Principles of Federal Appropriations Law: Chapter 3 Availability of Appropriations: Purpose Fourth Edition 2017 Revision

This chapter introduces the concept of the "availability" of appropriations. The decisions are often stated in terms of whether appropriated funds are or are not "legally available" for a given obligation or expenditure. This is simply another way of saying that a given item is or is not a legal expenditure. Whether appropriated funds are legally available for something depends on three things: The purpose of the obligation or expenditure must be authorized; The obligation must occur within the time limits applicable to the appropriation; and The obligation and expenditure must be within the amounts Congress has established. Thus, there are three elements to the concept of availability: purpose, time, and amount. All three must be observed for the obligation or expenditure to be legal. Availability as to time and amount are covered in subsequent chapters. This chapter discusses availability as to purpose.