Along with the Cottonseed Oil Assistance Program (COAP), SOAP was one of two programs under which bonuses were awarded to exporters of U.S. vegetable oil to assist in exports to targeted markets. The SOAP was authorized beginning in FY1988 with funds made available under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935. The provision in the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988, which had authorized the SOAP, expired at the end of FY1995 and was not extended in the FAIR Act of 1996. However, the USDA appropriations act for FY1996 (P.L. 104-37) provided authority to operate the program in FY1996. Export subsidies for sunflower oil can be financed under the Export Enhancement Program (EEP).