08-15-2025

Delegation of Authority Under Section 404 (c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008

MemorandumView the Original .pdf
View the Original .pdf

The 1-Minute Brief

What: This Presidential Memorandum delegates the President's authority to the Secretary of State to waive prohibitions on military aid to foreign governments that recruit or use child soldiers. This allows the Secretary of State to make the final decision to provide security assistance to such countries if it is deemed in the national interest of the United States.

Money: The memorandum does not appropriate new funds. Instead, it provides the mechanism to release already allocated foreign security assistance that would otherwise be blocked by the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA). For context, in one recent year, CSPA waivers allowed for the obligation of over $57 million in aid to several affected countries.

Your Impact: For the average American, the direct impact is minimal. This is an internal procedural change within the Executive Branch that affects how foreign policy decisions are made. Taxpayer dollars allocated for foreign aid are the funds impacted, and this action streamlines the process for deciding where that aid can be sent, even to countries with documented child soldier issues.

Status: This Presidential Memorandum was signed on August 4, 2025, and published in the Federal Register on August 15, 2025. It is a final executive action and is now in effect.

What's Actually in the Memorandum

This document is an administrative directive that transfers a specific legal power from the President to a cabinet secretary. The Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA) prohibits the U.S. government from providing certain types of military aid to governments identified as using child soldiers. The same law, however, gives the President the authority to waive these prohibitions for reasons of national interest. This memorandum transfers that waiver authority to the Secretary of State, empowering them to make the determination and notify Congress.

Core Provisions:

  • The President delegates the authority under Section 404(c)(1) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) to the Secretary of State.
  • This allows the Secretary to waive the application of the prohibition on military assistance for countries that use child soldiers.
  • The Secretary is also empowered to make the official determination and certification required to execute such a waiver.
  • The memorandum also delegates the duty under Section 404(c)(2) of the CSPA, which requires the Secretary to notify Congress of any waiver and publish the justification in the Federal Register.

Stated Purpose (from the Sponsors):

The stated purpose of the memorandum is purely functional: "By the authority vested in me as President... I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the authority under section 404(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008..." This indicates the goal is to streamline the executive branch's annual process of reviewing and issuing CSPA waivers.

Key Facts:

Affected Sectors: Foreign Policy, Defense, International Military Aid.
Timeline: The delegation of authority became effective upon the memorandum's publication on August 15, 2025.
Scope: This affects U.S. foreign and military policy globally, specifically concerning countries listed in the annual State Department report as violators of child soldier statutes.

The Backstory: How We Got Here

Timeline of Events:

The Child Soldiers Prevention Act (2008):

In 2008, amid growing international condemnation of the use of children in armed conflict, Congress passed the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA). The law was designed to use U.S. influence—specifically the distribution of military aid—as leverage to compel foreign governments to stop recruiting and using child soldiers. The law blocks several types of U.S. security assistance to governments found to be complicit.

A History of Waivers (2010-Present):

The CSPA includes a provision allowing the President to waive the sanctions if it is deemed in the "national interest." Since the law took full effect, every presidential administration, from President Obama to the present, has used this waiver authority. Waivers have been issued for countries considered critical partners in counter-terrorism or regional stability, despite their continued use of child soldiers. This practice has been a recurring point of contention between the White House and human rights organizations.

Why Now? The Political Calculus:

  • Bureaucratic Efficiency: The State Department is already responsible for identifying the countries using child soldiers and preparing the legal and national security justifications for any waivers. This delegation formalizes the Secretary of State's role in the process, moving the final signature one step down from the President and potentially speeding up the process.
  • Administrative Streamlining: Rather than requiring the President to personally sign off on these often controversial, but routine, waivers each year, this delegation makes it an administrative function of the nation's chief diplomat.
  • Political Insulation: While the President remains ultimately responsible, delegating the decision to the Secretary of State may provide a degree of political distance from the contentious act of granting waivers to governments that violate international human rights standards.

Your Real-World Impact

The Direct Answer: This action has no direct effect on the daily lives of most Americans; it alters an internal foreign policy process within the U.S. government.

What Could Change for You:

Potential Benefits:

  • Proponents of waiver authority argue it provides essential flexibility in foreign policy. By allowing aid to flow to key allies, they contend it strengthens U.S. national security, supports counter-terrorism operations, and maintains influence in volatile regions.

Possible Disruptions or Costs:

  • Critics argue that routine waivers undermine the very purpose of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act. The cost is ethical: U.S. taxpayer funds may be used to support foreign militaries that commit human rights abuses by using children in conflict. This delegation could make issuing such waivers easier and less scrutinized.

