Reading Room Document

Section 609 of the FY 1996 Omnibus Appropriations Act

A provision of an appropriations law purporting to condition the use of funds to pay for the United States' diplomatic representation to Vietnam on the President's making a particular detailed certification "within 60 days" does not require the cutoff of the covered funds until such time as the President has made the certification, but instead permits use of the funds to maintain diplomatic representation in Vietnam for 60 days after enactment. Taken as a whole, the provision impermissibly impairs the exercise of the core Presidential power to recognize, and maintain diplomatic relations with, a foreign government. Hence, the provision is unconstitutional and without legal force or effect. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/20046/download.

May 15, 1996