
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 10USC2561]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    Subtitle A--General Military Law
 
                PART IV--SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROCUREMENT
 
        CHAPTER 152--ISSUE OF SUPPLIES, SERVICES, AND FACILITIES
 
Sec. 2561. Humanitarian assistance

    (a) Authorized Assistance.--To the extent provided in defense 
authorization Acts, funds authorized to be appropriated to the 
Department of Defense for a fiscal year for humanitarian assistance 
shall be used for the purpose of providing transportation of 
humanitarian relief and for other humanitarian purposes worldwide.
    (b) Availability of Funds.--To the extent provided in appropriation 
Acts, funds appropriated for humanitarian assistance for the purposes of 
this section shall remain available until expended.
    (c) Status Reports.--(1) The Secretary of Defense shall submit to 
the congressional committees specified in subsection (f) an annual 
report on the provision of humanitarian assistance pursuant to this 
section for the prior fiscal year. The report shall be submitted each 
year at the time of the budget submission by the President for the next 
fiscal year.
    (2) Each report required by paragraph (1) shall cover all provisions 
of law that authorize appropriations for humanitarian assistance to be 
available from the Department of Defense for the purposes of this 
section.
    (3) Each report under this subsection shall set forth the following 
information regarding activities during the previous fiscal year:
        (A) The total amount of funds obligated for humanitarian relief 
    under this section.
        (B) The number of scheduled and completed transportation 
    missions for purposes of providing humanitarian assistance under 
    this section.
        (C) A description of any transfer of excess nonlethal supplies 
    of the Department of Defense made available for humanitarian relief 
    purposes under section 2557 of this title. The description shall 
    include the date of the transfer, the entity to whom the transfer is 
    made, and the quantity of items transferred.

    (d) Report Regarding Relief for Unauthorized Countries.--In any case 
in which the Secretary of Defense provides for the transportation of 
humanitarian relief to a country to which the transportation of 
humanitarian relief has not been specifically authorized by law, the 
Secretary shall notify the congressional committees specified in 
subsection (f) and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and 
House of Representatives of the Secretary's intention to provide such 
transportation. The notification shall be submitted not less than 15 
days before the commencement of such transportation.
    (e) Definition.--In this section, the term ``defense authorization 
Act'' means an Act that authorizes appropriations for one or more fiscal 
years for military activities of the Department of Defense, including 
authorizations of appropriations for the activities described in 
paragraph (7) of section 114(a) of this title.
    (f) Congressional Committees.--The congressional committees referred 
to in subsections (c)(1) and (d) are the following:
        (1) The Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign 
    Relations of the Senate.
        (2) The Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
    International Relations of the House of Representatives.

(Added Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title III, Sec. 304(c)(1), Oct. 23, 
1992, 106 Stat. 2361, Sec. 2551; amended Pub. L. 104-106, div. A, title 
XIII, Sec. 1312, Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 474; Pub. L. 106-65, div. A, 
title X, Sec. 1067(1), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 774; renumbered Sec. 2561 
and amended Pub. L. 106-398, Sec. 1 [[div. A], title X, Sec. 1033(b)(1), 
(c)(1)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A-260.)


                               Amendments

    2000--Pub. L. 106-398, Sec. 1 [[div. A], title X, Sec. 1033(b)(1)], 
renumbered section 2551 of this title as this section.
    Subsec. (c)(3)(C). Pub. L. 106-398, Sec. 1 [[div. A], title X, 
Sec. 1033(c)(1)], substituted ``section 2557'' for ``section 2547''.
    1999--Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 106-65 substituted ``Committee on 
Armed Services'' for ``Committee on National Security''.
    1996--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104-106, Sec. 1312(1), (2), redesignated 
subsec. (d) as (b) and struck out former subsec. (b) which read as 
follows: ``Authority To Transfer Funds.--To the extent provided in 
defense authorization Acts for a fiscal year, the Secretary of Defense 
may transfer to the Secretary of State funds appropriated for the 
purposes of this section to provide for--
        ``(1) the payment of administrative costs incurred in providing 
    the transportation described in subsection (a); and
        ``(2) the purchase or other acquisition of transportation assets 
    for the distribution of humanitarian relief supplies in the country 
    of destination.''
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104-106, Sec. 1312(1), (3), added subsec. (c) 
and struck out former subsec. (c) which read as follows:
    ``(c) Transportation of Humanitarian Relief.--(1) Transportation of 
humanitarian relief provided with funds appropriated for the purposes of 
this section shall be provided under the direction of the Secretary of 
State.
    ``(2) Such transportation shall be provided by the most economical 
commercial or military means available, unless the Secretary of State 
determines that it is in the national interest of the United States to 
provide such transportation other than by the most economical means 
available. The means used to provide such transportation may include the 
use of aircraft and personnel of the reserve components of the Armed 
Forces.
    ``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as waiving the 
requirements of section 2631 of this title and sections 901(b) and 901b 
of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1241(b) and 1241f).''
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104-106, Sec. 1312(4), redesignated subsec. (f) 
as (d) and substituted ``the congressional committees specified in 
subsection (f) and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and 
House of Representatives of the'' for ``the Committees on Appropriations 
and on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the''. Former subsec. 
(d) redesignated (b).
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104-106, Sec. 1312(3), (5), redesignated 
subsec. (g) as (e) and struck out former subsec. (e) which required 
status reports and specified time for submission, coverage, and 
contents.
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104-106, Sec. 1312(6), added subsec. (f). 
Former subsec. (f) redesignated (d).
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 104-106, Sec. 1312(5), redesignated subsec. (g) 
as (e).


               Notifications Regarding Humanitarian Relief

    Notification provided to appropriate congressional committees with 
respect to assistance under this section to include detailed description 
of items for which transportation is provided that are excess nonlethal 
supplies of Department of Defense, including quantity, acquisition 
value, and value at time of transportation of such items, see section 
1504(c) of Pub. L. 103-160, set out in a Humanitarian and Civic 
Assistance note under section 401 of this title.


                     Laws Covered by Initial Reports

    Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title III, Sec. 304(d), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 
Stat. 2362, provided that for purposes of subsec. (e) of this section, 
section 304 of Pub. L. 102-190 (105 Stat. 1333) and the humanitarian 
relief laws referred to in section 304(f)(4) of Pub. L. 102-190 (as in 
effect on the day before Oct. 23, 1992) were to be considered as 
provisions of law that authorized appropriations for humanitarian 
assistance to be available for the purposes of this section.
