"APPLICABILITY OF TITLE "SEC. 205. The provisions of this title shall apply to housing assisted under this title for families of low income in rural areas, which shall mean areas other than those designated as urban areas by the Bureau of the Census in its latest publication at the time of the annual contributions contract with respect to the project involved: Provided, That assistance may be extended under this title with respect to projects in other areas where such projects are undertaken by regional, county, or other local public agencies as part of a comprehensive rural housing program, and with respect to land and utility projects in other areas in the Territories, dependencies, and possessions, where the Authority finds that the purposes of this Act will best be accomplished thereby. "SEC. 206. Except as otherwise specifically provided, the provisions of title I of this Act shall apply to this title II, except that the provisions of sections 9, 10 (a), (b), (c), 11, 12, 15, and 23 shall not so apply. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS SEC. 1102. The United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended, is hereby amended as follows: (1) By deleting the words "this Act" where they appear in sections 11 (a), 15 (4), 15 (5), and 30 (previously numbered section 28) and substituting the words "this title"; (2) By deleting the words "this section" where they appear in section 10 (d) and (e) and substituting in each instance the words "title I and title II of this Act"; (3) By changing the words "low-rent housing", appearing in the second sentence of subsection 2 (1), to read "urban low-rent housing (being that assisted under title I and located in areas designated as urban by the Bureau of the Census in its latest publication at the time of the contract for financial assistance with respect to the project involved)"; (4) By inserting the word "urban" before the words "low-rent housing" in subsection 13 (e); (5) By amending the second sentence of subsection 13 (a) to read as follows: "The Authority may bid for and purchase at any foreclosure by any party or at any other sale, or acquire (pursuant to section 22 or otherwise) any project which it previously owned or in connection with which it has made a loan, annual contribution or capital grant; and in such event the Authority may complete, administer, dispose of, and otherwise deal with, such projects or parts thereof, but low-rent housing projects assisted under title I shall be subject to the limitations elsewhere in this Act governing their administration and disposition." TITLE XII-DISPOSITION OF PERMANENT FEDERALLY OWNED HOUSING SEC. 1201. (a) When the President determines that any permanent war housing (or any part of war housing that may be used as permanent housing) constructed or acquired with appropriated funds, is no longer needed for purposes of war and that disposition hereunder is consistent with orderly demobilization, and when the governing body of the locality involved finds that it would be in the best interests of the community or of the families of servicemen and veterans therein to make such housing available as low-rent housing for families of low income, the Federal Public Housing Authority may dispose of such war housing for use (when it is determined to be suitable for such use) as low-rent housing (with families of servicemen and veterans having therein the preference provided in section 902 hereof) under the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended, except that the proceeds of disposition of the aforesaid permanent war housing under this title shall be handled in the manner provided by Public Law 849, Seventy-sixth Congress, approved October 14, 1940, as amended (which includes provisions relating to the time for covering balances into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts). In disposing of such war housing, the Authority may transfer all right, title, and interest of the Federal Government in such war housing, which shall include any real or personal property acquired, held, or constructed in connection with such housing or to serve the inhabitants thereof. (b) To obtain the maximum return consistent with making permanent war housing, and other federally owned housing held under the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended, available for low-income families of servicemen, veterans, or others, the Federal Public Housing Authority may, in lieu of any other method prescribed by law for the disposal of such projects, sell any such project for use as low-rent housing to a local public agency for a consideration which consists of payment to the Authority during the useful life of the project (as defined in the contract of sale) of all the net income from the project. After transfer under the contract of sale the project shall be deemed to be a low-rent housing project under title I of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended, except that no capital grant or annual contribution shall be made with respect to it. Where it is determined that the removal of war-caused deficiencies in the construction of permanent war housing disposed of under this title is necessary to assure the continued low-rent character thereof, money available for the expenses of disposition of such housing may be used to effect such removal. (c) Nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent the sale of permanent war housing at its fair value on a home-ownership basis (with preference to veteran and other occupants and to families of servicemen and veterans), where the planning and construction of such housing make it feasible so to dispose of it. TITLE XIII-MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS SEC. 1301. In carrying out their respective responsibilities, functions, powers, and duties, the National Housing Administrator, the Federal Home Loan Bank Administrator, the Federal Housing Administrator, and the Federal Public Housing Administrator, respectively, may (a) With the consent of the agency or organization concerned, accept and utilize equipment, facilities, or the services of employees of any State or local public agency, and, in connection with the utilization of such services, may make reasonable payments for subsistence and actual transportation expenses; (b) Utilize, contract with, and act through, without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, any