Title 22Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§2364 Special authorities

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 32— - FOREIGN ASSISTANCE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › Part Part I— - General Provisions › § 2364

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The President can approve help or weapons sales even if other laws in this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act would otherwise stop them, when the President decides it is important to U.S. security. The President must notify in writing the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. Before using this power, the President must consult with and give a written policy explanation to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Committee on Appropriations and to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the Senate Committee on Appropriations. In any one fiscal year, the President may not authorize more than $750,000,000 in sales under the Arms Export Control Act, may not use more than $250,000,000 of funds made available under this chapter or that Act, and may not use more than $100,000,000 of foreign currency. If a sale is partly financed with these funds, the money counts against the $250,000,000 limit and the rest of the sale counts against the $750,000,000 limit. No more than $50,000,000 of the $250,000,000 can go to one country in a year unless that country is a victim of active aggression, and no more than $500,000,000 of the combined $1,000,000,000 total may go to one country in a year. This authority cannot be used to waive the transfer limits in section 2360(a). The President may also use funds for U.S. responsibilities in Germany, including West Berlin, when he finds it important to the national interest and may set aside laws he finds necessary to meet those responsibilities. Up to $50,000,000 of funds under this chapter may be used when the President certifies it is inadvisable to say how the money will be used; that certification is treated as a sufficient voucher. The President must fully inform the chairman and ranking minority member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations of each such use before spending the funds.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §2364

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The President may authorize the furnishing of assistance under this chapter without regard to any provision of this chapter, the Arms Export Control Act [22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.], any law relating to receipts and credits accruing to the United States, and any Act authorizing or appropriating funds for use under this chapter, in furtherance of any of the purposes of this chapter, when the President determines, and so notifies in writing the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, that to do so is important to the security interests of the United States.
(2)The President may make sales, extend credit, and issue guaranties under the Arms Export Control Act [22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.], without regard to any provision of this chapter, the Arms Export Control Act, any law relating to receipts and credits accruing to the United States, and any Act authorizing or appropriating funds for use under the Arms Export Control Act, in furtherance of any of the purposes of such Act, when the President determines, and so notifies in writing the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, that to do so is vital to the national security interests of the United States.
(3)Before exercising the authority granted in this subsection, the President shall consult with, and shall provide a written policy justification to, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(4)(A)The authority of this subsection may not be used in any fiscal year to authorize—
(i)more than $750,000,000 in sales to be made under the Arms Export Control Act [22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.];
(ii)the use of more than $250,000,000 of funds made available for use under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act; and
(iii)the use of more than $100,000,000 of foreign currencies accruing under this chapter or any other law.
(B)If the authority of this subsection is used both to authorize a sale under the Arms Export Control Act and to authorize funds to be used under the Arms Export Control Act or under this chapter with respect to the financing of that sale, then the use of the funds shall be counted against the limitation in subparagraph (A)(ii) and the portion, if any, of the sale which is not so financed shall be counted against the limitation in subparagraph (A)(i).
(C)Not more than $50,000,000 of the $250,000,000 limitation provided in subparagraph (A)(ii) may be allocated to any one country in any fiscal year unless that country is a victim of active aggression, and not more than $500,000,000 of the aggregate limitation of $1,000,000,000 provided in subparagraphs (A)(i) and (A)(ii) may be allocated to any one country in any fiscal year.
(5)The authority of this section may not be used to waive the limitations on transfers contained in section 2360(a) of this title.
(b)Whenever the President determines it to be important to the national interest, he may use funds available for the purposes of part IV of subchapter I of this chapter in order to meet the responsibilities or objectives of the United States in Germany, including West Berlin, and without regard to such provisions of law as he determines should be disregarded to achieve this purpose.
(c)The President is authorized to use amounts not to exceed $50,000,000 of the funds made available under this chapter pursuant to his certification that it is inadvisable to specify the nature of the use of such funds, which certification shall be deemed to be a sufficient voucher for such amounts. The President shall fully inform the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate of each use of funds under this subsection prior to the use of such funds.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (c), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 87–195, Sept. 4, 1961, 75 Stat. 424, known as the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 2151 of this title and Tables. The Arms Export Control Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), (2), (4)(A), (B), is Pub. L. 90–629, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1320, which is classified principally to chapter 39 (§ 2751 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 2751 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

1993—Subsec. (a)(4)(C). Pub. L. 103–199 struck out “Communist or Communist-supported” after “victim of active”. 1989—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–222 amended second sentence generally. Prior to amendment, second sentence read as follows: “The President shall promptly and fully inform the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate of each use of funds under this subsection.” 1985—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 99–83 designated existing provisions as subpar. (A), added cl. (i) and designations “(ii)” and “(iii)”, struck out fiscal year limitation for any one country, and added subpars. (B) and (C). 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–533, in revising subsec. (a), incorporated part of existing first sentence in provisions designated par. (1), inserted reference to Arms Export Control Act, struck out reference to Mutual Defense Assistance Control Act of 1951, required notification of the Speaker of the House and chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and substituted “security interests” for “security”; inserted pars. (2) and (3); incorporated part of existing first sentence, second sentence, and substance of third sentence in provisions designated par. (4) and inserted reference to the Arms Export Control Act; and designated fourth sentence as par. (5) and substituted therein “may not” for “shall not”. 1974—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–559 provided that the authority of the section shall not be used to waive the limitations on transfers contained in section 2360(a) of this title. 1967—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 90–137 substituted “506” for “510”, classified to the Code as section 2318 of this title. 1966—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 89–583, § 301(f), provided that the $50,000,000 limitation on allocation of funds to any country in any one fiscal year shall not apply to any country which is a victim of active Communist or Communist-supported aggression. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 89–583, § 301(g), inserted provision for reports to Congress of use of funds under this subsec.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

References to Part IV of Subchapter I Deemed References to Part IV of Subchapter IIPart IV of subchapter I (§ 2241 et seq.) of this chapter has been repealed. References to part IV of subchapter I, or any sections thereof, are deemed references to part IV of subchapter II (§ 2346 et seq.) of this chapter, or to appropriate sections thereof. See section 202(b) of Pub. L. 92–226, set out as a note under section 2346 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1985 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 99–83 effective Oct. 1, 1985, see section 1301 of Pub. L. 99–83, set out as a note under section 2151–1 of this title.

Executive Documents

Delegation of Functions For delegation of functions of President under this section, see Ex. Ord. No. 12163, Sept. 29, 1979, 44 F.R. 56673, as amended, set out as a note under section 2381 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 2364

Title 22Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73