Department of Defense "Section 1207" Security and Stabilization Assistance: A Fact Sheet
Department of Defense “Section 1207”
Security and Stabilization Assistance:
A Fact Sheet
Nina M. Serafino
Specialist in International Security Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
Section 1207 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (P.L.
109-163) provides authority for 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 has
transferred $10 million in FY2006, $99.5 million in FY2007, and $100 million in
FY2008 under this authority. In action on the Duncan Hunter National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (P.L. 110-417), Congress extended the original
Section 1207 authority through FY2009 and, for that fiscal year, added special authority
to transfer up to an additional $50 million for Georgia, although the actual amount
transferred for FY2008 was $100 million. The 111th Congress may wish to take into
account varied concerns regarding the use of DOD funds for State Department activities
in considering whether to extend Section 1207 authority once again or to fund Section
1207 activities under the Department of State budget. This report will be updated as
events warrant.
Section 1207 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year
2006 (P.L. 109-163) provided authority for DOD to transfer to the State Department up
to $100 million in defense articles, services, training or other support in FY2006 and
again in FY2007 to use for reconstruction, stabilization, and security activities in foreign
countries. This authority was extended through FY2008 by Section 1210 of the FY2008
NDAA (P.L. 110-181) and through FY2009 by the Section 1207 of the FY2009 Duncan
Hunter NDAA (P.L. 110-417). The FY2009 Duncan Hunter NDAA provides special
authority for $50 million to be spent under Section 1207 for Georgia in addition to the
$100 million for other countries. This authority has been used to fund activities of the
State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization
(S/CRS) and activities implemented by other agencies that are coordinated by S/CRS.
Operations and maintenance funds from the three military services and from the DOD
defense-wide account have been tapped for this purpose, although the legislation does not
specify a funding source.
According to a United States Institute of Peace report, Section 1207 was introduced
“in response to requests from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State
Condeleezza Rice to help jump start the S/CRS by providing authorization and funding
for projects that would involve interagency coordination. This action was taken in
recognition of the fact that Congress was unable to pass a State Department authorization
bill that would authorize S/CRS to conduct a comparable program”1 and “because of the
perception that it was easier to obtain funding from Congress” in the DOD bill rather than
the State Department bill.2
Conditions. Section 1207 authority requires that any services, defense articles, or
funds provided or transferred to the Secretary of State comply with the authorities and
limitations of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Arms Export Control Act, or any
law making appropriations to carry out such Act. The Secretary of Defense must notify
congressional armed services, foreign affairs, and appropriations committees when the
authority is exercised; the notification must be prepared “in coordination” with the
Secretary of State. As of FY2009, Section 1207 funds may not be used to support the
budgets of foreign governments.
Funding Transfers. In FY2006, DOD transferred $10 million to the State
Department for assistance to Lebanon in the midst of the Lebanese conflict. According
to a spokesperson for S/CRS, DOD lacked the funds for further transfers through this
authority in FY2006, even though the authorized amount was $100 million. In FY2007,
DOD transferred a total of $99.5 million to the State Department for programs in seven
countries and regions. DOD described the projects funded in FY2007 as “a few small
focused activities in various critical countries/regions to demonstrate proof of concept”
and judged that while largely successful, “most could have more significant impact if
continued or expanded.”3 In FY2008, DOD provided $100 million in transfers from the
DOD budget, $50 million for Georgia and $50 million for other countries.
Congressional Action and Statements
2005-2007. Section 1207 authority was the result of a Senate floor amendment
offered by Senator James Inhofe to the Senate version of the FY2006 NDAA (S. 1042),
which would have provided funding up to $200 million per fiscal year. (For FY2006, the
Administration had asked for $200 million for a State Department Conflict response fund,
but neither authority nor funding was provided in non-DOD legislation.)4
Conferees on the FY2006 DOD authorization bill stated in their explanatory
statement (H.Rept. 109-360), that they were providing “a temporary authority ... to the
1 Robert M. Perito, Integrated Security Assistance: The 1207 Program, United States Institute of
Peace Special Report, July 2008, p. 2.. (Hereafter referred to as Integrated Security Assistance.)
2 Integrated Security Assistance, p. 3.
3 U.S. Department of Defense, Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Request Summary Justification, February
4 For more on the conflict response fund, see CRS Report RL32862, Peacekeeping and Conflict
Transitions: Background and Congressional Action On Civilian Capabilities, by Nina M.
