"(4) No loan shall be extended pursuant to (a) above if the total amount outstanding and committed (by participation or otherwise) to the borrower from the revolving fund established by this title would exceed $500,000: Provided, however, That the foregoing limitation of $500,000 shall not apply to any loan extended to any corporation formed and capitalized by a group of small-business concerns with resources provided by them for the purpose of establishing facilities in and through such corporation to produce or secure raw materials or supplies: Provided further, That for any such corporation the limit of any loan extended or made as provided for in this section shall be $500,000 multiplied by the number of separate small businesses which have formed and capitalized a corporation as hereinbefore provided in this section: And provided further, That no act or omission to act pursuant to this section, if found and approved by the Small Business Administration as contributing to the needs of small business shall be construed to be within the prohibitions of the antitrust laws or the Federal Trade Commission Act of the United States. A copy of the statement of any such finding and approval intended to be within the coverage of this section, and any modification or withdrawal thereof, shall be furnished to the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission when made, and it shall be published in the Federal Register. The authority granted in the last preceding proviso shall be delegated only (1) to an official who shall for the purpose of such delegation be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, unless otherwise required to be appointed, (2) upon the condition that such official consult with the Attorney General and with the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission not less than ten days before making and stating any such finding and approval as is authorized in this subsection (a) and (3) upon the condition that such official obtain a statement in writing from the Attorney General that he, mindful of the antitrust laws and the public interest, concurs in the finding and approval made and granted by the Small Business Administra-tion. Upon withdrawal of a finding or approval made hereunder the provisions of this section shall not apply to any subsequent act or omission to act by reason of such finding or approval.

"(5) No loan including renewals or extensions thereof, may be made for a period or periods exceeding ten years, except that any loan made for the purpose of constructing industrial facilities may have a maturity of ten years plus such additional period as is estimated may be required to complete such construction.

"(6) Loans extended pursuant to this paragraph shall not bear an interest rate in excess of 6 per centum per annum on the Administration's share of such loan.

"(7) All loans made shall be of such sound value or so secured as reasonably to assure repayment.

"(b) The Administration also is empowered

"(1) to make such loans (either directly or in cooperation with banks or other lending institutions through agreements to participate on an immediate or deferred basis) as the Administration may determine to be necessary or appropriate because of floods or other catastrophes ;

"(2) to make such loans (either directly or in cooperation with banks or other lending institutions through agreements to participate on an immediate or deferred basis) as the Administration may determine to be necessary or appropriate to any small-business concern located in an area where a drought is occurring, if the Administration determines that the smallbusiness concern has suffered a substantial economic injury as a result of such drought, and the President has determined under the Act entitled 'An Act to authorize Federal assistance of States and local governments in major disasters, and for other purposes', approved September 30, 1950, as amended (42 U. S. C., secs. 1855-1855g), that such drought is a major disaster, or the Secretary of Agriculture has found under the Act entitled 'An Act to abolish the Regional Agricultural Credit Corporation of Washington, District of Columbia, and transfer its functions to the Secretary of Agriculture, to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make disaster loans,. and for other purposes', approved April 6, 1949, as amended (12 U. S. C.,. secs. 1148a-1-1148a-3), that such drought constitutes a production or economic disaster in such area;

"(3) No loans, including renewals and extensions thereof, made pursuant to this paragraph may be made for a period or periods exceeding twenty years;

"(4) The interest rate on the Administration's share of loans made pursuant to this paragraph shall not exceed 3 per centum per annum. "(c) The Administration may further extend the maturity of or renew any loan made pursuant to paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section, beyond the periods stated therein, or any loan transferred to the Administration pursuant to Reorganization Plan Numbered 2 of 1954, for additional periods not to exceed ten years, if such extension or renewal will aid in the orderly liquidation of such loan.

