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Title 22 or Title 10: which authority is behind a case?

Updated 3 October 2026Checked against the SAMM: 11 September 2026

, Foreign Military Financing and are Title 22 programs: the Secretary of supervises them and the Department of War administers them. A case is paid for with the partner's own funds or Foreign Military Financing and signed by the partner. Title 10 programs such as Section 333 are funded with U.S. appropriations and executed through Building Partner Capacity cases, which the partner does not sign or pay for.

TWO AUTHORITIES, THE SAME FOUR QUESTIONS fmsedge.com Title 22 · Security assistance The DoW-administered programs are a subset of security cooperation Title 10 · Security cooperation Told apart from security assistance by the statutes that authorize and fund them Authorization the law that allows it What is the difference between the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act? Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 · Arms Export Control Act of 1976 FMS sales: AECA Sections 21 and 22 FMF credits and grants: AECA Section 23 IMET: FAA Section 541 What is the difference between security assistance and security cooperation? Title 10 of the U.S. Code, or the annual NDAA Permanent when codified; a temporary authority carries its expiration A named program may carry its section: the Section 333 Program (10 U.S.C. 333) Appendix 8 lists each program with its legal citation Appropriation a separate act: authorizing alone funds nothing What is the difference between Foreign Military Sales and Foreign Military Financing? Foreign Operations appropriation Congress appropriates FMF and IMET; State sets each country’s amount; OMB apportions the funds to DSCA. Who pays for Foreign Military Sales? FMS: the purchaser’s own money From the partner’s own defense budget: national funds, not a U.S. appropriation What is a Building Partner Capacity case? DoW appropriation (Title 10) Funded through DoW authorization and appropriation bills, or an omnibus bill The appropriation sets the amount and how long it is open to new obligations DSCA’s allocation comes from the DoW Comptroller Who executes who runs it Which organizations are the Foreign Military Sales Implementing Agencies? State supervises; DoW administers The Secretary of State decides whether there is a sale or program, and its size DSCA administers by delegation; the Implementing Agencies execute What does a combatant command (CCMD) do in security cooperation? DoW executes DSCA executes and administers DoW SC programs (10 U.S.C. 382(b)) The combatant command is the Requesting Authority for Title 10 Foreign Military Sales Security Cooperation Officer (Embassy) In both: the Security Cooperation Organization in the partner country manages SA and SC programs Where the money goes Purchaser’s funds or FMF What is the Foreign Military Sales Trust Fund? FMS Trust Fund at DFAS-IN Recorded to the FMS case An FMS case is signed by the purchaser and paid with its funds or FMF. FMF moved into the Trust Fund is an expenditure transfer. DoW funds to DSCA IA gets obligation authority What is a Building Partner Capacity case? BPC case (BPC LOA, “pseudo-LOA”) The Benefitting Partner does not sign a BPC case; U.S. appropriations fund it. State approval is required before a BPC case is implemented. Some Title 22 funds State receives from the State, Foreign Operations bill FAA Section 632(b) Interagency Agreement: DoW implements for State The funds go to DSCA. The signed IAA is the obligating document; LOAs are built against it. AECA = Arms Export Control Act. FAA = Foreign Assistance Act. FMF = Foreign Military Financing. IMET = International Military Education and Training. NDAA = National Defense Authorization Act. SA / SC = security assistance / security cooperation. IA = Implementing Agency. LOA = Letter of Offer and Acceptance. BPC = Building Partner Capacity. IAA = Interagency Agreement. OMB = Office of Management and Budget. FMS Edge where the money goes · the purchaser’s own money, not appropriated · only for some programs fmsedge.com · Current as of 26 September 2026 · SAMM C1 · C2 · C9 · C10 · C11 · C15 · AP8

Title 22 and Title 10 answer the same four questions differently. Security assistance rests on the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act, is supervised by the Secretary of State and administered by DoW; Foreign Military Financing and IMET come from the Foreign Operations appropriation, while a Foreign Military Sales purchaser pays with its own national funds, which no U.S. appropriation provides. Security cooperation programs rest on Title 10 or the annual NDAA, are funded by DoW appropriations, and deliver through Building Partner Capacity cases (BPC LOAs, or “pseudo-LOAs”) that the Benefitting Partner does not sign. Some State funds reach DoW through a Section 632(b) Interagency Agreement, the obligating document.

Title 22 or Title 10: authorization, appropriation and where the money goes · Current as of 26 September 2026 · SAMM C1 · C2 · C9 · C10 · C11 · C15 · AP8 · Download PNG

Title 22 or Title 10: which authority is behind a case?

Title 22 programs are customarily implemented and managed by DOS. While under the authority of DOS, DoW provides material assistance and related training to international partners to develop specific capabilities and/or capacities. The following programs are authorized by either the Foreign Assistance Act () (22 U.S.C. 2151, et. seq.) or the (22 U.S.C. 2751, et. seq.):

  • Direct Commercial Sales ()
  • Drawdowns
  • Global Peace Operations Initiative ()
  • Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs (NADR)
  • Peacekeeping Operations ()
  • Third-Party Transfers

While under the authority of DOS, DoW provides materiel assistance and related training to international partners to develop specific capabilities and/or capacities. These programs are also authorized by either the Foreign Assistance Act () (22 U.S.C. 2151, et. seq.) or the (22 U.S.C. 2751, et. seq.):

  • Foreign Military Financing Program (FMFP)
  • Foreign Military Construction Sales (FMCS)
  • International Military Education and Training ()
  • Leases

Under the authority of Title 10, Chapter 16, and/or the current National Defense Authorization Act, DoW provides material assistance and related training to international partners to develop specific capabilities and/or capacities. This training and equipping is usually executed using DoW Operations and Maintenance () funding, but, in some instances, Congress appropriates additional funding for DoW to conduct these programs. Although it is DoW funding, these programs, and all , must be coordinated with DOS. practitioners refer to these programs as . programs are executed using a , and all require congressional notification.

Each program will have its own unique authorization that will influence its execution guidelines and fiscal law constraints.

References

Drawn exclusively from publicly available authorities.

SAMM

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