Budget obligation
aid & finance. Also obligated funds
In US budgeting, a binding commitment by an agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or grant with an aid implementer, now or later. Obligations come after Congress appropriates funds and before money is actually paid out as disbursements, so the two can differ greatly in any year. Aid trackers such as ForeignAssistance.gov report both; obligations show what was committed to Pakistan in a year, disbursements what was spent.12
Linked from 4 pages across CUPA.
Sources
- A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process (GAO-05-734SP). US Government Accountability Office, 2005-09. Official
- How US aid obligations fell by 65% in 2025. Devex, 2026. Press