31 USC 1347 – Appropriations or authorizations required for agencies in existence for more than one year
(a) An agency in existence for more than one year may not use amounts otherwise available for obligation to pay its expenses without a specific appropriation or specific authorization by law. If the principal duties and powers of the agency are substantially the same as or similar to the duties and powers of an agency established by executive order, the agency established later is deemed to have been in existence from the date the agency established by the order came into existence.
Terms Used In 31 USC 1347
- 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
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
(b) Except as specifically authorized by law, another agency may not use amounts available for obligation to pay expenses to carry out duties and powers substantially the same as or similar to the principal duties and powers of an agency that is prohibited from using amounts under this section.