Serafino and Martin Weiss.
Department of State until S/CRS is fully stood up and adequately resourced.” Further, the
conferees on that bill stated that they were not inclined to continue authorizing DOD
funds to enable the State Department to “fulfill its statutory authorities.” Subsequently,
the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), in its report on S. 1547 (S.Rept. 110-77),
the Senate version of the FY2008 NDAA, described Section 1207 as a “pilot project.”
In addition to extending the authority through FY2008, Section 1210 of the FY2008
NDAA (P.L. 110-181) augmented the role played by the Secretary of Defense. Under the
FY2006 NDAA, the Secretary of Defense’s role was limited to providing services and
transferring defense articles and funds to the Secretary of State. The FY2008 NDAA
included a provision requiring the Secretary of State to “coordinate with the Secretary of
Defense in the formulation and implementation of a program of reconstruction, security,
or stabilization assistance to a foreign country that involves the provision of services or
transfer of defense articles or funds” under this authority.
2008. In action on the FY2009 NDAA, Congress extended the $100 million Section
DOD requested that Congress double Section 1207 authorized funding to $200 million
per year, extend the authority for five fiscal years, and broaden the authority to permit
DOD to provide that services or transfer defense articles and funds to the head of any U.S.
government department or agency, not just the Department of State. As reported by
SASC, the FY2009 NDAA (S. 3001) would have doubled the authorized amount to $200
million, as requested by DOD, and would have extended Section 1207 authority three
years, through September 30, 2011.5 The conference version of the bill conformed to the
House Armed Services Committee (HASC) version of the FY2009 NDAA (H.R. 5658),
which did not change the authorized amount and provided for a one-year extension.
Nevertheless, Congress did approve a special additional authority under Section 1207
to provide up to $50 million in Section 1207 assistance to Georgia in FY2009. (S. 3001
was signed into law, P.L. 110-417, on October 14, 2008.) In addition, Congress amended
the original legislation to prohibit the use of Section 1207 funds to support the budgets
of foreign governments.
Congressional Concerns
From the beginning, there has been some confusion about the appropriate uses of
Section 1207 and questions about the desirability of funding State Department activities
through the DOD budget. HASC and SASC reports on the their respective versions of
the FY2009 NDAA both state separate concerns about Section 1207 authority, reflecting
a perceived need to clarify intended purposes and restate the original congressional
intention that Section 1207 was to be a temporary authority.
In its report accompanying S. 3001 (S. Rept 110-335), SASC stated that DOD had
“inappropriately restricted the uses for which services or funds may be provided to the
Department of State under section 1207....” Pointing to the Secretary of Defense’s April
5 In testimony before Congress in April 2008, Secretary of State Gates requested that Section
bringing civilian expertise to operate alongside or in place of our armed forces,” SASC
stated that the legislative intent of section 1207 authority was broader, and was meant “to
enable the Secretary of Defense to support the provision by the Secretary of State of
reconstruction, security, or stabilization assistance to a foreign country.” SASC further
stated such assistance could include “providing early civilian resources to avert a crisis
that could otherwise subsequently require U.S. military forces to assist or intervene.”6
In its report accompanying H.R. 5658 (H.Rept. 110-652), HASC stated that it
“reaffirms that the resources provided under this authority are intended to meet
immediate, short-term needs.” The committee reiterated the concern expressed in the
conference report accompanying the original Section 1207 legislation (H.Rept. 109-360)
that DOD should not provide long-term funding in order to enable the Department of
State to “fulfill its statutory requirements.” This concern, according to H.Rept. 110-652,
applied to both long-term development programs and to the broader security assistance
initiatives “that would be better suited for traditional foreign military financing
authorities.”
