31 USC 1301 – Application
(a) Appropriations shall be applied only to the objects for which the appropriations were made except as otherwise provided by law.
Terms Used In 31 USC 1301
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
(b) The reappropriation and diversion of the unexpended balance of an appropriation for a purpose other than that for which the appropriation originally was made shall be construed and accounted for as a new appropriation. The unexpended balance shall be reduced by the amount to be diverted.
(c) An appropriation in a regular, annual appropriation law may be construed to be permanent or available continuously only if the appropriation—
(1) is for rivers and harbors, lighthouses, public buildings, or the pay of the Navy and Marine Corps; or
(2) expressly provides that it is available after the fiscal year covered by the law in which it appears.
(d) A law may be construed to make an appropriation out of the Treasury or to authorize making a contract for the payment of money in excess of an appropriation only if the law specifically states that an appropriation is made or that such a contract may be made.