owners of such property upon proper claim filed within three years from the date of vesting of title in the United States shall be paid the proceeds realized from the disposition of such property or, if the property is used or transferred, the fair value therefor as of the time title was vested in the United States as determined by the Administrator, less in either case the costs incident to the care and handling of such property as determined by the Administrator.

PROCEEDS FROM TRANSFER OR DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY

SEC. 204. (a) All proceeds under this title from any transfer of excess property to a Federal agency for its use, or from any sale, lease, or other disposition of surplus property, shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts, except as provided in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section.

(b) Where the property transferred or disposed of was acquired by the use of funds either not appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury or appropriated therefrom but by law reimbursable from assessment, tax, or other revenue or receipts, then the net proceeds of the disposition or transfer shall be credited to the reimbursable fund or appropriation or paid to the Federal agency which determined such property to be excess: Provided, That the proceeds shall be credited to miscellaneous receipts in any case when the agency which determined the property to be excess shall deem it uneconomical or impractical to ascertain the amount of net proceeds. As used in this subsection, the term "net proceeds of the disposition or transfer" means the proceeds of the disposition or transfer minus all expenses incurred for care and handling and disposition or transfer.

(c) Any Federal agency disposing of surplus property under this title (1) may deposit, in a special account with the Treasurer of the United States, such amount of the proceeds of such dispositions as it deems necessary to permit appropriate refunds to purchasers when any disposition is rescinded or does not become final, or payments for breach of any warranty, and (2) may withdraw therefrom amounts so to be refunded or paid, without regard to the origin of the funds withdrawn.

(d) Where any contract entered into by an executive agency or any subcontract under such contract authorizes the proceeds of any sale of property in the custody of the contractor or subcontractor to be credited to the price or cost of the work covered by such contract or subcontract, the proceeds of any such sale shall be credited in accordance with the contract or subcontract.

(e) Any executive agency entitled to receive cash under any contract covering the lease, sale or other disposition of surplus property may in its discretion accept, in lieu of cash, any property determined by the Munitions Board to be strategic or critical material at the prevailing market price thereof at the time the cash payment or payments became or become due.

(f) Where credit has been extended in connection with any disposition of surplus property under this title or by War Assets Administration (or its predecessor agencies) under the Surplus Property Act of 1944, or where such disposition has been by lease or permit, the Administrator shall administer and manage such credit, lease, or per

mit, and any security therefor, and may enforce, adjust, and settle any right of the Government with respect thereto in such manner and upon such terms as he deems in the best interest of the Government.

POLICIES, REGULATIONS, AND DELEGATIONS

SEC. 205. (a) The President may prescribe such policies and directives, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as he shall deem necessary to effectuate the provisions of this Act, which policies and directives shall govern the Administrator and executive agencies in carrying out their respective functions hereunder.

(b) The Comptroller General after considering the needs and requirements of the executive agencies shall prescribe principles and standards of accounting for property, cooperate with the Administrator and with the executive agencies in the development of property accounting systems, and approve such systems when deemed to be adequate and in conformity with prescribed principles and standards. From time to time the General Accounting Office shall examine such property accounting systems as are established by the executive agencies to determine the extent of compliance with prescribed principles and standards and approved systems, and the Comptroller General shall report to the Congress any failure to comply with such principles and standards or to adequately account for property.

(c) The Administrator shall prescribe such regulations as he deems necessary to effectuate his functions under this Act, and the head of each executive agency shall cause to be issued such orders and directives as such head deems necessary to carry out such regulations.

(d) The Administrator is authorized to delegate and to authorize successive redelegation of any authority transferred to or vested in him by this Act (except for the authority to issue regulations on matters of policy having application to executive agencies, the authority contained in section 106, and except as otherwise provided in this Act) to any official in the General Services Administration or to the head of any other Federal agency.

(e) With respect to any function transferred to or vested in the General Services Administration or the Administrator by this Act. the Administrator may (1) direct the undertaking of its performance by the General Services Administration or by any constituent organization therein which he may designate or establish; or (2) designate and authorize any executive agency to perform such function for itself; or (3) designate and authorize any other executive agency to perform such function; or (4) provide for such performance by any combination of the foregoing methods. Any designation or assignment of functions or delegation of authority to another executive agency under this section shall be made only with the consent of the executive agency concerned or upon direction of the President.

(f) When any executive agency (including the General Services Administration and constituent organizations thereof) is authorized and directed by the Administrator to carry out any function under this Act, the Administrator may, with the approval of the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, provide for the transfer of appropriate personnel, records, property, and allocated funds of the General Services Administration, or of such other executive agency as has

theretofore carried out such function, to the executive agency so authorized and directed.

(g) The Administrator may establish advisory committees to advise with him with respect to any function transferred to or vested in the Administrator by this Act. The members thereof shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to transportation and not to exceed $25 per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 5 of the Act of August 2, 1946 (5 U. S. C. 73b-2), for persons so serving.

(h) The Administrator shall advise and consult with interested Federal agencies with a view to obtaining their advice and assistance in carrying out the purposes of this title.

SURVEYS, STANDARDIZATION AND CATALOGING

SEC. 206. (a) As he may deem necessary for the effectuation of his functions under this title, and after adequate advance notice to the executive agencies affected, and with due regard to the requirements of the National Military Establishment as determined by the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator is authorized (1) to make surveys of Government property and property management practices and obtain reports thereon from executive agencies; (2) to cooperate with executive agencies in the establishment of reasonable inventory levels for property stocked by them and from time to time report any excessive stocking to the Congress and to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget; (3) to establish and maintain such uniform Federal supply catalog system as may be appropriate to identify and classify personal property under the control of Federal agencies: Provided, That the Administrator and the Secretary of Defense shall coordinate the cataloging activities of the General Services Administration and the National Military Establishment so as to avoid unnecessary duplication; and (4) to prescribe standardized forms and procedures, except such as the Comptroller General is authorized by law to prescribe, and standard purchase specifications.

