A contract authority permits an agency to incur obligations in advance of an appropriation, offsetting collections, or receipts to make outlays to liquidate the obligations. Typically, Congress provides contract authority in an authorizing statute to allow agencies to incur obligations in anticipation of the collection of receipts or offsetting collections that will be used to liquidate the obligations. Refer to the Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-11, section 20.2, for more details concerning contract authority.