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. These funds remain in the US Treasury in a separate account.
Congress established the Commission to manage the Fund.
The Commission's enabling legislation allows the Commission to accept gifts and in-kind contributions, which it may disperse at its own discretion
within its approved budget authority.
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 annually 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
per 22 USC §2903 (a) (2). Mr. McDermott (D-WA) and Mr. Petri (R-WI)
currently serve on the Commission. Senators who serve on the Commission
are appointed by the President Pro Tempore per USC §2903(a) (3). From the
Senate, Senator Murkowski (R-AK) and Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) currently serve
on the Commission.
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
government 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. 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 $39M. It spends approximately $2.1M
for its operations.
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
through this expertise.
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.
