10 U.S.C. § 127f — Expenditure of funds for clandestine activities that support operational preparation of the environment and non-conventional assisted recovery capabilities

(a) Authority. (1) Defense-wide operation-and-maintenance funds may be used for any purpose the Secretary of Defense finds proper — (A) to prepare the operating environment for confidential operations, or (B) to establish, develop, and maintain "non-conventional assisted recovery" capabilities that help rescue U.S. military or civilian personnel, or others, who become isolated or separated. (2) That determination by the Secretary is final and conclusive for the government's accounting officers. The Secretary may certify an expenditure amount without specifying what it was for, and that certificate alone is sufficient proof of the expense. (b) Authorized Activities. In limited, special circumstances the Secretary decides on, these activities may include giving support — limited amounts of equipment, supplies, training, transportation, or other logistical support or funding — to foreign forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals who are conducting operational preparation of the environment or helping establish, develop, and maintain non-conventional assisted recovery capabilities. (c) Procedures. (1) The Secretary must exercise this authority under procedures the Secretary sets up for this purpose. (2) Those procedures must at least cover: (A) policy, strategy, or other guidance and constraints for activities under this section; (B) how activities are developed, validated, and coordinated with relevant federal entities; (C) how legal reviews confirm compliance with this section and consistency with U.S. national security interests; and (D) how the Department keeps the defense committees fully and currently informed about the need for, and use of, this authority. (3) The Secretary must notify the defense committees of any material change to these procedures. (d) Limitations. The Secretary: (1) may spend up to $40,000,000 in a fiscal year for the purposes in subsection (a); and (2) cannot delegate the authority to approve any single expenditure over $250,000. (e) Exclusion of Intelligence Activities. (1) This section gives no authority to conduct, or spend funds on, intelligence, counterintelligence, or intelligence-related activities. (2) "Intelligence" and "counterintelligence" carry the meanings given in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947. (f) Quarterly Briefing. Every quarter, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict — working with whichever Defense Department elements the Assistant Secretary decides are appropriate — must brief the defense committees on the clandestine activities carried out under subsection (a), including: an update on those activities in each geographic combatant command and how they support that command's theater campaign plan; an overview of the authorities and legal issues, including limitations, involved; and any other matters the Assistant Secretary considers appropriate. (g) Annual Report. By December 31 each year, the Secretary must report to the defense committees on the previous fiscal year's expenditures under this section. For each expenditure, the report must include: a description of the activity carried out for purposes described in subsection (a); the amount spent; the type of recipient supported (foreign forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals, as appropriate); the total funds obligated for such expenditures in prior fiscal years; and any other matters the Secretary considers appropriate. (h) Non-Conventional Assisted Recovery Capabilities. Funding used to establish, develop, and maintain these recovery capabilities may only be obligated and spent with the agreement of the relevant U.S. Chief or Chiefs of Mission. (i) Oversight by Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. That official has primary responsibility, within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, for overseeing the policies and programs authorized by this section. (j) Operational Preparation of the Environment Defined. This means conducting activities in likely or potential operational areas to set the conditions needed for a mission to be carried out.