89166 Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Operations UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1957 The Committee on Government Operations, in the performance of its duties under the Rules of the House of Representatives, is continuously confronted with legal problems involving the exercise of powers by the Executive under the Constitution and under the laws.. Some of these problems arise out of the issuance of Executive orders and Presidential proclamations. The Attorney General is charged by law with furnishing advice and opinion on questions of law to the President and to the heads of departments (5 U. S. C. 303, 304). Attorneys General have traditionally refrained from giving official opinions on questions of law or on the constitutionality or construction of legislation to the Congress or to the committees of the Congress. (See 39 Op. Atty. Gen. 343.) Hence it seems appropriate that such problems should be considered by the committee and its legal staff. Accordingly, this study has been made in order to augment the information available to the Congress on this important subject. This is one of a series of legal studies by the legal staff of the Committee on Government Operations designed to analyze and gather information useful in connection with the legislative and study functions of the Committee on Government Operations. It is hoped that this study will be helpful generally to the Members of Congress and to all who are interested in a closer examination of the operations of our governmental system. As a matter of organization, part I is devoted to a discussion of the general nature and legal status of Executive orders and proclamations and some of the basic legal and constitutional aspects of Presidential power involved in the use of such orders and proclamations. Part II is devoted primarily to the analysis and tabulation of Executive orders in the period from December 29, 1945, to September 1, 1956, together with general historical and descriptive material concerning Executive orders and their custody and use. Part II contains information concerning the characteristics and uses of Executive orders including the authority under which they were issued. This is derived from an examination of Executive orders in general and from an analysis in particular of Executive orders issued in the period between December 29, 1945, and September 1, 1956. Since the use of Executive orders involves many of the same legal problems and principles as does the use of proclamations, both have been treated herein. Part II was prepared by Emmet V. Mittlebeeler, consultant to the committee. III CONTENTS Summary of the statutory and constitutional bases affecting Executive Part I. Executive orders and proclamations and the Presidential powers A. Constitutional and statutory bases of Executive orders and proc- Page 3. Effect of Federal Register Act on general law governing Executive orders and proclamations_. B. Authorities bearing on the exercise and extent of Presidential 1. The President, the Congress, and the department and 2. Highlights of certain constitutional and legal developments affecting the use of the Executive power.--- The President and the Supreme Court in the Andrew Part II. Tabulation of Executive orders issued in the period December 29, V |