DISPOSITIONS OUTSIDE UNITED STATES

SEO. 32. (a) Nothing in this Act shall limit or affect the authority of commanders in active theaters of military operations with respect to property in their control.

(b) The provisions of this Act shall be applicable to dispositions of property within the United States and elsewhere, but the Board may exempt from some or all of the provisions hereof dispositions of property located outside of the continental United States, its Territories and possessions, whenever it deems that such provisions would obstruct the efficient and economic disposition of such property in accordance with the objectives of this Act.

RESTRICTIONS ON IMPORTATION OF SURPLUS PROPERTY INTO UNITED

STATES

SEC. 33. (a) It is the policy of this Act to prohibit, so far as feasible and necessary to carry out the objectives of this Act, the importation into the United States of surplus property sold abroad or for export. The Board shall prescribe regulations to carry out such policy, and the importation of surplus property into the United States is hereby prohibited to the extent specified in such regulations. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to provide for the enforcement of such regulations.

(b) Surplus property sold to members of the armed forces abroad. may be brought into the United States without regard to the provisions of subsection (a) if brought in by the original purchaser and upon certificate by him that he is bringing the property into the United States for his personal use.

SAVING PROVISIONS

SEC. 34. (a) The authority conferred by this Act is in addition to any authority conferred by any other law and shall not be subject to the provisions of any law inconsistent herewith. This Act shall not impair or affect any authority for the disposition of property under any other law, except that the Board may prescribe regulations to govern any disposition of surplus property under any such authority to the same extent as if the disposition were made under this Act, whenever it deems such action necessary to effectuate the objectives and policies of this Act.

(b) Nothing in this Act shall impair or affect the provisions of the Contract Settlement Act of 1944; the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942, as amended; the Act of October 2, 1942 (ch. 578, 56 Stat. 765), as amended; section 301 of the Second War Powers Act, 1942; the Act of March 11, 1941 (55 Stat. 31), as amended; the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933, as amended; Public Law 849, Seventysixth Congress, as amended, respecting war housing and facilities; the Act of June 7, 1939, relating to the acquisition of strategic and critical materials (53 Stat. 811); the Trading With the Enemy Act, as amended; section 43 of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, as amended; Acts supplemental to any of the foregoing; any law regulating the exportation of property from the United States; the

internal-revenue laws; the statutes relating to the public lands; or any criminal law of the United States.

(c) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to impair or modify any contract, or any term or provision of any contract, without the consent of the contractor, if the contract or the term or provision thereof is otherwise valid.

TEMPORARY APPLICABILITY OF EXISTING PROCEDURES

SEC. 35. All policies and procedures relating to surplus property prescribed by the Surplus War Property Administration, created by Executive Order Numbered 9425, dated February 19, 1944, or any other Government agency, in effect upon the effective date of this Act, and not inconsistent with this Act, shall remain in full force and effect unless and until superseded by regulations prescribed under this Act.

TERMINATION INVENTORIES

SEC. 36. (a) The Congress recognizes that upon termination of war contracts, the plants of war contractors will be filled with vast termination inventories which until removed or disposed of will prevent or interfere with the resumption of civilian production and reemployment, and that so far as possible decisions should be made in advance of termination for the disposition and removal of such termination inventories without delay when termination occurs. Measures should be taken to realize the greatest possible value from termination inventories.

(b) In advance of termination, to the maximum extent practicable

(1) each contracting agency shall advise its war contractors of the classes of termination inventory the contracting agency will wish to retain for military purposes; and

(2) the Board shall establish procedures for advising war contractors as to the care and handling and disposition of termination inventory not required for military purposes, in order to effectuate the policies stated in subsection (a) of this section and the policies of section 11 (a) (3) of the Contract Settlement Act of 1944.

(c) To the extent that it is impracticable so to advise war contractors in advance of termination, the contracting agencies and the Board shall be prepared to give such advice as soon as practicable after termination of the war contract.

(d) The Board and the Director of Contract Settlement shall cooperate in carrying out the provisions of this section.

(e) For the purposes of this section, the terms "contracting agency", "termination inventory", and "war contractor" shall have the meanings assigned to such terms by section 3 of the Contract Settlement Act of 1944.

INCREASE IN LOAN RATE ON COTTON

SEC. 37. (a) Section 8 (a) (1) of the Stabilization Act of 1942, as amended (relating to loans upon certain agricultural commodities),

is amended by striking out "at the rate in the case of cotton of 921⁄2 per centum" and inserting in lieu thereof "at the rate in the case of cotton of 95 per centum".