Who's Most Affected:

Primary Groups: Officials at the U.S. State Department and Department of Defense, and the foreign governments on the CSPA list who receive military aid.
Secondary Groups: Human rights and child advocacy organizations that monitor the use of child soldiers, and, most importantly, children living in conflict zones who are at risk of forced recruitment.
Regional Impact: The policy most significantly affects countries in Africa and the Middle East where the recruitment of child soldiers by government or government-backed forces is most prevalent.

Bottom Line: This memorandum changes who signs the waiver, not if a waiver can be signed, making an existing controversial foreign policy tool more administratively streamlined.

Where the Parties Stand

This is a procedural executive action, not legislation, so party positions are on the underlying policy of CSPA waivers, not the delegation itself.

Republican Position: "Prioritizing National Security"

Core Stance: Generally supportive of presidential waiver authority as a necessary tool for foreign policy flexibility.

Their Arguments:

  • ✓ Waivers are crucial for maintaining relationships with key security partners in the fight against terrorism and instability.
  • ⚠️ While the use of child soldiers is abhorred, cutting off military aid could destabilize a friendly government, creating a greater threat to U.S. interests.
  • ✗ Hardline prohibitions without exceptions can damage U.S. influence and create power vacuums that adversaries could fill.

Legislative Strategy: Historically, members have supported the inclusion of national interest waivers in foreign policy legislation to grant the President maximum flexibility.

Democratic Position: "Balancing Security with Human Rights"

Core Stance: Often conflicted, with a strong desire to uphold human rights while also addressing national security threats.

Their Arguments:

  • ✓ The original intent of the CSPA—to stop the use of child soldiers—is a major foreign policy goal.
  • ⚠️ The frequent and repeated use of waivers for the same countries undermines the law's credibility and sends a message that the U.S. is not serious about enforcement.
  • ✗ Granting waivers to governments that make little or no progress in ending their use of child soldiers is unacceptable.

Legislative Strategy: Often involves pushing for stricter conditions on waivers, demanding more detailed justifications from the administration, and holding hearings to scrutinize waiver decisions.

Constitutional Check

The Verdict: ✓ Constitutional

Basis of Authority:

The memorandum cites two sources of authority: the President's power under the Constitution and section 301 of title 3, U.S. Code.

3 U.S.C. § 301: "The President of the United States is authorized to designate and empower the head of any department or agency in the executive branch... to perform... any function which is vested in the President by law..."

Constitutional Implications:

Delegation of Powers: This is a routine and legally sound delegation of a statutory function. Congress granted the waiver authority directly to the President in the CSPA, and 3 U.S.C. § 301 explicitly allows the President to delegate such functions to cabinet members.
Precedent: Presidential delegations of authority to cabinet secretaries are common and have been consistently upheld as a valid exercise of executive power.
Federalism: This action pertains to foreign policy and military aid, which are exclusive powers of the federal government. It does not implicate state powers.

Potential Legal Challenges:

Legal challenges are highly unlikely. This is a standard administrative action based on clear statutory authority granted by Congress.

Your Action Options

Because this is a completed executive action, the options are focused on influencing the use of this newly delegated authority.

TO SUPPORT BROAD USE OF WAIVERS (Prioritize Security Partnerships)

5-Minute Actions:

  • Contact the State Department: Contact the public affairs office to express your view that the Secretary should use the waiver authority to support key U.S. allies.
  • Call Your Rep/Senators: Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. "I'm a constituent from [Your City/Town] and I support the flexible use of the Child Soldier Prevention Act waiver to protect U.S. national security interests."

30-Minute Deep Dive:

  • Join an Organization: Join or support organizations that focus on a strong national security posture.
    • Polaris National Security
    • National Security Leaders for America

TO OPPOSE BROAD USE OF WAIVERS (Prioritize Human Rights)

5-Minute Actions:

  • Contact the State Department: Urge the Secretary of State to use this delegated authority sparingly and only for countries making demonstrable progress in ending the use of child soldiers.
  • Call Your Rep/Senators: Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. "I'm a constituent from [Your City/Town] and I urge [Rep./Sen. Name] to conduct oversight to ensure the Child Soldier Prevention Act is not weakened by excessive waivers."

30-Minute Deep Dive:

  • Write a Letter to the Editor: Submit a letter to your local newspaper arguing that U.S. aid should not go to armies that use children.
  • Join an Organization: Support organizations dedicated to ending the use of child soldiers.
    • World Vision
    • The Dallaire Initiative / Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative
    • Human Rights Watch