[CHAPTER 477-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 4931]

AN ACT

For the relief of the city of Beardstown, Illinois.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the city of Beardstown, Illinois, the sum of $65,000 in full settlement of all claims against the United States for damages and cost of replacement of the municipally owned bridge across the Illinois River as a result of being struck by United States Navy vessel LST 610, on April 30, 1944: Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000. Approved September 30, 1944.

[CHAPTER 479-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 5125]

AN ACT

To aid the reconversion from a war to a peace economy through the distribution of Government surplus property and to establish a Surplus Property Board to effectuate the same, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Surplus Property Act of 1944".

OBJECTIVES

SEC. 2. The Congress hereby declares that the objectives of this Act are to facilitate and regulate the orderly disposal of surplus property so as—

(a) to assure the most effective use of such property for war purposes and the common defense;

(b) to give maximum aid in the reestablishment of a peacetime economy of free independent private enterprise, the development of the maximum of independent operators in trade, industry, and agriculture, and to stimulate full employment;

(c) to facilitate the transition of enterprises from wartime to peacetime production and of individuals from wartime to peacetime employment;

(d) to discourage monopolistic practices and to strengthen and preserve the competitive position of small business concerns in an economy of free enterprise;

(e) to foster and to render more secure family-type farming as the traditional and desirable pattern of American agriculture; (f) to afford returning veterans an opportunity to establish themselves as proprietors of agricultural, business, and professional enterprises;

(g) to encourage and foster post-war employment opportunities;

(h) to assure the sale of surplus property in such quantities and on such terms as will discourage disposal to speculators or for speculative purposes;

(i) to establish and develop foreign markets and promote mutually advantageous economic relations between the United States and other countries by the orderly disposition of surplus property in other countries;

(j) to avoid dislocations of the domestic economy and of international economic relations;

(k) to foster the wide distribution of surplus commodities to bution consumers at fair prices;

(1) to effect broad and equitable distribution of surplus property;

(m) to achieve the prompt and full utilization of surplus property at fair prices to the consumer through disposal at home and abroad with due regard for the protection of free markets and competitive prices from dislocation resulting from uncontrolled dumping;

(n) to utilize normal channels of trade and commerce to the extent consistent with efficient and economic distribution and the promotion of the general objectives of this Act (without discriminating against the establishment of new enterprises);

(o) to promote production, employment of labor, and utilization of the productive capacity and the natural and agricultural resources of the country;

(p) to foster the development of new independent enterprise; (q) to prevent insofar as possible unusual and excessive profits being made out of surplus property;

(r) to dispose of surplus property as promptly as feasible without fostering monopoly or restraint of trade, or unduly disturbing the economy, or encouraging hoarding of such property, and to facilitate prompt redistribution of such property to con

sumers;

(s) to dispose of surplus Government-owned transportation facilities and equipment in such manner as to promote an adequate and economical national transportation system; and

(t) except as otherwise provided, to obtain for the Government, as nearly as possible, the fair value of surplus property upon its disposition.

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 3. As used in this Act

(a) The term "Government agency" means any executive department, board, bureau, commission, or other agency in the executive branch of the Federal Government, or any corporation wholly owned (either directly or through one or more corporations) by the United States.

(b) The term "owning agency", in the case of any property, means the executive department, the independent agency in the executive. branch of the Federal Government, or the corporation (if a Government agency), having control of such property otherwise than solely as a disposal agency.

(c) The term "disposal agency" means any Government agency designated under section 10 to dispose of one or more classes of surplus property.

(d) The term "property" means any interest, owned by the United States or any Government agency, in real or personal property, of any kind, wherever located, but does not include (1) the public domain, or such lands withdrawn or reserved from the public domain as the Surplus Property Board (created by section 5) determines. are suitable for return to the public domain for disposition under the general land laws, or (2) naval vessels of the following categories: Battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and

(e) The term "surplus property" means any property which has been determined to be surplus to the needs and responsibilities of the owning agency in accordance with section 11.

