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EO 12919Executive OrderClinton · D Quiet signal

Executive Order 12919

National Defense Industrial Resources Preparedness

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In simple terms

This executive order delegates presidential authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to cabinet secretaries and agency heads for national defense industrial resource preparedness. It establishes frameworks for priorities and allocations of materials and services, expansion of productive capacity through loans and guarantees, labor supply management, and defense industrial base information systems, while revoking and consolidating eleven prior executive orders.

Federal Register 59 FR 29525
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Record & deadlines

  1. Signed

    Signed by the President

  2. FR published

    Published in the Federal Register · 59 FR 29525

    Federal Register

  3. Biennial report on critical components and technology (Section 722(e) of Act)

  4. Annual offset report to Congress (prepared by Secretary of Commerce, cleared through OMB)

  5. NDER activation notification to Assistant to President for National Security Affairs

Key directives

  • Delegate priorities and allocations authority to Secretary of Agriculture (food resources, farm equipment, fertilizer), Secretary of Energy (all energy), Secretary of HHS (health resources), Secretary of Transportation (civil transportation), Secretary of Defense (water resources), and Secretary of Commerce (all other materials, services, facilities)
  • Secretary of Commerce to administer DPAS regulations and serve as President's Executive Agent on offsets
  • Director, FEMA to coordinate central planning, advise National Security Council, and resolve interagency priority disputes
  • Secretary of Defense designated Defense Production Act Fund Manager
  • Secretary of Labor to collect labor data, project skill shortages, formulate training programs, and develop induction/deferment policies with Selective Service
  • Establish National Defense Executive Reserve of private sector and government (non-federal) experts for emergency executive positions
  • Secretary of Defense to convene task force for defense industrial base information system and report strategic plan to Congress
  • Secretary of Treasury to report on foreign acquisition of U.S. critical technology companies and industrial espionage

Who is ordered

Prior policy

  • revokeSection 3, Executive Order No. 8248 of September 8, 1939
  • revokeExecutive Order No. 10222 of March 8, 1951
  • revokeExecutive Order No. 10480 of August 14, 1953
  • revokeExecutive Order No. 10647 of November 28, 1955
  • revokeExecutive Order No. 11179 of September 22, 1964
  • revokeExecutive Order No. 11355 of May 26, 1967
  • revokeSections 7 and 8, Executive Order No. 11912 of April 13, 1976
  • revokeSection 3, Executive Order No. 12148 of July 20, 1979
  • revokeExecutive Order No. 12521 of June 24, 1985
  • revokeExecutive Order No. 12649 of August 11, 1988
  • revokeExecutive Order No. 12773 of September 26, 1991 (except part amending section 604 of Executive Order 10480)
  • amendExecutive Order No. 10789 of November 14, 1958
  • amendExecutive Order No. 11790 (Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974)

Related orders

  • revokesEO 8248
  • revokesEO 10222
  • revokesEO 10480
  • revokesEO 10647
  • amendsEO 10789
  • revokesEO 11179
  • revokesEO 11355
  • amendsEO 11790
  • revokesEO 11912
  • revokesEO 12148
  • referencesEO 12472
  • revokesEO 12521
  • revokesEO 12649
  • revokesEO 12773

What to expect

Immediate

  • Revocation of 11 prior executive orders and partial amendments to 2 others
  • Establishment of National Defense Executive Reserve (NDER) structure
  • Delegation of priorities and allocations authorities to six cabinet secretaries

Near term (90d)

  • FEMA to establish procedures for resolving interagency conflicts
  • Secretary of Commerce to administer Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) regulations
  • Department heads to begin identifying requirements and assessing industrial base capabilities

Long term

  • Establishment of defense industrial base information system (Section 722 of Act)
  • Biennial reporting on critical components and technology
  • Ongoing NDER recruitment and training
  • Annual offset report to Congress
  • Strategic plan for comprehensive information system on supply chain vulnerabilities

Risks & tensions

  • Broad delegation of wartime-style economic control authorities to cabinet secretaries without explicit triggering conditions raises questions about threshold for activation
  • Potential tension between defense priorities and civilian market needs under Section 201(d) findings for controlling general distribution of materials
  • FEMA's central coordination role may create friction with powerful cabinet departments (Defense, Energy, Commerce)
  • Unclear scope of 'national emergency' or 'potential threat' triggers for many authorities—text uses conditional language ('in the event of,' 'when necessary') without defining thresholds
  • Offset reporting and foreign acquisition monitoring involve intelligence community coordination that may create interagency information-sharing friction
  • Section 905 explicitly bars judicial review, limiting accountability mechanisms
Executive Order 12919: National Defense Industrial Resources Preparedness · Executive Orders