Authorities and Funding · 3 of 3
Every transfer is paid for from one of a small number of places, and which one it is changes the rules that apply to it for the rest of its life.
The simplest is the partner's own money. "Partners may purchase defense articles and defense services paid for using partner funds allocated for defense spending based on the partner's internal budget authority and processes" (SAMM C11.3.1). A less obvious variant is named in the same paragraph: "In some instances, partner funds of a third partner may fund activities for a mutual partner", which is how one government pays for another's equipment.
The second is American appropriated money, and the manual defines the term precisely. "An appropriation is a provision of law conferring authority to incur obligations for a specified purpose" (SAMM C11.3.2). It usually carries budget authority, meaning authority to incur obligations that will result in payments, and it "permits the actual expenditure of public funds for a specific purpose and specifies to a certain limit".
The third is the family of grant programs that sit on top of that, covering capacity building work and grant financing (SAMM C11.3.3). Those are the ones where the source of the appropriation matters most.
For capacity building the fork is explicit. Such programs "are funded from either a DoD Title 10 or Department of State (State) Title 22 appropriation, depending on the authority" (SAMM C11.3.3.1).
The phrase at the end carries the weight. The funding does not follow the subject matter or the recipient; it follows the legal authority the program runs under. Two programs delivering similar equipment to the same partner can sit on opposite sides of that line, with different clocks and different rules.
Title 10 money comes through the annual defense budget. Those programs "are funded either through DoD-specific authorization and appropriation bills, or through an omnibus spending bill", and once the agency receives its allocation from the comptroller, the funds become available for new obligations (SAMM C11.3.3.1.1).
Availability is finite and varies. The appropriation "specifies the amount of funds available for the authorized purpose and the length of time those funds are available to incur new obligations", and those windows are "typically one to two years with some exceptions" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.1). A capacity building requirement that slips a year can miss its money entirely.
The moment of obligation is the one that protects a program from expiry, and for defense money it is late. "Title 10 appropriations are considered obligated when contracts, or other legal liabilities described above, are established" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.1.2).
The implementing agency receives obligation authority when the case is implemented "and is then responsible for obligating the funds and executing the case to meet the Requesting Authority's (RA's) timelines" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.1.2). Implementation alone does not lock the money down; a contract does.
After that there is a long tail for paying out but none for starting new work. "Once obligated, Title 10 funds are available for expenditure for five years after the appropriation expires. Agencies may liquidate existing obligations by making expenditures, but they must not incur any new obligations if the appropriation has expired" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.1.3). Expired funds remain usable for in-scope adjustments to what was already committed.
Where the money is appropriated to the state department, it reaches the defense department through an agreement rather than a transfer of budget lines. Certain programs "may use an Interagency Agreement (IAA) under Section 632(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) (22 U.S.C. 2392(b)) to transfer funding that the State receives from the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill to DSCA to have DoD implement specific requirements on behalf of State" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.2).
That agreement changes when the money counts as committed, and it moves the moment much earlier. "Certain State appropriations are considered obligated when officials from both the RA and the servicing agency sign the IAA. Funds are not required to be placed on cases or contracts in order to obligate the funds. Rather, the signed IAA is the obligating document" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.2.1).
Each agreement carries its own window. It has "a specific Period of Performance (POP) that describes how long the funds are available for execution and disbursement" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.2.1). Inside that window the defense department can create and amend cases, let contracts and disburse (SAMM C11.3.3.1.2.2).
Two practical consequences follow. Disbursements "must be consistent with the purposes for which the funds were appropriated and obligated", including "any residual funds that may remain after closing or otherwise amending a case". And where an agency has a question about funds availability, it goes to the state department contact named in the agreement rather than to a defense finance office (SAMM C11.3.3.1.2.2).
Some state appropriations have a feature with no equivalent on the defense side. Certain funds "may be subject to a unique four-year de-obligation and re-obligation period after the appropriation's initial period of availability and before the appropriation enters into expired status" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.2.3).
During that window the state department may release funds already committed and commit them again for new purposes, within the scope of what Congress was told, or send them back for reclassification through the treasury, "which extends the availability of the funds by 4 years" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.2.3).
Afterwards the money narrows to settling old business. Once the four year period ends, the funds "remain available for an additional year for expenditure only for adjustment or disbursement against obligations entered into during the initial period of availability and the four-year de-obligation/re-obligation period" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.2.3). Reclassified funds get four more years plus a final year for adjustments and bills.
Then it stops. "Five years after the end of the initial period of availability, or nine years should the funds be reclassified, the funds cancel and are no longer available for any purpose" (SAMM C11.3.3.1.2.3). Cancelled money is gone rather than returned, which is the strongest argument for closing cases on time. That process is set out in closure deadlines and what happens to leftover funds.
The published list of programs gives, for each one, the acronym, whether it is active or expired, whether it is permanent or temporary, its legal citation and whether it counts as cooperation or assistance (SAMM Table C11.T2).
Those five columns answer most questions about a program without reading anything else. A Title 10 citation means defense money on a one to two year obligation window. A Title 22 citation under the two governing acts means state department supervision and, in some cases, the recycling window above. Temporary means the authority carries an expiry date and may not be renewed, a point set out in security cooperation and security assistance.
One administrative fact is worth knowing for anyone asking where a program's history lives. "Socium is the system of record for SC activities", and the lifecycles of these programs and their activities "are to be logged and monitored in Socium" (SAMM C11.3.4).
| Appropriation | A law conferring authority to incur obligations for a specified purpose. SAMM C11.3.2. |
|---|---|
| Title 10 | Defense money, obligated when a contract is let, typically available one to two years. |
| Title 22 | State money, obligated when the interagency agreement is signed. |
| 632(b) agreement | The instrument that moves state funds to the defense department for execution. |
| Cancellation | The point at which funds stop being available for any purpose at all. |
Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.
This page describes public United States government programs for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.
Money that cancels was money that never reached the ground. Sentfore supports defense programs at the delivery end, providing secure transport, protective security, facilities and life support in difficult environments. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.