Executive Order 13603: Its Purpose, Powers, and Legalized Slavery

SOURCE: https://www.cato.orgommentary/obamas-plan-seize-control-our-economy-our-lives

What Executive Order 13603 Does

Executive Order 13603 is a U.S. presidential order signed by Barack Obama on March 16, 2012. Titled “National Defense Resources Preparedness,” it sets out how the federal government may coordinate certain resources and industries to support national defense and emergency preparedness. It draws on authority granted by the Defense Production Act of 1950, a law intended to help the country meet defense-related needs.

The order assigns responsibilities to federal departments and agencies. Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, those responsibilities can include prioritizing contracts, allocating materials, supporting domestic industrial production, and coordinating resources such as energy, transportation, food, water, and health services. It also addresses labor and other parts of the economy relevant to national preparedness.

What It Means in Practice

The order provides a framework for government coordination; it does not, by itself, mean that the government has taken control of the economy or that emergency powers are automatically in use. Specific actions generally require a qualifying national defense need and must be carried out under the laws and procedures that authorize them. The order organizes existing statutory authorities and assigns roles for using them.

For example, if an urgent defense requirement arose, the government could use legally authorized tools to give certain contracts priority or direct the allocation of scarce materials. Such measures would be tied to the relevant need and legal authority rather than applying automatically to every business or person.

What the Order Does Not Do

Executive Order 13603 does not declare martial law, institute conscription, or independently grant the president unlimited power to seize property or control private activity. Those claims often circulate in discussions of the order, but its text concerns preparedness and the administration of powers provided by federal law. Any particular government action still depends on its legal basis and circumstances.