from obligation or expenditure by any agency or official are hereby released and made available for obligation or expenditure for the purposes for which they were originally appropriated subject to the approval of the Chairman of the War Manpower Commission as to the availability of manpower and subject to the approval of the Chairman of the War Production Board as to the availability of critical materials.

Any of the foregoing appropriations for general or administrative expenses under the Federal Works Agency shall be available for the maintenance, repair, and operation of motor-propelled passengercarrying vehicles in the District of Columbia and in the field.

Approved June 27, 1944.

APPROPRIATION OF JUNE 28, 1944

[58 Stat. 425]

AN ACT

Making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1945, and for other purposes.

FOREST ROADS AND TRAILS

For carrying out the provisions of section 23 of the Federal Highway Act approved November 9, 1921 (23 U. S. C. 23), and for the construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of roads and trails on experimental areas under Forest Service administration, including not to exceed $70,000 for personal services in the District of Columbia, $4,161,496 for forest development roads and trails, to be immediately available and to remain available until expended: Provided, That this appropriation shall be available for the rental, purchase, construction, or alteration of buildings necessary for the storage and repair of equipment and supplies used for road and trail construction and maintenance, but the total cost of any such building purchased, altered, or constructed under this authorization shall not exceed $7,500.

Approved June 28, 1944.

APPROPRIATION OF MAY 3, 1945

[59 Stat. 106]

AN ACT

Making appropriations for the Exécutive Office and sundry independent executive bureaus, bcards, commissions, and cffices, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1946, and for other purposes.

FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY SYSTEM

For carrying out the provisions of "An Act to provide that the United States shall aid the States in the construction of rural post

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roads, and for other purposes", as amended (23 U. S. C. 1-117), to be expended in accordance with the provisions of said Act, as amended, including not to exceed $1,133,300 for departmental personal services in the District of Columbia, $25,000,000, to be immediately available and to remain available until expended, which sum is a part of the amount authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year 1943 by section 1 of the Act approved September 5, 1940 (Public Law 780): Provided, That none of the money herein appropriated shall be paid to any State on account of any project on which convict labor shall be employed, except this provision shall not apply to convict labor performed by convicts on parole or probation: Provided further, That, during the fiscal year 1946, whenever performing authorized engineering or other services in connection with the survey, construction, and maintenance, or improvement of roads for other Government and State cooperating agencies the charge for such services may include depreciation on engineering and road-building equipment used, and the amounts received on account of such charges shall be credited to the appropriation concerned: Provided further, That during the fiscal year 1946 the appropriations for the work of the Public Roads Administration shall be available for meeting the expenses of warehouse maintenance and the procurement, care, and handling of supplies, materials, and equipment stored therein for distribution to projects under the supervision of the Public Roads Administration, and for sale and distribution to other Government activities and State cooperating agencies, the cost of such supplies and materials or the value of such equipment (including the cost of transportation and handling) to be reimbursed to appropriations current at the time additional supplies, materials, or equipment are procured, from the appropriation chargeable with the cost or value of such supplies, materials, or equipment: Provided further, That the appropriations available to the Public Roads Administration may be used in emergency for medical supplies and services and other assistance necessary for the immediate relief of employees engaged on hazardous work under that Administration, and (not exceeding $15,000) for the temporary employment, by contract or otherwise, of technical consultants and experts without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, and civil-service and classification laws.

INTER-AMERICAN HIGHWAY

For all necessary expenses to enable the President to utilize the services of the Public Roads Administration in fulfilling the obligations of the United States under the Convention on the Pan-American Highway Between the United States and Other American Republics, signed at Buenos Aires, December 23, 1936, and proclaimed September 16, 1937 (51 Stat. 152), for the continuation of cooperation with sev eral governments, members of the Pan American Union, in connection with the survey and construction of the Inter-American Highway as provided in public resolution, approved March 4, 1929 (Public Resolution 104), as amended or supplemented, and for performing engineering service in pan-American countries for and upon the request of any agency or governmental corporation of the United States, $100,000 to be derived from the administrative funds provided under the Act of July 11, 1916, as amended or supplemented (23 U. S. C. 21), or as otherwise provided.

For surveys in connection with and the construction of the InterAmerican Highway, in accordance with the provisions of the Act approved December 26, 1941 (Public Law 375), and necessary expenses incident thereto without regard to section 3709, Revised Statutes, $1,000,000, to be immediately available and to remain available until expended: Provided, That no part of the appropriation made in this paragraph for use in any cooperating country shall be available for obligation or expenditure unless said cooperating country executes a written agreement that it will impose no restrictions on the use of the highway, nor levy directly or indirectly any tax or charge for such use, by traffic or vehicles from any other country that do not apply with equal force to the like use of the highway by traffic or vehicles of the cooperating country.

FEDERAL-AID SECONDARY OR FEEDER ROADS

For secondary or feeder roads, including farm-to-market roads, rural-free-delivery mail roads, and public-school bus routes, $3,000,000, to be immediately available and to remain available until expended, which sum is a part of the amount authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year 1942. by section 2 of the Act approved September 5, 1940 (Public Law 780).