Federal, State, or local public agency, with the consent of the agency concerned, and any funds available to said officers for carrying out their respective responsibilities, functions, powers, and duties shall be available for transfer to any such agency in reimbursement therefor; (c) Make such expenditures as may be found necessary for the acquisition and maintenance of adequate administrative services; personal services and rent in the District of Columbia and elsewhere; travel; printing and binding; purchase of newspapers, passenger motor vehicles, maps, and photographic equipment; temporary services of experts or consultants (including attorneys) or organizations thereof as provided in Public Law 600, Seventy-ninth Congress, approved August 2, 1946, but at rates for individuals not in excess of $50 per diem; claims determined and settled pursuant to the Tort Claims Act; health-service programs as authorized by Public Law 658, Seventy-ninth Congress, approved August 8, 1946; expenses of attendance at meetings of organizations concerned with the work of their respective agencies; preparation, mounting, shipping, and installation of exhibits; training programs for employees of their respective agencies and of State and local agencies engaged in housing activities concerned with the work of their respective agencies; purchase and exchange of technical apparatus; and for such other administrative expenses as may, from time to time, be found necessary in carrying out their respective responsibilities, functions, powers, and duties: Provided, That the provisions of section 3709 of the Revised Statutes shall not apply to any purchase or contract by said officers, respectively, for services or supplies if the amount thereof does not exceed $300: And provided further, That funds made available for administrative expenses in carrying out the responsibilities, functions, powers, and duties imposed upon the National Housing Administrator, the Federal Home Loan Bank Administrator, the Federal Housing Administrator, and the Federal Public Housing Administrator, respectively, by or pursuant to law may be consolidated into single administrative expense fund accounts of said officers for expenditure by them, respectively, in accordance with the provisions hereof: And provided further, That the following shall be considered as nonadministrative expenses: (1) All necessary expenses in connection with the conservatorship or liquidation of institutions insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, the liquidation or handling of assets of or derived from insured institutions, the payment of insurance, and action for or toward the avoidance, termination, or minimizing of defaults or losses; (2) all necessary expenses (including services performed on a force 74100-48- -7 account, contract or fee basis, but not including other personal services) in connection with the acquisition, protection, operation, maintenance, improvement, or disposition of real or personal property belonging to the Home Owners' Loan Corporation or in which it has an interest; (3) all necessary expenses (including services performed on a contract or fee basis, but not including other personal services) in connection with the handling, including the purchase, sale, and exchange, of securities on behalf of Federal Home Loan Banks, and the sale, issuance, and retirement of, or payment of interest on, debentures or bonds, under the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, as amended; (4) all necessary expenses (including services performed on a contract or fee basis, but not including other personal services) of the Federal Housing Administration in connection with the acquisition, protection, completion, operation, maintenance, improvement, or disposition of real or personal property of said Administration acquired under authority of the National Housing Act, as amended; and (5) all necessary expenses of the Federal Public Housing Authority in providing representatives of said Authority at the sites of non-Federal projects during their development which are paid from fees collected for such services from the local public agencies receiving financial aid from said Authority: And provided further, That subject to sections 102 through 106 of the Government Corporation Control Act (which sections shall hereafter apply as if the Federal Home Loan Bank Administration were expressly named in section 101 of said Act), but without regard to any other provisions or restrictions of law or otherwise except provisions of law hereafter enacted expressly in limitation hereof, the Federal Home Loan Bank Administration, the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, respectively, shall have power, in connection with any functions, powers, or duties now or hereafter vested in or exercisable by any of them, (1) to act in accordance with the provisions of the first three sentences of section 19 of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, the first three sentences of subsection (j) of section 4 of the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933, and subsection (c) of section 402 of the National Housing Act, as amended by section 22 of the Act of May 28, 1935 (49 Stat. 293), except that title I of the Act of November 26, 1940 (54 Stat. 1211), and the Act of May 29, 1930 (46 Stat. 468), as heretofore or hereafter amended, and any rules, regulations, or orders thereunder shall be applicable as if this sentence had not been enacted except as may be otherwise determined by the Federal Home Loan Bank Administrator upon a finding by him that such determination is necessary or advisable for the efficient conduct of operations, and (2) to utilize services, facilities, or personnel of any agency or instrumentality of the United States, including any Federal Home Loan Bank or Federal Reserve bank, with its consent, and make payment therefor, and the funds of said corporations and the special deposit account mentioned in the provision for the Federal Home Loan Bank Administration in the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1944, shall be available for all of the purposes of this section: And provided further, That without regard to any other provisions or restrictions of law or otherwise except provisions of law hereafter enacted expressly in limitation hereof, the administrative expenses (and those