Foreign Assistance Act of 1961: Authorizations and Corresponding Appropriations
Released: 2012-04-18T00:00:00

Background

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195; 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), enacted at the behest of President Kennedy, sought to organize and implement U.S. foreign assistance programs with a commitment to long-range economic assistance to the developing world. The President, in a "Special Message to the Congress on Foreign Aid," delivered March 22, 1961, described the U.S. foreign aid programs emerging from World War II as

[b]ureaucratically fragmented, awkward and slow, its administration is diffused over a haphazard and irrational structure covering at least four departments and several other agencies. The program is based on a series of legislative measures and administrative procedures conceived at different times and for different purposes, many of them now obsolete, inconsistent and unduly rigid and thus unsuited for our present needs and purposes. Its weaknesses have begun to undermine confidence in our effort both here and abroad.

President Kennedy went on to note the declining prestige of the United States' foreign aid apparatus and the negative impact of that decline on administering and staffing programs abroad. The President also cited the uneven and undependable short-term financing of programs and the resulting disincentive for long-term efficient planning. Congress and the executive branch worked together to enact the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to address these shortcomings at a time when much of the developing world was emerging as newly independent states, when those new nations were, "without exception ... under Communist pressure," and when "the free industrialized nations" found themselves in a position "to assist the less-developed nations on a long-term basis ... [as they find themselves] on the threshold of achieving sufficient economic, social and political strength and self-sustained growth to stand permanently on their own feet."

Though the original Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 lengthened the authorization time frame for funding development assistance to five years, other programs were authorized for shorter periods. The act still required occasional reauthorization legislation to renew programs beyond that original time frame, and Congress retained its role of appropriating funds. The original act authorized the funding levels shown in Table 1 .

Through 1985, Congress regularly enacted new authorization legislation or amended the original act to update authorization time frames, and to incorporate newer programs and authorities. From 1986 on, however, Congress turned more frequently to enacting freestanding authorities that did not amend the 1961 act, and included language in annual appropriations measures to waive the requirement to keep authorizations current. Thus, sections in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, in many instances, do not refer to authorization beyond fiscal years 1986 and 1987 (unless the program was added to the act by an amendment enacted after that period), but programs are continued through appropriations.

Other Authorizations

A few programs are established outside the statutory framework of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, and thus are not included in detail in this report. Reimbursable military exports, for example, are addressed in the Arms Export Control Act and subsequent Security Assistance Acts. Since 1985, the last year Congress passed a comprehensive reauthorization of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, both Congress and the President have promoted a variety of specialized authorities in freestanding legislation. And, on rare occasion, Congress has established new authorities or programs in annual appropriations acts. Some freestanding laws that authorize foreign aid or apply new conditions to aid authorized in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 are shown in Table 2 .

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961: Authorities and Appropriations

Table 3 presents the authorities enacted in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and the corresponding appropriations that fund those authorities in the current foreign assistance appropriations act.

Authorization

The left-side column of Table 3 cites sections of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, that authorize programs, and provides the latest year for which authorization is enacted. Sections that establish a need for such a program—in the form of policy or finding statements, for example—are not cited. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is organized in a conventional manner, however, so those sections that state policy, findings, program requirements, or implementing structure can be found in the text of the law in sections proximate to the authorizing section. All of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is stated in the United States Code, beginning at 22 U.S.C. 2151. For each section that states the President's power to authorize funds, the relevant U.S. Code citation and year of enactment is included here. In nearly all cases, these sections have been substantially amended, or rewritten altogether, subsequent to enactment. This table reflects the language as amended.

Though the sections generally afford the President the authority to furnish whatever assistance the section establishes, Section 622(a) and (c) (22 U.S.C. 2382(a), (c)) of the act states that

Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to infringe upon the powers or functions of the Secretary of State.... Under the direction of the President, the Secretary of State shall be responsible for the continuous supervision and general direction of economic assistance, military assistance, and military education and training programs, including but not limited to determining where there shall be a military assistance (including civic action) or a military education and training program for a country and the value thereof, to the end that such programs are effectively integrated both at home and abroad and the foreign policy of the United States is best served thereby.

In many instances, the President has delegated his authority to the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, or some other appropriate office holder. Delegations of authority are to be found, either in whole text or as a reference, in the U.S. Code, at sections corresponding to the section of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 that states the relevant authority.

Appropriation

The right-side column of Table 3 states appropriations levels that correspond to the authorized program, as enacted in the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2012 (division I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012; P.L. 112-74 ; 125 Stat. 786 at 1164).

The General Provisions title in an appropriations act usually states conditions for administering the appropriations. In Table 3 , General Provisions sections that state conditionality and terms that might be applicable to the aid being provided are also listed, and a statute citation is provided to assist the reader who might wish to read in further detail. General Provisions measures that apply to the entire appropriations act are cited only at Chapter 1—Policy, Development Assistance Authorizations; they are numerous and apply to most authorities. Such General Provisions sections prohibit assistance for reasons relating to terrorism, military overthrows, and debt arrearages, to name a few.