tests as may be necessary to determine the extent and quality of such deposits, the most suitable methods of mining and beneficiating them, and the cost at which the minerals or metals may be produced.

"(b) The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized and directed to make scientific, technologic, and economic investigations of the feasibility of developing domestic sources of supplies of any agricultural material or for using agricultural commodities for the manufacture of any material determined pursuant to section 2 of this Act to be strategic and critical or substitutes therefor.

"Sec. 8. For the procurement, transportation, maintenance, rotation, storage, and refining or processing of the materials to be acquired under this Act, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as the Congress, from time to time, may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The funds so appropriated, including the funds heretofore appropriated, shall remain available to carry out the purposes for which appropriated until expended, and shall be expended under the joint direction of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy.

་ ་་

Sec. 9. Any funds heretofore or hereafter received on account of sales or other dispositions of materials under the provisions of this Act, except funds received on account of the rotation of stocks, shall be covered into the Treasury us miscellaneous receipts.

“Sec. 10. Strategic materials purchased from foreign sources for stock piling pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall be admitted into the United States free of any tariff duty, import tax, or other impost applicable to importations. If any such imported strategic material is disposed of pursuant to section 3 of this Act, and if such disposition is made at a price based on the cost to the Government of such strategic material rather than the market price current at the time of sale, there shall be added to such price the amount of any tariff, duty, import, tax, or other impost which would be due were such strategic material imported at the time the sale is made.

666

Sec. 11. This Act may be cited as the "Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act". "

And the House agreed to the same.

ANDREW J. MAY,

R. EWING THOMASON,
OVERTON BROOKS,

WALTER G. ANDREWS,

DEWEY SHORT,

Managers on the Part of the House.

ELBERT D. THOMAS,

EDWIN C. JOHNSON,

LISTER HILL,

JOSEPH C. O'MAHONEY,

WARREN R. AUSTIN,

STYLES BRIDGES,

CHAN GURNEY,

Managers on the Part of the Senate.

STATEMENT OF THE MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

The managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing Votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the House to the bill (S. 752) to amend the act of June 7, 1939 (53 Stat. 811), as amended, relating to the acquisition of stocks of strategic and critical materials for national defense purposes, submit the following statement in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon by the conferees and recommended in the accompanying conference report: The House amendment strikes out all of the Senate bill after the enacting clause. The committee of conference recommends that the Senate recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the House, with an amendment which is a substitute for both the Senate bill and the House amendment, and that the House agree to the same.

Except for the differences noted in the following statement, the conference substitute is the same as the House amendment.

The House amendment authorized the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Commerce to designate representatives to cooperate with the Secretaries of War, Navy, and Interior in carrying out the provisions of the act. The conference agreement adds the Secretary of Agriculture to those authorized to designate such representatives.

The Senate bill provided that purchases of strategic and critical materials for the purposes of the act be made with due regard to the objectives set forth in section 1, and further provided that such purchases might be made without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes relating to competitive bidding. These provisions were omitted from the House amendment, but are restored under the language of the conference agreement.

The House amendment authorized the appropriation of $360,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1947, and the same amount for each of the following four fiscal years. The conference agreement authorizes the appropriation of such sums as the Congress may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.

Section 9 of the Senate bill required that funds received on account of sales of materials be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. The House amendment provided that such funds should remain available for expenditure under the stock-pile program. The conference agreement adopts the Senate provision.

The House amendment deleted section 10 of the Senate bill which provided duty free importation of materials purchased from foreign sources for stock-piling The conference agreement restores this provision.

ANDREW J. MAY,

R. EWING THOMASON,
OVERTON BROOKS,
WALTER G. ANDREWS,
DEWEY SHORT,

Managers on the Part of the House.

EXHIBIT 31

THE STOCK PILING ACT OF 1946

[PUBLIC LAW 520-79TH CONGRESS]

[CHAPTER 590-2D SESSION]

[S. 752]

AN ACT To amend the Act of June 7, 1939 (53 Stat. 811), as amended, relating to the acquisition of stocks of strategic and critical materials for national defense purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act of June 7, 1939 (53 Stat. 811), as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"That the natural resources of the United States in certain strategic and critical materials being deficient or insufficiently developed to supply the industrial, military, and naval needs of the country for common defense, it is the policy of the Congress and the purpose and intent of this Act to provide for the acquisition and retention of stocks of these materials and to encourage the conservation and development of sources of these materials within the United States, and thereby decrease and prevent wherever possible a dangerous and costly dependence of the United States upon foreign nations for supplies of these materials in times of national emergency.

