EconDefense
USC-51 / Security cooperation, assistance and education

Pay rewards for qualifying counterterrorism information or force-protection assistance

Pay money or provide payment-in-kind for information or nonlethal assistance benefiting covered overseas counterterrorism operations or U.S./allied force protection.

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Authority / instrument · USC-51

Defense rewards

Security cooperation, assistance and education

Statute & instrument
Authority holder

Secretary of Defense or narrowly authorized delegate

What this does not authorize / hard limit

Maximum $5 million per reward; combatant-command delegation normally limited to $1 million, with narrower redelegation rules.

Recorded executor

Authorized rewards-program and financial officials (illustrative; delegation not verified)

Continue to actor →

Recorded executing role; this record-specific route is not an additional institutional office.

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedIdentify lawfully available program funds; section does not create unlimited reward funding. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProgram unverifiedAdded in the October 5 statutory review; no current implementing program, intake or individual delegation verified.

Public evidence describes the institution and instrument; it is not approval of an individual transaction.

At a glance

Possible toolUSC-51 · Security & information

Authority holder: Secretary of Defense or narrowly authorized delegate

Security & information

Mechanism tags describe the source text; they do not expand the authority.

Availability and verification

Statutory-review addition. Current program implementation, intake, available funds, and individual signing authority have not been verified.

Requirements and limits

Eligibility & prerequisites

  • Consult State and Justice through required policies; State consultation for rewards above $2 million.
  • Follow statutory delegation ceilings and country-designation/annual reporting.

Limits & exclusions

  • Maximum $5 million per reward; combatant-command delegation normally limited to $1 million, with narrower redelegation rules.
  • U.S. citizens, U.S. officers/employees and employees of U.S. contractors are ineligible.

Funding conditions

  • Identify lawfully available program funds; section does not create unlimited reward funding.

Read the funding and execution guide

Who contributes what

Need & planning

  • Combatant-command force-protection sponsor (illustrative routing lead)
    Office profile

Resources

  • Cognizant component comptroller; account and available balance unverified
    Office profile

Approval

Execution

  • Authorized rewards-program and financial officials (illustrative; delegation not verified)

Partners & review

  • Department of State
  • Department of Justice

Office links are editorial matches to the original role text, not verified delegations. Composite labels and unmatched actors are preserved.

Coordination pathway

Mission sponsor → component counsel and comptroller → required statutory findings and approvals → authorized execution office. Routing is illustrative; verify delegation and available funds.

Actor and execution-role sources

October 5 statutory review

Added in the October 5 statutory coverage review. The cited legal mechanism and its conditions were examined; a current implementing program, intake, funding balance and individual delegation were not verified.

Section coverage and review findings

Legal basis

  • 10 U.S.C. § 127bOfficial 2024 Code operative text read; see record currentness for later-law checks.

What this research establishes

Legal basisSources linkedLegal sources and instrument limits are recorded.
RequirementsGates recordedRead the requirements for this instrument; applicability depends on the proposed action.
Public fundingRules recordedIdentify lawfully available program funds; section does not create unlimited reward funding. Office budget figures are separate institutional context, not an allocation to this instrument.
Assigned rolesRoles recordedPublic sources describe institutional authority. The instrument identifies approval and execution roles; a specific signature remains transaction-dependent.
EngagementProgram unverifiedAdded in the October 5 statutory review; no current implementing program, intake or individual delegation verified.

Confidence: High on the cited statutory mechanism; no implementation or obligation-ready certification.

Currentness: Reviewed 2026-10-05 against full official GovInfo 2024 Code text and a targeted P.L. 119-60 reference sweep. Official OLRC indexed text used where accessible; direct OLRC pages returned maintenance or access errors. No comprehensive later-law certification or current funding/delegation verification.

Review scope: Record reviewed 2026-10-05. Publication is not legal-currentness certification.

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