"SEC. 106. It shall be the duty of the Administration, and it is hereby empowered, whenever it determines such action is necessary

"(a) (1) to enter into contracts with United States Government and any department, agency, or officer thereof having procurement powers obligating the Administration to furnish articles, equipment, supplies, or materials to the Government. In any case in which the Administration certifies to any officer of the Government having procurement powers that the Administration is competent to perform any specific Government procurement contract to be let by any such officer, such officer shall be authorized in his discretion to let such procurement contract to the Administration upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between the Administration and the procurement officer;

“(2) to arrange for the performance of such contracts by negotiating or otherwise letting subcontracts to small-business concerns or others for the manufacture, supply, or assembly of such articles, equipment, supplies, or materials, or parts thereof, or servicing or processing in conection therewith, or such management services as may be necessary to enable the Administration to perform such contracts;

"(b) to provide technical and managerial aids to small-business concerns, by advising and counseling on matters in connection with Government procurement and on policies, principles, and practices of good management, including but not limited to cost accounting, methods of financing, business insurance, accident control, wage incentives, and methods engineering, by cooperating and advising with voluntary business, professional educational, and other nonprofit organizations, associations, and institutions and with other Federal and State agencies, by maintaining a clearinghouse for information concerning the managing, financing, and operation of small-business enterprises, by disseminating such information, and by such other activities as are deemed appropriate by the Administration;

"(c) to make a complete inventory of all productive facilities of smallbusiness concerns or to arrange for such inventory to be made by any other governmental agency which has the facilities. In making any such inventory, the appropriate agencies in the several States may be requested to furnish an inventory of the productive facilities of small-business concerns in each respective State if such an inventory is available or in prospect; "(d) to coordinate and to ascertain the means by which the productive capacity of small-business concerns can be most effectively utilized;

"(e) to consult and cooperate with governmental departments and agencies in the issuance of all orders or in the formulation of policy or policies in any way affecting small-business concerns. When directed by the President all such governmental departments or agencies are required, before issuing such orders or announcing such policy or policies, to consult and cooperate with the Administration in order that the interests of small-business enterprises may be recognized, protected, and preserved;

"(f) to consult and cooperate with officers of the Government having procurement powers, in order to utilize the potential productive capacity of plants operated by small-business concerns;

"(g) to obtain information as to methods and practices which Government prime contractors utilize in letting subcontracts and to take action to encourage the letting of subcontracts by prime contractors to smallbusiness concerns at prices and on conditions and terms which are fair and equitable;

"(h) to determine within any industry the concerns, firms, persons, corporations, partnerships, cooperatives or other business enterprises, which are to be designated 'small-business concerns' for the purpose of effectuating

the provisions of this Act. To carry out this purpose the Administrator, when requested to do so, shall issue in response to each such request an appropriate certificate certifying an individual concern as a 'small-business concern' in accordance with the criteria expressed in this Act. Any such certificate shall be subject to revocation when the concern covered thereby ceases to be a 'small-business concern'. Offices of the Government having procurement or lending powers, or engaging in the disposal of Federal property or allocating materials or supplies, or promulgating regulations affecting the distribution of materials or supplies, shall accept as conclusive the Administration's determination as to which enterprises are to be designated 'small-business concerns', as authorized and directed under this paragraph;

"(i) to certify to Government procurement officers with respect to the competency, as to capacity and credit, of any small-business concern or group of such concerns to perform a specific Government procurement contract. In any case in which a small-business concern or group of such concerns has been certified by or under authority of the Administration to be a competent Government contractor with respect to capacity and credit as to a specific Government procurement contract, the officers of the Government having procurement powers are directed to accept such certification as conclusive, and are authorized to let such Government procurement contract to such concern or group of concerns without requiring it to meet any other requirement with respect to capacity and credit;

"(j) to obtain from any Federal department, establishment, or agency engaged in procurement or in the financing of procurement or production such reports concerning the letting of contracts, and subcontracts and making of loans to business concerns as it may deem pertinent in carrying out its functions under this Act;

