State. (h) Those under section 35 (b) of the Act to the Secretary of Defense. (i) That under section 42 (b) of the Act to the Secretary of Defense. SEC. 2. Nothing in this order shall be construed as modifying in any way the responsibility conferred upon the Secretary of State by section 2 (b) of the Act for the continuous supervision and general direction of sales under the Act, including, but not limited to, determining whether a sale should be negotiated, concluded, or terminated and the amount thereof. SEC. 3. In carrying out the functions delegated to them under this order, the Secretaries of State and Defense shall consult with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the Agency for International Development, and the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency on matters pertaining to their responsibilities. SEC. 4. All functions conferred upon the President by the Act that are not delegated by the provisions of this order are hereby reserved to the President. SEC. 5. Funds appropriated to the President for carrying out the Act shall be deemed to be allocated to the Secretary of Defense without any further action of the President. SEC. 6. References in this order to the provisions of the Act shall be deemed to include references thereto, respectively, as amended from time to time. RICHARD NIXON The White House December 22, 1969