Created by Congress in 1956 and codified at 31 U.S.C. 1304, the Judgment Fund is a permanent, indefinite appropriation available to pay final money judgments, awards, and compromise settlements against the United States. The fund eliminates the need for Congress to pass a separate appropriation for each payment. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service administers the fund and certifies payments based on four tests: claims must be final, monetary, authorized by statute, and not payable from another source. Congress expanded the fund in 1961 to cover DOJ compromise settlements in actual or imminent litigation. Because the fund operates as a permanent appropriation, payments don't require annual congressional approval, raising oversight concerns when large or politically sensitive settlements are involved.