In addition to some Members of Congress, some outside analysts believe that Section
1207 activities would be better funded through the State Department. (DOD has never
requested that Section 1207 be made permanent law, although it did, as mentioned above,
request in 2008 that Congress extend the authority for five fiscal years.) While noting the
utility of DOD Section 1207 funding, which enables the U.S. government “to meet critical
needs and to take advantage of key opportunities,” the USIP report mentioned above urges
that in the future Congress appropriate such quick reaction funding to the State
Department. “The DOD could still participate in deciding on project proposals, but the
money would be guaranteed and could be made available more quickly. This would
require coordinating the efforts of various congressional committees, but it would restore
the traditional role of the DOS [Department of State] in funding U.S. foreign assistance.”7
6 In February 2008, the State Department and DOD set forth guidance for Section 1207 proposals
that clarified the uses of the fund and procedures for developing proposals and coordinating with
other agencies and programs. This document specifies that programs should “clearly advance
U.S. security interests by promoting regional stability and/or building governance capacity of
foreign partners to address conflict, instability, and sources of terrorism,” “focus on security,
stabilization, or reconstruction objectives in regions and countries where a failure to act could
lead to the deployment of U.S. forces,” “address urgent or emergent threats or opportunities that
conventional foreign assistance activities cannot address in the required time frame,” “seek to
achieve short term security, stabilization, or reconstruction objectives that are coordinated with
longer-term development efforts and that are expected to be sustained by the host government,
international organizations, or other forms of U.S. foreign assistance,” and “address stability,
security, and development goals from a holistic perspective, integrating initiatives across multiple
sectors.” (See [http://www.crs.state.gov/index.cfm?fuseactions=public.display&shortcut=
7 Integrating Security Assistance, p. 11.
CRS-5
Section 1207 Funded Projects, by Country or Region, Fiscal Years 2006-2008
Amount ($ millions)
CountryProject’s Purpose FY06FY07FY08
ghanistanRenovate the Pol-e-Charki prison.10.0
biaHelp provide basic health, education, and infrastructure in areas recently reclaimed from insurgents4.0
through the Initial Government Response Program).
biaSupport implementation of the Integrated Consolidation Plan for La Macarena Region (PCIM), a5.0
unified military and civilian strategy.
mocraticExtend central government authority to Eastern Congo by enhancing border police capabilities to9.1
ocontrol the border in Northern Katanga; extend reach of justice services and facilitate prosecution in
iki/CRS-RS22871remote areas; increase the activity and accountability of local governments.
g/worgiaRebuild the police force ($20 million) and meet priority food, shelter, and livelihood requirements for50.0
s.orinternally displaced persons in Shida Kartli ($30 million).
leakitiCombine community policing with small-scale employment and infrastructure projects to improve20.0
://wikisecurity and stability and extend central government authority in Cite Soleil, Port au Prince’s largest
httpslum (Haiti Stabilization Initiative.)
Clear unexploded ordnance posing an immediate threat to noncombatants ($5 million). Help train and10.0
outfit additional Lebanese Internal Security Force (ISF) members (i.e., Lebanon’s national police) to
allow police to free Lebanese Army forces performing policing duties in the Bekaa Valley to enforce
the Israeli-Hezbollah cease-fire in southern Lebanon ($5 million).
Strengthen the ISF communications capacity ($5.0 million) and assist the ISF in introducing10.0
community and proximity policing in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp and surrounding
areas ($5 million).
Extend the government’s police presence to four districts at risk of communist domination and create10.0
community-based infrastructure projects in those districts.
aliaSupport civilian police reform, security and justice infrastructure rehabilitation, youth employment and25.0
income generation activities ($17.5 million, Somalia Reconciliation and Stabilization Program), and
enhance community-police coordination for cross-border security and to establish neutral zones ($7.5
million).
CRS-6
Amount ($ millions)
CountryProject’s Purpose FY06FY07FY08
aSupport programs to improve livelihoods for conflict-affected populations, assist government6.0
institutions, building the technical capacity of municipal and provincial governments, encourage citizen
participation, and foster a bilingual environment in Sri Lanka’s eastern province.
jikistanProvide training and technical assistance to local government, local law enforcement representatives,9.9
and community leaders to enhance skills to promote stability in conflict-affected and unstable areas,
including the Ferghana and Rasht Valleys and the Afghan border areas.
menPromote stability by assisting in areas where the central government is largely absent in order to deter8.5
youths from joining terrorist groups.
Support the multi-year, interagency , “3-D” (diplomacy, development, and defense) Southeast Asia Tri-17.0
gionborder Initiative to deter terrorist recruitment and deny terrorists sanctuary in Indonesia, Malaysia, and
the Philippines.
iki/CRS-RS22871
g/wns-SaharagionSupport Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Partnership programs in Mali, Niger, and Mauritania toreduce terrorist recruiting and sanctuary areas.15.0
s.or
leaka l s 10.0 99.5 100.0
://wiki
http Office of the Secretary of Defense. FY2006 and FY2007 figures verified March 2008; FY2008 figures verified November 2008.