About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (May 15, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdanr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ~* or 101 ' Researh Servi k-M- Agency Discretion to Manage Appropriated Funds: The WHO Funding Announcement May 15, 2020 On April 14, 2020, President Donald J. Trump announced that his Administration would halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) while it investigates the WHO's Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) response effort. This investigation, the President stated, may last 60 to 90 days. As observed in CRS Insight IN11369, U.S. Funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), by Luisa Blanchfield and Tiaji Salaam-Blyther, Congress has not appropriated funds specifically for the WHO in recent appropriations acts. Instead, Congress has appropriated funds for executive branch agencies to address topics such as international disaster and famine assistance, and the recipient agency may have opted to obligate such funds for projects that involved the WHO° It is too early to tell how the Trump Administration's announcement might affect agency action, if at all. It is possible to construe the Administration's statements as signaling that agencies might proceed with obligating funds by working with different partners instead of the WHO. But some observers have questioned whether agencies might temporarily delay obligating funds pending the Administration's investigation. Conceptually, these two general possibilities-obligating funds or temporarily delaying obligation-raise questions about agency discretion to manage appropriated funds. This Sidebar provides a general discussion of an agency's authority to obligate its appropriations or, alternatively, temporarily delay the obligation of budget authority, noting, along the way, potentially relevant considerations in the case of the WHO funding announcement. Appropriations Law Concepts The Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution provides that No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law. An appropriation is a type of budget authority, which is authority for an individual to incur an obligation on behalf of the United States. An obligation includes a definite commitment that creates a legal liability of the government for the payment of goods and services ordered or received. What sets an appropriation apart from other types of budget authority (such as boTowing or contract authority) is that only an appropriation allows an agency to both incur obligations and make payments from the Treasury for specified purposes. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10466 CRS Lega Sidebar Prepaed for Membeivs and Cornm ittees o4 Cor~qress ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most