defined in this subsection as nonadministrative expenses) and other obligations of the Federal Housing Administration shall be incurred, allowed, and paid in accordance with the provisions of the National Housing Act, as amended. ACT CONTROLLING SEC. 1302. Insofar as the provisions of any other law are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, the provisions of this Act shall be controlling. SEPARABILITY SEC. 1303. Except as may be otherwise expressly provided in this Act, all powers and authorities conferred by this Act shall be cumulative and additional to and not in derogation of any powers and authorities otherwise existing. Notwithstanding any other evidences of the intention of Congress, it is hereby declared to be the controlling intent of Congress that if any provisions of this Act, or the application thereof to any persons or circumstances, shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this Act or its application to other persons and circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation to the provisions of this Act, or the application thereof to the persons and circumstances, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. APRIL 24 (legislative day, APRIL 21), 1947.-Ordered to be printed Mr. TOBEY, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, REPORT [To accompany S. 866] The Committee on Banking and Currency, to which was referred the bill (S. 866) to establish a national housing objective and the policy to be followed in the attainment thereof, to facilitate sustained progress in the attainment of such objective and to provide for the coordinated execution of such policy through a National Housing Commission, and for other purposes, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. I. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT The bill is a bipartisan measure, developed after several years of intensive study and exhaustive hearings by various committees of the Senate. It is a fair bill-fair to every interest and group which is concerned with the provision of decent housing for the American people. It is an imperatively necessary bill because it treats housing as the single broad problem which it is, and offers a comprehensive program for the solution of the housing difficulties in which we now find ourselves. There is no legislation before the Congress or seriously proposed which will enable us to meet the housing situation more quickly or more effectively than S. 866. Whether construction costs are high or low, whether the greatest need is for rental housing or sales housing or among veterans or non veterans, the enactment of S. 866 will make possible the production of more housing, more quickly, at lower cost, and for more income groups than otherwise can be produced. A year ago the Congress recognized that we had a critical housing situation. This committee warned that, while temporary legislation to expedite the production of building materials and completed houses was needed to help solve the critical housing problem, such legislation alone would not bring about the solution; that, on the contrary, if not supplemented by comprehensive housing legislation, it would saturate the market for relatively higher priced houses and, like the housing boom after the last war, threaten a deflationary collapse in home-building activity within a few years. The legislation similar to S. 866 which the Senate passed last year was not enacted, and the consequences are now apparent. We are headed back on the road to "normalcy" in home building; back to the economic instability of "boom and bust" operations under which the annual volume of home construction starts has varied within a 10-year period from a high of about 900,000 to a low of about 90,000. There is already evident a decline in new house construction from the 1946 levels, despite the fact that during 1947 the supply of building materials has been greatly improved, and newly constructed sales housing has been free of any price control. Moreover, most of the housing that has been produced for sale or for rent is in the higher price brackets. The cream at the top of the housing market is rapidly being skimmed off. The committee believes it is high time to look to comprehensive legislation for the solution of our housing troubles. We should no longer yield to those who clamor for "temporary solutions" and insist that permanent, comprehensive measures are too late to do any good. Paradoxically, these are generally the same people who, before the situation became acute, insisted that there was no need to do anything at all. A year ago we had a critical housing situation. We are still faced with a critical housing shortage. If again the Congress fails to enact legislation for the basic solution of our housing difficulties, the housing situation will be more critical next year. The committee is convinced that it will become increasingly critical with each succeeding year until the Congress does enact such necessary legislation. II. THE HOUSING NEED Housing is widely recognized as one of the most pressing domestic problems confronting the country. Whatever their differences as to its precise dimensions or as to the most effective solutions, witnesses appearing before the committee were in almost uniform agreement as to the gravity of the situation. The committee is of the opinion that, in terms of its importance to the future welfare of the Nation, the necessity for the establishment by the Congress of a comprehensive national housing policy and program based upon the realities of the needs of the country as a whole cannot be exaggerated. More than any other single factor the character of family life, the conditions under which our children grow up and assume the obligations of citizenship, and the general attitude of the people toward their system of Government, are determined by the character of the home and the environment in which they live. Inevitably, the heaviest impact of the housing shortage falls upon veterans and their families. Many married men gave up their homes upon entering the armed services. Most of those who married while in the service necessarily postponed setting up a home of their own until after the war. Added to the needs of these married veterans are the housing needs of the millions of veterans who married since their return to civilian life. Bureau of the Census surveys of some |