[CHAPTER 707-2D SESSION] [H. R. 3250] AN ACT To confer jurisdiction upon the United States District Court of Maine. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the District Court of the United States for the District of Maine to hear, determine, and render judgment, as though the United States were suable in tort, upon the claim of the State of Maine, for compensation for damages sustained by its bridge across the Kennebec River at Bath, Maine, known as the Carlton Bridge, resulting from said bridge being struck by the lighthouse tender Ilex, owned and operated by the United States, which collision occurred on the 17th day of August 1939: Provided, That suit hereunder shall be instituted within eighteen months following the approval of the Act: Provided further, That the jurisdiction herein conferred shall not be exercised unless the State of Maine shall consent to suit in the same cause on any counterclaim asserted by the United States arising out of the same transaction, as though the State of Maine were a private party. Approved December 23, 1944. [CHAPTER 709-2D SESSION] AN ACT For the relief of the city and county of San Francisco. 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 and county of San Francisco, a municipal corporation, of San Francisco, California, the sum of $18,101.68, in full settlement of all claims against the United States for reimbursement of expenses incurred in rebuilding and restoring a power transmission line and loss of power revenue in township 3 south, range 7 east, Stanislaus County, California, near Elliott Cut, a branch of the adjacent San Joaquin River, which transmission line was demolished by the crashing of a United States Navy Plane FM-1, Bureau number 150501, on May 10, 1943, while the said plane was engaged in making a flight over the area indicated: 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 agents, attorney or attorneys, on account of services rendered in connection with such claim. It shall be unlawful for any agent or agents, attorney or attorneys, to exact, collect, withhold, or receive any sum of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof on account of services rendered in connection with such claim, 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 December 23, 1944. [CHAPTER 712-2D SESSION] [H. R. 4815] AN ACT For the relief of the Board of County Commissioners of Volusia County, Florida. 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 Board of County Commissioners of Volusia County, Florida, the sum of $4,068.10. The payment of such sum shall be in full settlement of all claims against the United States on account of damage to an Adams motor road grader caused by United States Navy airplane F4F-4, Bureau Number 5223, on March 3, 1944, on the naval base grounds at Daytona Beach, Florida: 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 December 23, 1944. [CHAPTER 714-2D SESSION] [H. R. 4968] AN ACT To amend section 511 (c) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, relative to deposit of vessel proceeds received from the United States in certain cases, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the first sentence of section 511 (c) of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "(c) In the case of the sale or actual or constructive total loss of a vessel, if the taxpayer deposits an amount equal to the net proceeds of the sale or to the net indemnity with respect to the loss in a construction reserve fund established under subsection (b), then "(1) if the taxpayer so elects in his income-tax return for the taxable year in which the gain was realized, or "(2) in case a vessel is purchased or requisitioned by the United States, or is lost, in any taxable year beginning after December 31, 1939, and prior to January 1, 1944, and the taxpayer receives payment for the vessel so purchased or requisitioned, or receives from the United States indemnity on account of such loss, subsequent to the end of such taxable year, if the taxpayer so elects prior to March 31, 1945, or prior to the expiration of sixty days after the receipt of the payment or indemnity, whichever is later, and in accordance with a form of election to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, no gain shall be recognized to the taxpayer in respect of such sale or indemnification in the computation of net income for the purposes of Federal income or excess-profits taxes. If an election is made under subdivision (2) and if computation or recomputation in accordance with this subsection is otherwise allowable but is prevented, on the date of making such election or within six months thereafter, by any statute of limitation, such computation or recomputation nevertheless shall be made notwithstanding such statute if a claim therefor is filed within six months after the date of making such election." SEC. 2. Section 511 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as amended,. is amended by adding at the end thereof a new subsection to read as follows: "(n) The terms 'contract for the construction' and 'construction contract', as used in this section, shall include, in the case of a taxpayer who constructs a new vessel in a shipyard owned by such taxpayer, an agreement between such taxpayer and the Commission with respect to such construction and containing provisions deemed necessary or advisable by the Commission to carry out the purposes and policy of this section." Approved December 23, 1944. (355) [CHAPTER 716-2D SESSION] [H. R. 5062] AN ACT To authorize certain transactions by disbursing officers of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subject to regulations promulgated pursuant to this Act, disbursing officers of the United States are hereby authorized, for official purposes, or for the accommodation of military, naval, and civilian personnel of the United States Government, and personnel of contractors and of authorized nongovernmental agencies operating with the armed forces of the United States, to cash and negotiate checks, drafts, bills of exchange, and other instruments payable in United States and foreign currencies, and to conduct exchange transactions involving United States and foreign currency and coin, checks, drafts, bills of exchange, and other instruments. Any official funds which are held by such disbursing officers and which are available for expenditure may, with the approval of the head of the agency having jurisdiction over such funds, be utilized for this purpose. SEC. 2. Any gains in the accounts of disbursing officers of the United States resulting from operations permitted by this Act shall be paid into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such amounts as may be necessary to adjust any deficiencies in the accounts of disbursing officers of the United States which may result from such operations. SEC. 3. The Secretary of the Treasury and, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury, the heads of other executive departments having jurisdiction over disbursing officers of the United States are hereby authorized respectively to issue such rules and regulations, governing the disbursing officers under their respective jurisdictions, as may be deemed necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of this Act. SEC. 4. The provisions of this Act shall be effective from and after December 7, 1941, and shall remain in force during the continuance of the present war and for six months after the termination of the war, or until such earlier time as the Congress by concurrent resolution or the President may designate. Approved December 23, 1944. |