eral unemployment account the amount required to be repaid from the unemployment fund of such State at the end of such quarter under this subsection."

TITLE V-PUBLIC WORKS

SEC. 501. (a) In order to encourage States and other non-Federal public agencies to make advance provision for the construction of public works (not including housing), the Federal Works Administrator is hereby authorized to make, from funds appropriated for that purpose, loans or advances to the States and their agencies and political subdivisions (hereinafter referred to as "public agencies") to aid in financing the cost of architectural, engineering, and economic investigations and studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, and other action preliminary to the construction of such public works: Provided, That the making of loans or advances hereunder shall not in any way commit the Congress to appropriate funds to undertake any projects so planned.

(b) Funds appropriated for the making of loans or advances hereunder shall be allotted by the Federal Works Administrator among the several States in the following proportion: 90 per centum in the proportion which the population of each State bears to the total population of all the States, as shown by the latest available Federal census, and 10 per centum according to his discretion: Provided, That the allotments to any State shall aggregate not less than one-half of 1 per centum of the total funds available for allotment hereunder: Provided further, That no loans or advances shall be made with respect to any individual project unless it conforms to an over-all State, local, or regional plan approved by competent State, local, or regional authority.

(c) Advances under this section to any public agency shall be repaid by such agency if and when the construction of the public works so planned is undertaken. Any sums so repaid shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

(d) The Federal Works Administrator is authorized to prescribe rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of this section.

(e) As used in this section, the term "State" shall include the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

TITLE VI-MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SEC. 601. When used in this Act

(a) The term "executive agency" means any department, independent establishment, or agency in the executive branch of the Government, including any corporation wholly owned by the United States. (b) The term "contracting agency" means any Government agency which has been or hereafter may be authorized to make contracts pursuant to section 201 of the First War Powers Act, 1941, and includes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and any corporation organized pursuant to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act (47 Stat. 5), as amended, and the Smaller War Plants Corporation. SEC. 602. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and pro

SEC. 603. The provisions of this Act shall terminate on June 30, 1947.

SEC. 604. 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.

SEC. 605. (a) When the Director first appointed under section 101 has taken office, the Office of War Mobilization established by Executive Order Numbered 9347, dated May 27, 1943, not including the Surplus War Property Administration or the Retraining and Reemployment Administration, shall cease to exist; and such records and property of the Office of War Mobilization, and such unexpended balances of appropriations or other funds available for its use, as the President shall determine, shall be transferred to the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion.

(b) When a majority of the members of the Surplus Property Board first appointed under the Surplus Property Act of 1944 have taken office, the Surplus War Property Administration created by Executive Order Numbered 9425 shall cease to exist; and such records and office equipment of the Surplus War Property Administration, and such unexpended balances of appropriations or other funds available for its use, as the President shall determine, shall be transferred to the Surplus Property Board.

(c) When the Retraining and Reemployment Administrator first appointed under section 301 has taken office, the Retraining and Reemployment Administration created by Executive Order Numbered 9427, shall cease to exist; and such records and property of the Administration created by such Executive order, and such unexpended balances of appropriations or other funds available for its use, as the President shall determine, shall be transferred to the Retraining and Reemployment Administration established by this Act.

SEC. 606. All orders, policies, procedures, or directives prescribed by the Director of War Mobilization, 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 the Director in accordance with this Act, or by operation of law.

SEC. 607. This Act may be cited as the "War Mobilization and Reconversion Act of 1944".

1

[CHAPTER 507-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 5041]

AN ACT

To amend the Veterans Regulations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That effective on the first day of the month following the month in which this Act is enacted, subparagraph (k) of paragraph II, of part II of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), as amended, is amended to read as follows:

"II. *

"(k) If the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or the loss of the use of only one foot, or one hand, or one eye, the rate of pension provided in part II, paragraph II, (a) to (j), shall be increased by $26.25 per month."

Approved December 6, 1944.

(319)

[CHAPTER 520-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 3608]
AN ACT

Relating to certain overtime compensation of civilian employees of the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That employees or former employees of the United States who were in the purview of Public Law 821, Seventy-seventh Congress, approved December 22, 1942, which law was in effect from December 1, 1942, to April 30, 1943, and which limited the overtime compensation of any employee to an amount which "will not cause his aggregate compensation to exceed a rate of $5,000 per annum", (1) are hereby relieved of liability to repay to the United States any amounts received by them for any pay period which were in excess of the maximum compensation to which they were entitled for such period under the provisions of said Public Law 821 and (2) shall be entitled to refunds of any such amounts that they have repaid to the United States: Provided, That in no case shall there be validated aggregate payment to an employee in excess of five-twelfths of $5,000.

Approved December 7, 1944.

[CHAPTER 523-2D SESSION]

[H. R. 4999]

AN ACT

To increase the service-connected disability rates of pension for certain Regular Establishment veterans and veterans of wars prior to World War I.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the monthly rates of pension for service-connected disability, exclusive of special awards and allowances fixed by law, payable under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration to veterans not included in section 1 of Public Law Numbered 312, Seventy-eighth Congress, approved May 27, 1944, are hereby increased by 15 per centum, effective as of the first day of June 1944.

Approved December 7, 1944.

(321)