Executive Order

An executive order is an edict issued by a member of the Executive Branch of a government, usually the head of that branch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_order

Until the early 1900s, executive orders went mostly unannounced and undocumented, seen only by the agencies to which they were directed. Others have simply been lost due to natural decay and poor record keeping. However, the State Department instituted a numbering system for executive orders in the early 1900s, starting retroactively with President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. Today, only National Security Directives are kept from the public.

To date, U.S. courts have overturned only two executive orders: the aforementioned Truman order, and a 1996 order issued by President Clinton that attempted to prevent the US government from contracting with organizations that had strike-breakers on the payroll. Congress may overturn an executive order by passing legislation in conflict with it or by refusing to approve funding to enforce it. In the former, the president retains the power to veto such a decision; however, the Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds majority to end an executive order.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_executive_orders

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/disposition.html