	Background

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195; 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq. 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. 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. 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. 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. All of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is stated in the United States Code, beginning at 22 U.S.C. This table reflects the language as amended. 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. 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 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195; 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) serves as the cornerstone for the United States' foreign assistance policies and programs. Written, passed, and signed into law at what some consider the height of the Cold War, the act is seen by some today as anachronistic. Ironically, when President Kennedy urged the 87th Congress to enact foreign aid legislation that would exemplify and advance the national interests and security strategies of the United States post-World War II, he described the existing foreign aid mechanisms as bureaucratic, fragmented, awkward, and slow. Some have used the same language today, more than 50 years later, to characterize the legislation he promoted.
On several occasions over the past 20 years, Congress has set out to assess the current body of law that comprises foreign aid policy, starting with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. The Foreign Affairs and Foreign Relations Committees, in recent past Congresses, have considered legislation to rebuild the United States' capacity to deliver effective foreign aid, and make aid more transparent and responsive to today's quick-changing international challenges. Proposals have ranged from setting up advisory committees to a complete overhaul of foreign aid objectives and programs.
This report presents the authorities of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and correlates those authorities with the operative appropriations measure (division I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012; P.L. 112-74; 124 Stat. 786 at 1164) that funds those authorities. It replaces an earlier issue of the same report, dated July 29, 2011, to incorporate the current appropriations act.
For many years, foreign aid appropriations measures have waived the requirement that funds must be authorized before they are appropriated and expended. Understanding the relation between the authorities in the cornerstone act and appropriations is key to foreign aid reform.