What is the JUSFC
The Commission is an independent federal agency that provides support for training and information to help prepare Americans to better meet the challenges and opportunities in the US-Japan relationship.
HOW DOES IT OPERATE?
The Commission receives no funds from general revenues from the US budget.
The Commission operates entirely from the interest earnings of the Japan-United States Friendship Trust Fund, which originated from payments by the Japanese government for US assistance. Congress established this fund to be managed by the Commission. These funds remain in the US Treasury in a separate account.
The Commission annually draws down five percent of its principal for its operations without seeking congressional appropriation to do so. It is also authorized to seek appropriation of its interest income, but the Commission has not sought appropriation of its interest income since FY 1997.
Beginning in FY97 and continuing thereafter, Congress declined to appropriate the Commission's interest income, stating that in effect this would increase discretionary spending, and directed the Commission to use its drawdown authority instead to continue funding its operations.
The Commission's enabling legislation allows the Commission to accept gifts and in-kind contributions, which it may disperse at its own discretion without reference to the appropriations process.
Decisions on the expenditure of the Commission's earnings are made by a board of eighteen commissioners -- nine private citizens and nine US government officials -- who meet twice a year to consider all grant proposals that come to it. Among the government officials are four Members of Congress, bipartisan representation from the Senate and the House of Representatives, who serve in a non-voting capacity.
By statute, the Members of the House of Representatives who serve on the Commission board are appointed by the Speaker of the House 22 USC §2903 (a) (2). Mr. McDermott (D-WA) and Mr. Petri (R-WI) currently serve on the Commission. In the Senate, Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) currently serves on the Commission. One Senate slot is vacant at the time of this writing.
THE JUSFC TRUST FUND
The Trust Fund originally was composed of two parts: an appropriated dollar fund; and an appropriated yen fund.
The appropriated dollar fund stemmed from dollar payments made by the Japanese government to the US for facilities received in Okinawa at the time of the reversion of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty in 1972. By the terms of the Commission's enabling legislation, these funds are to be invested in US Treasury instruments.
The appropriated yen funds stemmed from Japanese government repayments to the US for postwar economic assistance and were to be invested in Japanese government bonds. They were used by the Commission for its programs of training and research in Japan. By the early 1990s, these bonds were yielding only 0.5 percent. Beginning in FY 1998, Congress amended the Commission's legislation to allow it to convert its yen fund into dollars and invest those dollars in US Treasury instruments.
Currently, the Trust Fund stands at approximately $43M. It spends approximately $2.1M on programs.
THE COMMISSION'S PROGRAMS
The Commission is the chief instrument of the US government for training and maintaining expertise on Japan throughout American academic and professional institutions. The Commission's goal is to strengthen the national interest in US dealings with Japan.
The Commission serves only to make grants to private institutions. It does not operate its own programs. It relies on the private, non-profit sector to organize and operate programs of training, research and exchange.
The Commission operates its grant-making activities in four areas: Japanese studies in American higher education; Public Affairs/Education/ the Study of the United States in Japanese higher education; and the Arts.
