Title 31Money and FinanceRelease 119-73

§3129 Appropriation to pay expenses

Title 31 › Subtitle SUBTITLE III— - FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT › Chapter CHAPTER 31— - PUBLIC DEBT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - ADMINISTRATIVE › § 3129

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Gives the Treasury money to pay necessary costs (including rent) for issuing debt. The amount is limited: .2% for bonds and notes and .1% for certificates under section 3104 and under First Liberty Bond Act. Money can only be used through the end of the next fiscal year after the issue; if a specific amount is set, only that amount may be used.

Full Legal Text

Title 31, §3129

Money and Finance — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Amounts to pay necessary expenses (including rent) for an issue of obligations authorized under this chapter are appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury. However, the amount appropriated under this section may not be more than—
(1).2 percent of the amount of bonds and notes authorized under this chapter;
(2).1 percent of the amount of certificates of indebtedness authorized under section 3104 of this title; and
(3).1 percent of the amount of certificates of indebtedness authorized under the First Liberty Bond Act.
(b)An appropriation under this section is available for obligation only through the end of the fiscal year after the fiscal year in which the issue was made. During a period for which an appropriation for a specified amount is made for expenses for which this section makes an appropriation for an unspecified amount, only the appropriation for the specified amount is available for obligation.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 312931:753(d)(last sentence less related to 31:771).Sept. 24, 1917, ch. 56, 40 Stat. 288, § 18(d)(last sentence less related to § 8); added Mar. 3, 1919, ch. 100, § 1, 40 Stat. 1310. 31:757c(e).Sept. 24, 1917, ch. 56, 40 Stat. 288, § 22(e); added Feb. 4, 1935, ch. 5, § 6, 49 Stat. 21; restated Feb. 19, 1941, ch. 7, § 3, 55 Stat. 8. 31:759.Apr. 24, 1917, ch. 4, § 8, 40 Stat. 37; May 29, 1928, ch. 901, § 1(20)(related to 40 Stat. 37), 45 Stat. 987. 31:760.Sept. 24, 1917, ch. 56, § 10, 40 Stat. 292; May 29, 1928, ch. 901, § 1(20)(related to 40 Stat. 292), 45 Stat. 987; June 1, 1955, ch. 119, § 3, 69 Stat. 82. 31:761.June 16, 1921, ch. 23, § 1(last par. last sentence under heading “Office of the Secretary”), 42 Stat. 36. In subsection (a), before clause (1), the words “an issue of obligations authorized under this chapter” are substituted for 31:761(less proviso) to reflect consolidation of the authority for issues of obligations in the revised chapter and for consistency. The text of 31:757c(e) is omitted as unnecessary and superseded by 39:410. The words “out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated” in 31:760 are omitted as unnecessary and for consistency. The words “to be expended as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct” in 31:760 are omitted as surplus. In clause (1), the .2 percent limitation on expenses of bonds referred to in 31:760 is made applicable to a “note” because of the definition of bond in 31:753(d)(last sentence). The words “sections 735 to 738, . . . 765, . . . 773 of this title and section 84 of title 12” in 31:753(d)(last sentence) are omitted because they refer to sections previously repealed (31:735–738, 765) or obsolete (31:773, which was superseded by 39:410) and because 12:84 was amended to express the result required by the source provisions by section 10 of the Act of February 25, 1927 (ch. 191, 44 Stat. 1229). In subsection (b), the words “appropriation for the specified amount” are substituted for “definite appropriation”, and the words “appropriation for an unspecified amount” are substituted for “indefinite appropriation”, as being more precise. The word “only” is substituted for “and the indefinite appropriation shall not be available for obligation” to eliminate unnecessary words.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The First Liberty Bond Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), is act Apr. 24, 1917, ch. 4, 40 Stat. 35, which enacted section 746, 755, 755a, 759, 764, 774, and 804 of former Title 31 and section 462a of Title 12, Banks and Banking, and amended section 745 and 768 of former Title 31, and was repealed by Pub. L. 97–258, § 5(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1072.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

31 U.S.C. § 3129

Title 31Money and Finance

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73