(b) Each Federal agency shall utilize such uniform Federal supply catalog system and standard purchase specifications, except as the Administrator, taking into consideration efficiency, economy, and other interests of the Government, shall otherwise provide.

(c) The General Accounting Office shall audit all types of property accounts and transactions at such times and in such manner as determined by the Comptroller General. Such audit shall be conducted as far as practicable at the place or places where the property or records of the executive agencies are kept and shall include but not necessarily be limited to an evaluation of the effectiveness of internal controls and audits, and a general audit of the discharge of accountability for Government-owned or controlled property based upon generally accepted principles of auditing.

APPLICABILITY OF ANTITRUST LAWS

SEO. 207. Whenever any executive agency shall begin negotiations for the disposition to private interests of a plant or plants, or other property, which cost the Government $1,000,000 or more, or of patents, processes, techniques, or inventions, irrespective of cost, the executive agency shall promptly notify the Attorney General of the proposed

disposal and the probable terms or conditions thereof. Within a reasonable time, in no event to exceed sixty days after receiving such notification, the Attorney General shall advise the Administrator and the interested executive agency whether, insofar as he can determine, the proposed disposition would tend to create or maintain a situation inconsistent with the antitrust laws. Upon the request of the Attorney General, the Administrator or interested executive agency shall furnish or cause to be furnished such information as it may possess which the Attorney General determines to be appropriate or necessary to enable him to give the advice called for by this section or to determine whether any other disposition or proposed disposition of surplus property violates the antitrust laws. Nothing in this Act shall impair, amend, or modify the antitrust laws or limit and prevent their application to persons who buy or otherwise acquire property under the provisions of this Act. As used in this section the term "antitrust laws" includes the Act of July 2, 1890 (ch. 647, 26 Stat. 209), as amended; the Act of October 15, 1914 (ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730), amended; the Federal Trade Commission Act (38 Stat. 717), as amended; and sections 73 and 74 of the Act of August 27, 1894 (28 Stat. 570), as amended.

EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL

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SEC. 208. (a) The Administrator is authorized, subject to the civilservice and classification laws, to appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of titles I, II, III, and V of this Act.

(b) To such extent as he finds necessary to carry out the provisions of titles I, II, III, and V of this Act, the Administrator is hereby authorized to procure the temporary (not in excess of one year) or intermittent services of experts or consultants or organizations thereof, including stenographic reporting services, by contract or appointment, and in such cases such service shall be without regard to the civilservice and classification laws, and, except in the case of stenographic reporting services by organizations, without regard to section 3709, Revised Statutes, as amended (41 U. S. C. 5).

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1222 of the Revised Statutes (10 U. S. C. 576) or of any other provision of law, the Administrator in carrying out the functions imposed upon him by this Act is authorized to utilize in his agency the services of officials, officers, and other personnel in other executive agencies, including personnel of the armed services, with the consent of the head of the agency concerned.

CIVIL REMEDIES AND PENALTIES

SEC. 209. (a) Where any property is transferred or disposed of in accordance with this Act and any regulations prescribed hereunder, no officer or employee of the Government shall (1) be liable with respect to such transfer or disposition except for his own fraud, or (2) be accountable for the collection of any purchase price for such property which is determined to be uncollectible by the Federal agency responsible therefor.

(b) Every person who shall use or engage in, or cause to be used or engaged in, or enter into an agreement, combination, or conspiracy to

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use or engage in or to cause to be used or engaged in, any fraudulent trick, scheme, or device, for the purpose of securing or obtaining, or aiding to secure or obtain, for any person any payment, property, or other benefits from the United States or any Federal agency in connection with the procurement, transfer, or disposition of property hereunder

(1) shall pay to the United States the sum of $2,000 for each such act, and double the amount of any damage which the United States may have sustained by reason thereof, together with the cost of suit; or

(2) shall, if the United States shall so elect, pay to the United States, as liquidated damages, a sum equal to twice the consideration agreed to be given by the United States or any Federal agency to such person or by such person to the United States or any Federal agency, as the case may be; or

(3) shall, if the United States shall so elect, restore to the United States the money or property thus secured and obtained and the United States shall retain as liquidated damages any property, money, or other consideration given to the United States or any Federal agency for such money or property, as the case may be.

(c) The several district courts of the United States, the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia, and the several district courts of the Territories and possessions of the United States, within whose jurisdictional limits the person, or persons, doing or committing such act, or any one of them, resides or shall be found, shall wheresoever such act may have been done or committed, have full power and jurisdiction to hear, try, and determine such suit, and such person or persons as are not inhabitants of or found within the district in which suit is brought may be brought in by order of the court to be served personally or by publication or in such other reasonable manner as the court may direct.

(d) The civil remedies provided in this section shall be in addition to all other criminal penalties and civil remedies provided by law.

REPORTS TO CONGRESS

SEC. 210. The Administrator shall submit a report to the Congress, in January of each year and at such other times as he may deem it desirable, regarding the administration of his functions under this Act, together with such recommendations for amendments to this Act as he may deem appropriate as the result of the administration of such functions, at which time he shall also cite the laws becoming obsolete by reason of passage or operation of the provisions of this Act. TITLE III-PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE

DECLARATION OF PURPOSE

SEC. 301. The purpose of this title is to facilitate the procurement of supplies and services.

APPLICATION AND PROCUREMENT METHODS

SEC. 302. (a) The provisions of this title shall be applicable to purchases and contracts for supplies or services made