In the Federal budget, legislative authority for the obligation of funds outside the normal appropriation process. Sometimes called backdoor spending. The most common forms of backdoor authority are borrowing authority (authority to spend debt receipts) and contract authority. In other cases, (e. g, interest on the public debt) a permanent appropriation is provided that becomes available without any current action by the Congress. Entitlement authority is sometimes included as a form of backdoor authority, since the enactment of the basic benefit legislation may effectively mandate the subsequent enactment of the appropriations to pay the statutory benefits. Section 401 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies certain limits on the use of backdoor authority. Examples of programs that have backdoor authority are the Environmental Protection Agency’s construction grant program and the social security trust funds.