ELIMINATION OF GRADE CROSSINGS

For the elimination of hazards to life at railroad grade crossings, including the separation or protection of grades at crossings, the reconstruction of existing railroad grade-crossing structures, and the relocation of highways to eliminate grade crossings, $6,000,000, to be immediately available and to remain available until expended, which sum is a part of the amount authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year 1941, by section 3 of the Act approved June 8, 1938.

STRATEGIC HIGHWAY NETWORK

For carrying out projects to correct critical deficiencies in lines of the strategic network of highways and bridges, in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of the Defense Highway Act of 1941 (23 U. S. C. 104), $10,000,000, to be immediately available and to remain available during the continuance of the emergency declared by the President on May 27, 1941.

ACCESS ROADS

For the construction, maintenance, and improvement of access roads and for replacing existing highways and highway connections as described in, and in accordance with the provisions of, sections 6 and 9 of the Defense Highway Act of 1941, as amended by the Act approved July 2, 1942 (23 U. S. C. 106), $35,000,000, to be immediately available and to remain available during the continuance of the emergency declared by the President on May 27, 1941.

SURVEYS AND PLANS

For advance engineering surveys and plans for future development of the strategic network of highways and bypasses around and

extension into and through municipalities and metropolitan areas, in accordance with the provisions of section 9 of the Defense Highway Act of 1941 (23 U. S. C. 109), $3,000,000, to be immediately available and to remain available during the continuance of the emergency declared by the President on May 27, 1941.

Any of the foregoing appropriations for general or administrative expenses under the Federal Works Agency shall be available for the maintenance, repair, and operation of motor-propelled passengercarrying vehicles in the District of Columbia and in the field.

Approved May 3, 1945.

APPROPRIATION OF MAY 5, 1945

[59 Stat. 136]

AN ACT

Making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1946, and for other purposes

FOREST ROADS AND TRAILS

For carrying out the provisions of section 23 of the Federal Highway Act approved November 9, 1921, as amended (23 U. S. C. 23, 23a), and for the construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of roads and trails on experimental areas under Forest Service administration, (1) $4,418,778 for forest development roads and trails (including not to exceed $68,846 for personal services in the District of Columbia), and (2) $1,500,000 for maintenance and reconstruction of forest highways, which latter sum is part of the balance of the amount of $5,714,222 authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year 1942 by the Act of September 5, 1940 (54 Stat. 867, Public Law 780-Seventy-sixth Congress), in all, $5,918,778, to be immediately available and to remain available until expended: Provided, That this appropriation shall be available for the rental, purchase, construction, or alteration of buildings necessary for the storage and repair of equipment and supplies used for road and trail construction and maintenance, but the total cost of any such building purchased, altered, or constructed under this authorization shall not exceed $10,000, with the exception that any building erected, purchased, or acquired, the cost of which was $10,000 or more, may be improved within any fiscal year by an amount not to exceed 2 per centum of the cost of such building as certified by the Secretary, and that $10,200 may be expended for the installation of a heating plant in, and for other betterments to the Sellwood shop buildings in Portland, Oregon.

Approved May 5, 1945.

APPROPRIATION OF DECEMBER 28, 1945

[59 Stat. 632]

AN ACT

Making appropriations to supply deficiencies in certain appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1946, and for prior fiscal years, to provide supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1946, and for other purposes.

PUBLIC ROADS ADMINISTRATION

For carrying out the provisions of the Federal Highway Act of November 9, 1921, as amended and supplemented, $25,000,000, being a part of the $100,000,000 authorized to be appropriated by section 2 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 (Public Law 521), and to become available in accordance with said section 2 and to remain available until expended.

Approved December 28, 1945.

APPROPRIATION OF MARCH 28, 1946

[60 Stat. 60]

AN ACT

Making appropriations for the Executive Office and sundry independent executive bureaus, boards, commissions, and offices, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1947, and for other purposes.

PUBLIC ROADS ADMINISTRATION

General administrative expenses: For the employment of persons and means, including rent, advertising (including advertising in the city of Washington for work to be performed in areas adjacent thereto), printing and binding (not to exceed $40,000), purchase (including exchange) of lawbooks, books of reference and periodicals, purchase of one hundred and twenty-one used or surplus passenger automobiles, and the preparation, distribution, and 'display of exhibits, in the city of Washington and elsewhere for the purpose of conducting research and investigational studies, either independently or in cooperation with State highway departments, or other agencies, including studies of highway administration, legislation, finance, economics, transport, construction, operation, maintenance, utilization, and safety, and of street and highway traffic control; investigations and experiments in the best methods of road making, especially by the use of local materials; and studies of types of mechanical plants and appliances used for road building and maintenance, and of methods of road repair and maintenance suited to the needs of different localities; for maintenance and repairs of experimental highways; for furnishing expert advice on these subjects; for collating, reporting, and illustrating the results of same; and for preparing, publishing, and distributing bulletins and reports; to be paid from any moneys available from the administrative