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10 MAINE COMMUNITY HEALTH OPTIONS v. UNITED STATES 

Opinion of the Court 

Creating  and  satisfying  a  Government  obligation,  there-
fore,  typically  involves  four  steps:  (1)  Congress  passes  an 
organic statute (like the Affordable Care Act) that creates a 
program,  agency,  or  function;  (2)  Congress  passes  an  Act 
authorizing appropriations; (3) Congress enacts the appro-
priation,  granting  “budget  authority”  to  incur  obligations 
and  make  payments,  and  designating  the  funds  to  be
drawn; and (4) the relevant Government entity begins in-
curring the obligation.  See id., at 2–56; see also Op. Comp. 
Gen., B–193573 (Dec. 19, 1979).

But Congress can deviate from this pattern.  It may, for
instance,  authorize  agencies  to  enter  into  contracts  and
“incur  obligations  in  advance  of  appropriations.”    GAO 
Redbook 2–4.  In that context, the contracts “constitute ob-
ligations binding on the United States,” such that a “failure
or refusal by Congress to make the necessary appropriation 
would  not  defeat  the  obligation,  and  the  party  entitled  to
payment would most likely be able to recover in a lawsuit.” 
Id., at 2–5; see also, e.g., Cherokee Nation of Okla. v. Leavitt, 
543 U. S. 631, 636–638 (2005) (rejecting the Government’s
argument that it is legally bound by its contractual promise 
to  pay  “if,  and  only  if,  Congress  appropriated  sufficient 
funds”); Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter, 567 U. S. 182, 
191  (2012)  (“Although  the  agency  itself  cannot  disburse 
funds  beyond  those  appropriated  to  it,  the  Government’s
‘valid  obligations  will  remain  enforceable  in  the  courts’ ” 
(quoting 2 GAO Redbook 6–17 (2d ed. 1992)).

Congress can also create an obligation directly by statute,
without also providing details about how it must be satis-
fied.  Consider, for example, United States v. Langston, 118 
U. S. 389 (1886).  In that case, Congress had enacted a stat-
ute  fixing  an  official’s  annual  salary  at  “$7,500  from  the 
date of the creation of his office.”  Id., at 394.  Years later, 
however,  Congress  failed  to  appropriate  enough  funds  to
pay the full amount, prompting the officer to sue for the re-
mainder.  Id.,  at  393.    Understanding  that  Congress  had