At the request of the Secretary of Defense, the President today authorized the Department of Defense and the Department of Transportation to order members of the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to active duty under the provisions of section 673 of title 10, United States Code. This step is necessary to support the continued operations of U.S. forces in Operation Desert Storm. This authority will enable reservists to remain on active duty for longer than 180 days and will also permit the call to active duty of personnel in excess of the 200,000 previously authorized.
The Executive order on the activation of the Ready Reserve is listed in Appendix E at the end of this volume.
George Bush, Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the Activation of the Ready Reserve Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/265816