April 5, 1978

78-20 MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE

GENERAL COUNSEL, NATIONAL

COMMISSION ON THE OBSERVANCE OF

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S YEAR

National Commission on Observance of

International Women’s Year—Transfer of

Funds— Authority (Public Law 94-107 (1975),

89 Stat. 1003)

This opinion confirms our earlier advice to you on whether the balance of 

funds of the National Commission on the Observance of International W omen’s 

Year (IWY) can be transferred to the Committee of the National W omen’s 

Conference prior to the termination of the Commission on March 31, 1978. It is 

our opinion that the Commission’s funds may not properly be transferred to the 

Committee by grant, contract, or other means.

Section 8 of Public Law 94-167, 89 Stat. 1003 (1975), which continued the 

IWY Commission established by Executive Order No. 11832, as amended, 3 

CFR 937 (1971-1975 Compilation), provides that the Commission shall 

continue in operation until 30 days after submitting its report to the President 

and the Congress, “ at which time it shall terminate, but the life of the 

Commission shall in no case extend beyond March 31, 1978.” As you know, 

appropriations may be used only for the purposes for which they are made and 

unobligated balances of funds must revert to the Treasury, 31 U.S.C. §§ 628, 

701, 718. Section 9 of the statute provides that funds are available for 

obligation until expended without fiscal year limitation, but, of course, does 

not make the funds available for expenditure beyond the life of the Commission.

The Commission’s grant-making authority (§ 4(6) of the Act) is limited to 

facilitating the organization and conduct of State and regional meetings in 

preparation for the National W om en’s Conference held in Houston last year. 

The function of the Committee of the Conference, established by the Conference pursuant to § 3(a)(7) of the Act, is “ to take steps to provide for the 

convening of a second National W omen’s Conference.”

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The legislative history clearly indicates that the statutory functions of the 

Commission and the Committee of the Conference were to be completed no 

later than March 31, 1978. During the House debate on December 10, 1975, 

Representative Abzug explained:

1 wish to make it entirely clear that this bill in no way authorizes a 

second conference. Should such a Conference be thought appropriate, it would have to be provided for by separate legislation. [121 

Cong. Rec. H. 39713 (1975)]

The bill originally provided that the second Conference would be held in 1985, 

to evaluate steps taken to improve the status of women “ during the ‘Decade of 

W omen,’ 1975-85.” Representative Steiger expressed concern that the staff for 

the second Conference would continue for 10 years. Representative Abzug 

explained:

All that the bill provides in that regard is that there will be a 

committee established after the Conference which will be responsible 

for making some continuing efforts so that the reports and the 

recommendations and all of those things that we are required under 

the bill to provide will have some implementation in the next period 

of time. [Id. at H. 39727]

Representative Steiger proposed an amendment to eliminate the language in 

order “ to eliminate the 10-year life of the committee.” [Id. at H. 39727], 

explaining:

All I am asking is that if indeed these people want to get together to 

see how they are doing for the next 10 years, God love them, let them 

get together and do it, but let them do it with their own money and not 

with tax money.

A substitute amendment offered by Representative Conyers to simply strike out 

reference to 1985 as the date of the second Conference and the reference to the 

Decade of Women, 1975-1985, was adopted. [Id. at H. 39728]

Representative Bauman proposed adding language in § 8, relating to the 

termination of the Commission, to provide “ but in no event shall the 

Commission continue in operation beyond March 31, 1977,” and explained: 

My amendment will give the Commission time to write its report, 

have all the State conferences, a national conference, dismiss the 

bureaucracy and then make plans for another Conference, but this all 

would have to be done before March 31, 1977. [Id.]

Representative Abzug’s amendment, substituting March 31, 1978, as the 

termination date, was adopted instead. She explained that the reason for 

extending the date to 1978 “ was just to make sure that we could clean up, get 

our report in to the Congress and to the President, and be done with it.” [Id. at 

H. 39729]

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Because financing of the second Conference planning function of the 

Committee of the Conference beyond March 31, 1978, was not contemplated 

by the Act, neither transfer of funds nor a contract with the Committee of the 

Conference to finance such planning functions is authorized.

L a r r y A . H a m m o n d

Deputy Assistant Attorney General

Office o f Legal Counsel

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