Along with the Sunflower Oil Assistance programme (SOAP), COAP was one of two programmes under which bonuses were awarded to exporters to assist in exports of U.S. vegetable oil to targeted markets. Funds for the programmes were authorised to be made available under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935. The provision in the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 that authorised the COAP to begin in fiscal year 1989 expired at the end of fiscal year 1995. However, the USDA appropriations act for FY1996 (P.L. 104-37, October 21, 1995) provided authority to operate the programme in fiscal year 1996. COAP was not reauthorized by the FAIR Act of 1996, although export subsidies for cottonseed oil can be financed under the Export Enhancement programme (EEP).