(b) The amendment made by this section shall be applicable only with respect to crops harvested after December 31, 1943, but shall not apply to crops planted after 1944. In the case of loans made under such section 8 upon any of the 1944 crop of cotton before the amendment made by this section takes effect, the Commodity Credit Corporation is authorized and directed to increase or provide for increasing the amount of such loans to the amount of the loans which would have been made if the loan rate specified in the amendment made by this section had been in effect at the time the loans were made.

EXPIRATION DATE

SEC. 38. Unless extended by law, this Act shall expire at the end of three years following the date of the cessation of hostilities in the present war. For the purposes of this section the term "date of the cessation of hostilities in the present war" means the date proclaimed by the President as the date of such cessation, or the date specified in a concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress as the date of such cessation, whichever is the earlier.

SEPARABILITY OF PROVISIONS

SEC. 39. If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this Act or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby.

Approved October 3, 1944.

[CHAPTER 480-2D SESSION]

[S. 2051]

AN ACT

To amend the Social Security Act, as amended, to provide a national program for war mobilization and reconversion, and for other purposes.

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

TITLE I-OFFICE OF WAR MOBILIZATION AND

RECONVERSION

SECTION 101. (a) There is hereby established the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, which shall be headed by the Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion (hereinafter called the "Director"). The Director shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall receive compensation at the rate of $15,000 per year, and shall serve for a term of two years:

(b) The following agencies shall be placed within the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion and shall exercise their functions subject to the general supervision of the Director:

(1) Office of Contract Settlement, created by the Contract Settlement Act of 1944.

(2) Surplus War Property Administration, created by Executive Order Numbered 9425 (if such Administration is in existence after the Office of War Mobilization ceases to exist), and the Surplus Property Board created by the Surplus Property Act of 1944.

(3) Retraining and Reemployment Administration, created by Executive Order Numbered 9427 (if such Administration is in existence after the Office of War Mobilization ceases to exist), and the Retraining and Reemployment Administration created by title III of this Act.

Nothing in this subsection shall imply any derogation of the powers of the Director under subsection (c) with respect to the agencies placed within his office or with respect to other agencies not specifically placed within his office.

(c) In addition to any powers which the President is authorized to and does delegate to the Director for the purpose of more effectively coordinating the mobilization of the Nation for war, the Director shall, subject to the direction of the President—

(1) formulate or have formulated such plans as are necessary to meet the problems arising out of the transition from war to peace;

(2) issue such orders and regulations to executive agencies as may be necessary to provide for the exercise of their powers in a manner consistent with the plans formulated under this section

or to coordinate the activities of executive agencies with respect to the problems arising out of the transition from war to peace. Each executive agency shall carry out the orders and regulations of the Director expeditiously and, to the extent necessary to carry out such orders and regulations, shall modify its operations and procedures and issue regulations with respect thereto. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as authorizing any activities to carry out any plans formulated under this section which are not within the scope of the powers possessed by the President or the executive agencies under provisions of law other than this section;

(3) recommend to the Congress appropriate legislation providing authority to carry out plans developed under this section but not authorized under existing law;

(4) promote and assist in the development of demobilization and reconversion plans by executive agencies; develop procedures whereby each executive agency is kept informed of proposed demobilization and reconversion plans and proposals which relate to its work and which are being developed or carried out by other executive agencies; and settle controversies between executive agencies in the development and administration of such plans;

(5) cause studies and reports to be made for him by the various executive agencies which will enable him to determine the need for the simplification, consolidation, or elimination of such executive agencies as have been established for the purposes of the war emergency, for the termination, or establishment by statute, of executive agencies which exist under Executive order only, and for the relaxation or removal of emergency war controls;

(6) institute a specific study, for submission to the President and the Congress, of the present functions of the various executive agencies in the field of manpower, and develop a program for reorganizing and consolidating such agencies to the fullest extent practicable;

(7) consult and cooperate with State and local governments, industry, labor, agriculture, and other groups, both national and local, concerning the problems arising out of the transition from war to peace; and

(8) submit reports to the President, the Senate, and the House of Representatives on the 1st days of January, April, July, and October, on the activities undertaken or contemplated by him under this Act. Such reports shall summarize and appraise the activities of the various executive agencies in the field of demobilization and post-war adjustment, and may include such legislative proposals as he may deem necessary or desirable. (d) The Director shall, within the limits of funds which may be made available, employ and fix the compensation of such Deputy Directors and other officers and employees, and may make such expenditures for supplies, facilities, and services, as may be necessary to carry out his functions. All such officers and employees shall be appointed in accordance with the civil-service laws and their compensation fixed in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, except that Deputy Directors and expert administrative,