"(k) to obtain from suppliers of materials information pertaining to the method of filling orders and the bases for allocating their supply, whenever it appears that any small business is unable to obtain materials from its normal sources;

"(1) to make studies and recommendations to the appropriate Federal agencies to insure that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts for supplies and services for the Government be placed with smallbusiness enterprises, to insure that a fair proportion of Government contracts for research and development be placed with small-business concerns, and to insure a fair and equitable share of materials, supplies, and equipment to small-business concerns;

"(m) to consult and cooperate with all Government agencies for the purpose of insuring that small-business concerns shall receive fair and reasonable treatment from said agencies;

"(n) to establish such advisory boards and committees wholly representative of small business as may be found necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act;

"(o) to make studies of the effect of price, credit, and other controls, or other Federal programs and wherever it finds that these controls discriminate against or impose undue hardship upon small business, to make recommendations to the appropriate Federal agency for the adjustment of controls to the needs of small business.

"SEC. 107. (a) To effectuate the purpose of this Act, small business concerns within the meaning of this Act shall receive any award or contract or any part thereof as to which it is determined by the Administration (1) to be in the interest of maintaining or mobilizing the Nation's full productive capacity, (2) to be in the interest of war or national defense programs, or (3) to insure a wellbalanced national economy. Whenever the contracting procurement agency objects to the determination made by the Administration, it may appeal to the secretary of the appropriate department or the head of the appropriate agency who may overrule the Administration's determination by a finding in writing setting forth his reasons for so ruling.

"(b) The Administration may delegate the powers granted in subsection (a) above to Government contracting agencies where the Administration is not represented by its own personnel.

"SEC. 108. (a) The Administration shall make a report every six months of operations under this Act to the President, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Such report shall include the names

of the business concerns to whom contracts are let and for whom financing is arranged by the Administration, together with the amounts involved, and such report shall include such other information and such comments and recommendations as the Administration may deem appropriate.

"(b) The Administration shall make a report to the President, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Senate Select Committee on Small Business and to the House Select Committee To Conduct a Study and Investigation of the Problems of Small Business on December 31, 1957, and at the end of each six months thereafter, showing as accurately as possible for each such period the amount of funds appropriated to it that it has expended in the conduct of each of its principal activities such as lending, procurement, contracting, and providing technical and managerial aids.

"(c) The Attorney General is directed to make, or request the Federal Trade Commission to make for him, surveys for the purpose of determining any factors which may tend to eliminate competition, create or strengthen monopolies, injure small business, or otherwise promote undue concentration of economic power in the course of the administration of this Act. The Attorney General shall submit to the Congress and the President at such times as he deems desirable, reports setting forth the results of such surveys and including such recommendations as he may deem desirable.

"(d) For the purposes of aiding in carrying out the national policy to insure that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts for supplies and services for the Government be placed with small-business enterprises, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of the Nation, the Department of Defense shall make a monthly report to the President, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives not more than forty-five days after the close of the month, showing the amount of funds appropriated to the Department of Defense which have been expended, obligated, or contracted to be spent with small-business concerns and the amount of such funds expended, obligated, or contracted to be spent with firms other than small business in the same fields of operation; and such monthly reports shall show separately the funds expended, obligated, or contracted to be spent for basic and applied scientific research and development.

"(e) The Administration shall retain all correspondence, records of inquiries, memoranda, reports, books, and records, including memoranda as to all investigations conducted by or for the Administration, for a period of at least one year from the date of each thereof, and shall at all times keep the same available for inspection and examination by the Senate Select Committee on Small Business, and the House Select Committee To Conduct a Study and Investigation of the Problems of Small Business, or their duly authorized representatives.

"SEC. 109. (a) The President is authorized to consult with representatives of small-business concerns with a view to encouraging the making by such persons with the approval of the President of voluntary agreements and programs to further the objectives of this Act.

