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1 1 (February 10, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govecem0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Servic Updated February 10, 2021 Foreign Affairs Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) Funding: Background and Current Status Congressional interest in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding levels has continued as Members debate annual foreign affairs and defense budgets. First used by the foreign affairs agencies in FY2012, a key feature of OCO funds was their effective exemption, like emergency funds, from the discretionary spending limits established by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25). Some Members suggested that OCO's exemption provided agencies with additional budget cushioning and flexibility, allowing defense and nondefense foreign affairs funding to exceed the spending caps. Others criticized the OCO designation, labeling it as a slush fund that provided funds for programs unrelated to contingency operations. The BCA's spending caps ended in FY2021, and it is unclear whether Congress will continue to use the OCO designation as it considers FY2022 appropriations. The foreign affairs agencies last requested OCO funds in FY2018. However, Congress has appropriated $8.0 billion designated as OCO every year since FY2019. It remains to be seen whether or not the Biden Administration will include OCO in its budget requests. While ongoing debate in Congress over OCO may focus on defense spending (which receives the largest share of OCO funds), foreign affairs OCO funding may continue to play a role in consideration of the international affairs budget. Background on Foreign Affairs OCO The foreign affairs agencies began requesting OCO funding in FY2012, distinguishing between enduring (ongoing costs) versus extraordinary, temporary costs of the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the frontline states of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. OCO-designated funds largely replaced annual emergency supplemental appropriations to support the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) in the frontline states that became the norm during the George W. Bush Administration. Congress, already using the OCO designation within the Department of Defense (DOD) budget, adopted this approach for foreign affairs, although it never permanently defined its uses in statute. Since FY2012, Congress has appropriated OCO-designated foreign affairs funds at higher levels and for broader purposes than were requested each year (see Figure 1). For the first foreign affairs OCO appropriation in FY2012 (P.L. 112-74, Div. I, Title VIII), Congress provided funds for a wide range of activities beyond the three frontline states, including in Yemen, Somalia, Kenya, and the Philippines. In addition to country-specific uses, Congress also used the OCO designation for funds appropriated for the Global Security Contingency Fund. In the FY2013 full- year continuing appropriations (P.L. 113-6, Div. F, Title VII, §§1707-1708), Congress specified only Jordan as an additional OCO-recipient country. Figure I. Foreign Affairs Overseas Contingency Operations Funding, FY2012-FY2021 (in billions of U.S. dollars) 25 20s 15 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 FY1 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 U Requested $87 58.2 S.8- $7.8 $7.1 $ 7 12.0 $0.0 0.o $0.0 Enacted $11.2 $10.S $6.5 $9.3 $14.9 $20.8 $12.0 S.l s.f S.U Source: Department of State Congressional Budget Justifications, FY2014-FY2020, P.L. 115-141, P.L. 116-6, P.L. 116-94, and P.L. 116- 260. The totals enacted include net rescissions. For FY2014 (P.L. 113-76, Div. K, Title VIII), Congress provided four accounts with no-year (available until expended) OCO funds, but made most foreign affairs OCO funds available for two years-or until September 30, 2015. Congress also expanded the terms of transfer authority, providing greater flexibility across certain accounts. It also authorized transfers from those accounts to International Disaster Assistance (IDA) and Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) accounts, subject to certain dollar amounts or percentages, and regular notification procedures. FY2014 OCO-funded activities were implemented in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, the Central African Republic, and Somalia. For FY2015 (P.L. 113-235, Div. J, Title VIII), although Congress did not provide specific OCO funds for countering the Islamic State (IS), as was requested by the Obama Administration, it did provide an increase in OCO funds in many accounts with language that allowed it to be used for counterterrorism. The Obama Administration requested an expanded use of OCO funds for Syria and peacekeeping in FY2016 (P.L. 114-113, Div. K, Title VIII) and FY2017 (P.L. 115-31, Div. J, Title VIII). Congress also provided OCO funding in both years to respond to the Ebola and Zika viruses, support counterterrorism, and counter Russian aggression. The FY2018 (P.L. 115-141, Div. K, Title VIII) and FY2019 (P.L. 116-6, Div. F, Title VIII) foreign affairs OCO- ttps://crsreports.cong ress.gov S

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