(f) The term "contractor inventory" means (1) any property related to a terminated contract of any type with a Government agency or to a subcontract thereunder; and (2) any property acquired under a contract pursuant to the terms of which title is vested in the Government, and in excess of the amounts needed to complete performance thereunder; and (3) any property which the Government is obligated to take over under any type of contract as a result of any change in the specifications or plans thereunder.

(g) The term "care and handling" includes completing, repairing, converting, rehabilitating, operating, maintaining, preserving, protecting, insuring, storing, packing, handling, and transporting, and, in the case of property which is dangerous to public health or safety, destroying, or rendering innocuous, such property.

(h) The term "person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, association, trust, estate, or other entity.

(i) The term "State" includes the several States, Territories, and possessions of the United States, and the District of Columbia.

(j) The term "tax-supported institution" means any scientific, literary, educational, public-health, or public-welfare institution which is supported in whole or in part through the use of funds derived from taxation by the United States, or by any State or political subdivision thereof.

(k) The term "veteran" means any person in the active military or naval service of the United States during the present war, or any person who served in the active military or naval service of the United States on or after September 16, 1940, and prior to the termination of the present war, and who has been discharged or released therefrom under honorable conditions.

DISPOSITION OF SURPLUS PROPERTY-GENERAL RULE

SEC. 4. Surplus property shall be disposed of to such extent, at such times, in such areas, by such agencies, at such prices, upon such terms and conditions, and in such manner, as may be prescribed in or pursuant to this Act.

SURPLUS PROPERTY BOARD

SEC. 5. (a) There is hereby established in the Office of War Mobilization, and in its successor, a Surplus Property Board (hereinafter called the "Board"), which shall be composed of three members, each of whom shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall receive compensation at the rate of $12,000 per annum. The term of office of the members shall be two years, except that the term of office of the members first appointed shall expire two years from the date of the enactment of this Act, and the next succeeding terms shall then begin, and any person appointed to fill a vacancy caused by the death, resignation, or removal of a member prior to the expiration of the term of such

member shall be appointed only for such unexpired term. The President shall designate one of the members of the Board as Chairman.

(b) The Board may, within the limits of funds which may be made available, appoint and fix the compensation of such officers and employees, and may make such expenditures for supplies, facilities, and services, as may be necessary to carry out its functions. Without regard to the provisions of the civil-service laws and the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, the Board may appoint such special assistants, and may employ such certified public accountants, qualified cost accountants, industrial engineers, appraisers, and other experts, and fix their compensation, and may contract with such certified public accounting firms and qualified firms of engineers, as may be necessary to carry out its functions.

DUTIES AND AUTHORITY OF BOARD

SEC. 6. The activities of the Board shall be coordinated with the programs of the armed forces of the United States in the interests of the war effort. Until peace is concluded the needs of the armed forces are hereby declared and shall remain paramount. The Board shall have general supervision and direction, as provided in this Act, over (1) the care and handling and disposition of surplus property, and (2) the transfer of surplus property between Government agencies.

COOPERATION WITH INTERESTED GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

SEC. 7. The Board shall advise and consult with other interested Government agencies with a view to obtaining all aid and assistance possible in coordinating the functions of the several agencies affected by the disposition of surplus property.

DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

SEC. 8. The head of any Government agency, except the Board, may delegate, and authorize successive redelegations of, any authority conferred upon him or his agency by or pursuant to this Act to any officer, agent, or employee of such agency or, with the approval of the Board, to any other Government agency.

REGULATIONS

SEC. 9. (a) The Board shall prescribe regulations to effectuate the provisions of this Act. In formulating such regulations, the Board shall be guided by the objectives of this Act.

(b) Regulations issued pursuant to subsection (a) may, except as otherwise provided in this Act, contain provisions prescribing the extent to which, the times at which, the areas in which, the agencies by which, the prices at which, and the terms and conditions under which, surplus property may be disposed of, and the extent to which and the conditions under which surplus property shall be subject to care and handling.

(c) Each Government agency shall carry out regulations of the Board expeditiously and shall issue such further regulations, not