"(b) No act or omission to act pursuant to his Act which occurs while this Act is in effect, if requested by the President pursuant to a voluntary agreement or program approved under subsection (a) of this section and found by the President to be in the public interest as contributing to the well-being of small business, shall be construed to be within the prohibition of the antitrust laws or the Federal Trade Commission Act of the United States. A copy of each such request intended to be within the coverage of this section, and any modification or withdrawal thereof, shall be furnished to the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission when made, and it shall be published in the Federal Register unless publication thereof would, in the opinion of the President, endanger the national security.

"(c) The authority granted in subsection (b) of this section shall be delegated only (1) to an official who shall for the purpose of such delegation be required to be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and (2) upon the condition that such official consult with the Attorney General and with the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission not less than ten days before making any request or finding thereunder, and (3) upon the condition that such official obtain the approval of the Attorney General to any request thereunder before making the request.

"(d) Upon withdrawal of any request or finding made thereunder the provisions of this section shall not apply to any subsequent act or omission to act by reason of such finding or request.

"SEC. 110. No loan shall be made or equipment, facilities, or services furnished by the Administration under this title to any business enterprise unless the owners, partners, or officers of such business enterprise (1) certify to the Administration the names of any attorneys, agents, or other persons engaged by or on behalf of such business enterprise for the purpose of expediting applications made to the Administration for assistance of any sort, and the fees paid or to be paid to any such persons; (2) execute an agreement binding any such business enterprise for a period of two years after any assistance is rendered by the Administration to such business enterprise, to refrain from employing, tendering any office or employment to, or retaining for professional services, any person who, on the date such assistance or any part thereof was rendered, or within one year prior thereto, shall have served as an officer, attorney, agent, or employee of the Administration occupying a position or engaging in activities which the Administration shall have determined involve discretion with respect to the grantng of assistance under this Act; and (3) furnish the names of lending institutions to which such business enterprise has applied for loans together with dates, amounts, terms, and proof of refusal.

"TITLE II-INSURANCE OF LOANS FOR SMALL BUSINESS
"AUTHORITY TO INSURE

"SEC. 201. To make credit for small enterprises more readily available in adequate amounts and on reasonable terms, and to facilitate maximum participation of private financial institutions and investors in financing these enterprises by insuring loans which are made by private institutions to small business, the Administrator is authorized upon such terms and conditions as he may prescribe to insure such lenders as he finds to be qualified by experience or facilities and approves as eligible for credit insurance against loss of principal and interest which may be sustained by them as a result of loans made to small-business enterprises. Such a lender is hereinafter referred to as an 'approved lender'.

"OVERALL LIMIT OF INSURANCE

"SEC. 202. The aggregate principal amount of loans with respect to which insurance may be granted under this title shall not exceed $250,000,0000 outstanding at any one time: Provided, That on or after July 1, 1958, the President may increase this limit to not more than $750,000,000.

"SCOPE OF INSURANCE AND INSURANCE RESERVE

"SEC. 203. The insurance granted under this title shall provide for the reimbursement of losses to any approved lender and which reimbursement shall not exceed the lesser of

"(a) 90 per centum of the unpaid balance of any loan, including accrued interest at the time of default;

"(b) the insurance reserve of the insured lender on the date of the claim for reimbursement of loss is approved for payment.

The insurance reserve of each lender shall be initially computed as 10 per centum of the total amount of loans on which premiums have been paid and shall be diminished by the amount of claims approved for payment. The insurance reserve, if any, to the credit of any lender may, from time to time, be further diminished, but only pursuant to the contact between the Administrator and such insured lender.

"TYPE OF LOAN COVERED

"SEC. 204. The Administrator shall fix a premium charge for the insurance granted under this title in an amount not to exceed 12 per centum per annum of the principal amount of each loan, payable in advance, at such time and in such manner as he may prescribe.

"TYPE OF LOAN COVERED

"SEC. 205. (a) Insurance granted under this title shall provide for the reimbursement of losses only with respect to loans bearing such interest, having such maturities, and subject to such other terms and conditions as required in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Administrator in force at the time the insurance is granted.