"SEC. 2. (a) To effectuate the policy set forth in section 1 hereof the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Interior, acting jointly through the agency of the Army and Navy Munitions Board, are hereby authorized and directed to determine, from time to time, which materials are strategic and critical under the provisions of this Act and to determine, from time to time, the quality and quantities of such materials which shall be stock piled under the provisions of this Act. In determining the materials which are strategic and critical and the quality and quantities of same to be acquired the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Agriculture, and Commerce shall each designate representatives to cooperate with the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Interior in carrying out the provisions of this Act.

"(b) To the fullest extent practicable the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Interior, acting jointly, shall appoint industry advisory committees selected from the industries concerned with the materials

to be stock piled. It shall be the general function of the industry advisory committees to advise with the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Interior and with any agencies through which they may exercise any of their functions under this Act with respect to the purchase, sale, care, and handling of such materials. Members of the industry advisory committees shall receive a per diem allowance of not to exceed $10 for each day spent at conferences held upon the call of the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Interior, plus necessary traveling and other expenses while so engaged.

"SEC. 3. The Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy shall direct the Secretary of the Treasury, through the medium of the Procurement Division of his Department, to—

"(a) make purchases of strategic and critical materials with due regard to the objectives set forth in section 1 of this Act and pursuant to the determinations as provided in section 2 hereof, which purchases (1) shall be made, so far as is practicable, from supplies of materials in excess of the current industrial demand and (2) shall be made in accordance with title III of the Act of March 3, 1933 (47 Stat. 1520), but may be made without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes. A reasonable time (not to exceed one year) shall be allowed for production and delivery from domestic sources and in the case of any such material available in the United States but which has not been developed commercially, the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy may, if they find that the production of such material is economically feasible, direct the purchase of such material without requiring the vendor to give bond;

(b) provide for the storage, security, and maintenance of strategic and critical materials for stock-piling purposes on military and naval reservations or other locations, approved by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy;

(c) provide through normal commercial channels for the refining or processing of any materials acquired or transferred under this Act when the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy deem such action necessary to convert such materials into a form best suitable for stock piling, and such materials may be refined, processed, or otherwise beneficiated either before or after their transfer from the owning agency;

"(d) provide for the rotation of any strategic and critical materials constituting a part of the stock pile where necessary to prevent deterioration by replacement of acquired stocks with equivalent quantities of substantially the same material with the approval of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy;

"(e) dispose of any materials held pursuant to this Act which are no longer needed because of any revised determination made pursuant to section 2 of this Act, as hereinafter provided. No such disposition shall be made until six months after publication in the Federal Register and transmission of a notice of the proposed disposition to the Congress and to the Military Affairs Committee of each House thereof. Such notice shall state the reasons for such revised determination, the amounts of the materials proposed to be released, the plan of disposition proposed to be followed, and the date upon which the material is to become available for sale or transfer. The plan and date of disposition shall be fixed with due regard to the protection of the United States against avoidable loss on the sale or transfer of the materials to be released and the protection of producers, processors, and consumers against avoidable disruption of their usual markets: Provided, That no material constituting a part of the stock piles may be disposed of without the express approval of the Congress except where the revised determination is by reason of obsolescence of that material for use in time of war. For the purposes of this paragraph a revised determination is by reason of obsolescence if such determination is on account of (1) deterioration, (2) development or discovery of a new or better material or materials, or (3) no further usefulness for use in time of war.

"SEC. 4. The Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to the Congress, not later than six months after the approval of this Act, and every six months thereafter a written report detailing the activities with respect to stock piling under this Act, including a statement of foreign and domestic purchases, and such other pertinent information on the administration of the Act as will enable the Congress to evaluate its administration and the need for amendments and related legislation.

"SEC. 5. The stock piles shall consist of all such materials heretofore purchased or transferred to be held pursuant to this Act, or hereafter transferred pursuant to section 6 hereof, or hereafter purchased pursuant to section 3 hereof, and not disposed of pursuant to this Act. Except for the rotation to prevent deterioration and except for the disposal of any material pursuant to section 3 of this Act, materials acquired under this Act shall be released for use, sale, or other disposition only (a) on order of the President at any time when in his judgment such release is required for purposes of the common defense, or (b) in time of war or during a national emergency with respect to common defense proclaimed by the President, on order of such agency as may be designated by the President.

"SEC. 6. (a) Pursuant to regulations issued by the War Assets Administration or its successor, every material determined to be strategic and critical pursuant to section 2 hereof, which is owned or contracted for by the United States or any agency thereof, including any material received from a foreign government under an agreement made pursuant to the Act of March 11, 1941 (55 Stat. 31), as amended, or other authority, shall be transferred by the owning agency, when determined by such agency to be surplus to its needs and responsibilities, to the stock piles established pursuant to this Act, so long as the amount of the stock pile for that material does not exceed the quantities determined therefor pursuant to section 2 hereof. There shall be exempt from this requirement such amount of any material as is necessary to make up any deficiency of the supply of such material for the current requirements of industry as determined by the Civilian Production Administration or its successor. There shall also be exempt from this requirement (1) any material which constitutes contractor inventory if the owning agency shall not have taken possession of such inventory, (2) such amour: of any material as the Army and Navy Munitions Board determines (i) are held in lots so small as to make the transfer thereof economically impractical; or (i) do not meet or cannot economically be converted to meet, stock-pile requirements determined in accordance with section 2 of this Act. The total material transferred to the stock piles established by this Act in accordance with this section during any fiscal year beginning more than twelve months after this Act becomes law shall not exceed in value (as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the fair market value at the time of each transfer) an amount to be fixed by the appropriation Act or Acts relating to the acquisition of materials under this Act.

