SEC. 3. The third paragraph of section 9 of such Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Every enlisted man paid under the provisions of this section shall receive an increase of 5 per centum of the base pay of his grade for each three years of service up to thirty years. Such service shall be active Federal service in any of the services mentioned in the title of this Act or Reserve components thereof; service in the active National Guard of the several States, Territories, and the District of Columbia; and service in the Enlisted Reserve Corps of the Army, the Officers' Reserve Corps of the Army, the Naval Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, and the Coast Guard Reserve."

SEC. 4. The eleventh paragraph of section 1 and the first paragraph of section 3 of such Act, as amended by the Act of December 2, 1942, are each hereby further amended by inserting after the words "Officers' Reserve Corps", where such words appear in each of those paragraphs, a comma and the following: "or in the Medical Reserve Corps".

SEC. 5. The second paragraph of section 18 of such Act is hereby amended by striking out the words "who is assigned or attached as a member of a parachute unit, including parachute-jumping schools, and".

SEC. 6. Section 4 of such Act is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph at the end thereof:

"Nothwithstanding any other provision of law, any female member of any of the services mentioned in the title of this Act, or the reserve components thereof, shall be entitled to all allowances and benefits authorized in this Act on account of dependents but only in the case of a husband, a child or children, or a parent or parents in fact dependent upon her for their chief support."

SEC. 7. The last paragraph of section 3 of such Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"When members of the reserve forces of any of the services mentioned in the title of this Act are authorized by law to receive. Federal pay, payments may include the entire amount lawfully accruing to such persons as pay, allowances, and mileage, and pay, allowances, and mileage for their return home may be paid to them prior to their departure from their last duty station incident to release from active duty: Provided, That any such mileage payable shall be computed from the place of release to the place from which ordered to active duty without regard to actual performance of travel."

SEC. 8. The fourth paragraph of section 10 of such Act is hereby amended by changing the period at the end thereof to a colon and adding the following: "Provided further, That an enlistment in a branch of the regular service within three months from the date of discharge from any component of such branch, other than its Regular Establishment, after not less than one year's continuous active service in such component or components immediately preceding the date of discharge there from, shall be considered a reenlistment for the purpose of payment of the enlistment allowance provided by this section; and the enlistment allowance shall be computed on the basis of the number of full years' continuous active service immediately preceding the discharge from such component.'

SEC. 9. The first paragraph of section 12 of such Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Officers of any of the services mentioned in the title of this Act, including active and retired personnel of the Regular Establishments and members of the Reserve components thereof and the National Guard, while on active duty in the Federal service, when traveling under competent orders without troops, including travel from home to first station in connection with their appointment or call to active duty and from last station to home in connection with relief from active duty or discharge not the result of their own misconduct, shall receive a mileage allowance at the rate of 8 cents per mile, distance to be computed by the shortest usually traveled route and existing laws providing for the issue of transportation requests to officers of the Army traveling under competent orders, and for deduction to be made from mileage accounts when transportation is furnished by the United States, are hereby made applicable to all the services mentioned in the title of this Act, but in cases when orders are given for travel to be performed repeatedly between two or more places in the same vicinity, as determined by the head of the executive department concerned, he may, in his discretion, direct that actual and necessary expenses only be allowed. Actual expenses only shall be paid for travel under orders in Alaska and outside the limits of the United States in North America."

SEC. 10. All payments heretofore made of a character authorized by section 9 of this Act are hereby validated.

SEC. 11. Sections 1 to 5, inclusive, of this Act shall become effective as of June 1, 1942, section 9 shall become effective as of December 22, 1942, and the other sections hereof shall become effective on the first day of the first calendar month occurring after enactment of this Act. No back pay or allowances under any section of this Act for any period prior to the effective date of such section shall accrue by reason of the enactment of this Act, and no back pay or allowances shall accrue to any person who is not entitled to receive active or retired pay on the date of the enactment of this Act.

[CHAPTER 410-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 5181]
AN ACT

To provide a method for compensating certain individuals for damages sustained as the result of the explosions at Port Chicago, California.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Navy is authorized and directed to make a thorough investigation of the merits of those claims against the United States for compensation for property damage, death, or personal injuries alleged to have been caused by the explosions which occurred at the naval magazine at Port Chicago, California, on July 17, 1944, which shall have been submitted to the Navy Department in writing within six months after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 2. The appropriations for the naval establishment for the fiscal year 1945 shall be available for payment, and payment is hereby authorized, upon approval of the Secretary of the Navy or his designate, of claims referred to in section 1 hereof (a) for disability or death resulting from personal injury sustained by persons not then members of the armed forces or civilian employees of the United States: Provided, That settlements shall not aggregate in excess of $3,000 with respect to the disability or death of any one person nor shall any such settlement be made in amounts which would not be allowable, or for beneficiaries who would not be eligible, under the United States Employees Compensation Act, as amended, if the disabled or deceased person were an employee of the United States; or (b) for property loss or damage: Provided, That settlement shall not be made in excess of $3,000 for injury to any one building or structure. SEC. 3. Any settlement made under the provisions of section 2 hereof shall be in full settlement of all such claims against the Government of the United States.

SEC. 4. In connection with any settlement authorized by section 2 hereof, the Secretary may require assignment to the United States of any right of action against third parties arising from the death, injury, or property damage with respect to which such settlement is made. SEC. 5. The Secretary of the Navy shall transmit to the Congress each claim submitted the Navy Department in accordance with section 1 hereof not settled by him, with supporting papers and a report of his finding of facts and recommendations thereon and also a report of each claim settled and paid by him pursuant to section 2 hereof. Such reports shall contain a brief statement of the character and justice of each claim so transmitted or settled, the amount claimed, and the amount found due.

Approved September 8, 1944.

[CHAPTER 412-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 4278]

AN ACT

To provide for the control and eradication of certain animal and plant pests and diseases, to facilitate cooperation with the States in fire control, to provide for the more efficient protection and management of the national forests, to facilitate the carrying out of agricultural conservation and related agricultural programs, to facilitate the operation of the Farm Credit Administration and the Rural Electrification Administration, to aid in the orderly marketing of agricultural commodities, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That,

SEC. 702. (a) The head of any department or independent establishment of the Government requiring inspections, analyses, and tests of food and other products, within the scope of the functions of the Department of Agriculture and which that Department is unable to perform within the limits of its appropriations, may, with the approval of the Secretary, transfer to the Department for direct expenditure such sums as may be necessary for the performance of such work.

[CHAPTER 418-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 4257]

AN ACT

To expatriate or exclude certain persons for evading military and naval service.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 401 of the Nationality Act of 1940, approved October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1168; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 801), be, and it hereby is, amended by substituting a semicolon and the word "or" in lieu of the period at the end of subsection (i) and by adding thereto a new subsection to be lettered subsection (j), reading as follows:

"(j) Departing from or remaining outside of the jurisdiction of the United States in time of war or during a period declared by the President to be a period of national emergency for the purpose of evading or avoiding training and service in the land or naval forces of the United States."

SEC. 2. Section 3 of the Act of February 5, 1917 (39 Stat. 875), as amended (U. S. C., title 8, sec. 136), is further amended by inserting the following clause before the clause "persons who have been convicted of or admit having committed a felony or other crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;": "persons who have departed from the jurisdiction of the United States for the purpose of evading or avoiding training or service in the armed forces of the United States during time of war or during a period declared by the President to be a period of national emergency".

Approved September 27, 1944.