Department of Defense Section 1207 Security and Stabilization Assistance: Background and Congressional Concerns

Section 1207 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2006 (P.L. 109-163) provides authority for the Department of Defense (DoD) to transfer to the State Department up to $100 million per fiscal year in defense articles, services, training or other support for reconstruction, stabilization, and security activities in foreign countries. DoD transferred $10 million in FY2006, $99.7 million in FY2007, and $100 million in FY2008 under this authority. For FY2009, Congress added special authority to transfer up to an additional $50 million for the Republic of Georgia. To date in FY2009, DoD has transferred to the State Department $94.8 million in FY2009 Section 1207 funds. In all, these funds have supported projects in 14 countries and two regions. The 111th Congress must decide whether to extend Section 1207, which expires on September 30, 2009. In its FY2010 budget submission, DoD has requested $200 million in FY2010 appropriations for Section 1207, double the currently authorized account. DoD does not appear to have made a decision on requesting an extension of Section 1207 authority beyond FY2010, as there is no Section 1207 language in the proposed NDAA that DoD sent to Congress on May 13, 2009. DoD indicated, however, that further requests for FY2010 NDAA language may be forthcoming. In considering whether to extend Section 1207 again, the 111th Congress may wish to take into account various issues regarding the use of DoD funds for State Department activities. Principal among them are whether projects funded under Section 1207 authority are being used for the purposes intended by Congress, and whether funding intended for use by the State Department is better funded under the State Department budget. This report will be updated as events warrant. CRS Report for Congress.