"(b) Any transfer made pursuant to this section shall be made without charge against or reimbursement from the funds available under this Act, except that expenses incident to such transfer may be paid or reimbursed from such funds, and except that, upon any such transfer from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, or any corporation organized by virtue of the authority contained in the Act of January 22, 1932 (47 Stat. 5), the Secretary of the Treasury shall cancel notes of Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and sums due and unpaid upon or in connection with such notes at the time of such cancellation, in an amount equal to the fair market value as determied by the Secretary of the Treasury of the material so transferred.

"(c) Effective whenever the Secretary of the Treasury shall cancel any notes pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the amount of notes, debentures, bonds, or other such obligations which the Reconstruction Finance Corporation is authorized and empowered to have outstanding at any one time under the provisions of existing law shall be deemed to be reduced by the amount of the notes so canceled.

"(d) Subsection (b) of section 14 of the Act of October 3, 1944 (58 Stat. 765), is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(b) Subject only to subsection (c) of this section, any owning agency may dispose of

"(1) any property which is damaged or worn beyond economical repair; "(2) any waste, salvage, scrap, or other similar items;

"(3) any product of industrial, research, agricultural, or livestock operations, or of any public works construction or maintenance project, carried on by such agency;

which does not consist of materials which are to be transferred in accordance with the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act, to the stock piles established pursuant to that Act.'

"(e) Section 22 of the Act of October 3, 1944 (58 Stat. 765), is hereby repealed: Provided, That any owning agency as defined in that Act having control of materials that, when determined to be surplus, are required to be transferred to the

stock piles pursuant to subsection (a) hereof, shall make such determination as soon as such materials in fact become surplus to its needs and responsibilities. "SEC. 7. (a) The Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the Bureau of Mines and the Director of Geological Survey, is hereby authorized and directed to make scientific, technologic, and economic investigations concerning the extent and mode of occurrence, the development, mining, preparation, treatment, and utilization of ores and other mineral substances found in the United States or its Territories or insular possessions, which are essential to the common defense or the industrial needs of the United States, and the quantities or grades of which are inadequate from known domestic sources, in order to determine and develop domestic sources of supply, to devise new methods for the treatment and utilization of lower grade reserves, and to develop substitutes for such essential ores and mineral products; on public lands and on privately owned lands, with the consent of the owner, to explore and demonstrate the extent and quality of deposits of such minerals, including core drilling, trenching, test-pitting, shaft sinking, drifting, cross-cutting, sampling, and metallurgical investigations and tests as may be necessary to determine the extent and quality of such deposits, the most suitable methods of mining and beneficiating them, and the cost at which the minerals or metals may be produced.

(b) The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized and directed to make scientific, technologic, and economic investigations of the feasibility of developing domestic sources of supplies of any agricultural material or for using agricultural commodities for the manufacture of any material determined pursuant to section 2 of this Act to be strategic and critical or substitutes therefor.

"SEC. 8. For the procurement, transportation, maintenance, rotation, storage, and refining or processing of the materials to be acquired under this Act, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as the Congress, from time to time, may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. The funds so appropriated, including the funds heretofore appropriated, shall remain available to carry out the purposes for which appropriated until expended, and shall be expended under the joint direction of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy. "SEC. 9. Any funds heretofore or hereafter received on account of sales or other dispositions of materials under the provisions of this Act, except funds received on account of the rotation of stocks, shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

"SEC. 10. This Act may be cited as the 'Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act.""

(a) The term "United States," when used in a geographical sense, includes the United States and any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof;

(b) The terms "public use," "public building," and "public work" shall mean use by, public building of, and public work of, the United States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, American Samoa, the Canal Zone, and the Virgin Islands.

SEC. 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and unless the head of the department or independent establishment concerned shall determine it to be inconsistent with the public interest, or the cost to be unreasonable, only such unmanufactured articles, materials, and supplies as have been mined or produced in the United States, and only such manufactured articles, materials, and supplies as have been manufactured in the United States substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured, as the case may be, in the United States, shall be acquired for public use. This section shall not apply with respect to articles, materials, or supplies for use outside the United States, or if articles, materials, or supplies of the class or kind to be used or the articles, materials, or supplies from which they are manufactured are not mined,