DECLARATION OF POLICY

SEC. 2. It is the policy of the United States that there shall be maintained at all times in the interest of the national security and common defense, in addition to stock piles of natural rubber which are to be acquired, rotated, and retained pursuant to the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (Public Law 520, Seventy-ninth Congress, approved July 23, 1946), a technologically advanced and rapidly expandible rubber-producing industry in the United States of sufficient productive capacity to assure the availability in times of national emergency of adequate supplies of synthetic rubber to meet the essential civilian, military, and naval needs of the country. It is further declared to be the policy of the Congress that the security interests of the United States can and will best be served by the development within the United States of a free, competitive synthetic-rubber industry to be served by private research and development. In order to accomplish security through a sound industry it is essential that all Government ownership of production facilities, all Government production of synthetic rubber, all regulations requiring mandatory use of synthetic rubber, and all patent pooling should be ended and terminated at the earliest practical date consistent with national security.

AUTHORITY TO EXERCISE CERTAIN CONTROL OVER SYNTHETIC RUBBER

SEC. 3. To effectuate the policies set forth in section 2 of this Act, the Presi dent is authorized to exercise allocation, specification, and inventory controls ! of synthetic rubber, and products containing natural rubber and synthetic rubber; and he shall exercise such controls by issuing such regulations as are required to insure (a) the consumption in the United States of specified percentages of general-purpose synthetic rubber in transportation items such as tires, camelback, and flaps, and (b) the consumption in the United States of specified percentages of any or all types of special-purpose synthetic rubber in pneumatic inner tubes. The synthetic rubber used to satisfy the mandatory consumption provided by (a) and (b) of this section shall be produced by the Government or for the Government account. Such percentages shall be established as to assure the production and consumption of general-purpose synthetic rubber and special-purpose synthetic rubber in quantities determined by the President to be necessary to carry out the policy of section 2 of this Act, and the provisions of Public Law 520, Seventy-ninth Congress, approved July 23, 1946.

IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION

SEC. 4. (a) The President may impose such import restrictions on finished and semifinished rubber products as he deems necessary to assure equality with like or similar products produced within the United States in accordance with regulations issued under this Act.

(b) The President may exempt from the regulations of this Act finished and semifinished rubber products manufactured in the United States exclusively for export outside the United States.

DOMESTIC RUBBER-PRODUCING CAPACITY

SEC. 5. (a) There shall be maintained at all times within the United States rubber-producing facilities having a production capacity of not less than six hundred thousand long tons per annum of general-purpose synthetic rubber and not less than sixty-five thousand long tons per annum of special-purpose synthetic rubber.

(b) Of the sixty-five-thousand-long-ton-rated-production capacity for specialpurpose synthetic rubber, specified in section 5 (a) of this Act, at least forty-five (housand long tons shall be of a type suitable for use in pneumatic inner tubes. (c) The facilities specified in section 5 (a) of this Act may include facilities owned in whole or in part by the Government and in whole or in part by private persons.

(d) The facilities to be maintained in operation by the Government and those to be maintained in adequate stand-by condition shall be determined from time to time by the President.

(e) At least one facility for making butadiene from alcohol shall be maintained in operation or in stand-by condition.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

SEC. 6. (a) To effectuate further the policies set forth in section 2 of this Act with respect to a technologically advanced domestic rubber-producing industry, continuous and extensive research is essential. The power, functions, duties, and authority of the Government to undertake research and development in rubber and allied fields shall be exercised and performed by such departments, agencies, officers, Government corporations, or instrumentalities of the United States as the President may designate, whether or not existing at the date of enactment of this Act.

(b) The cost of undertaking and maintaining the research and development authorized in section 6 (a) of this Act may be paid from such sums as the Congress, from time to time, may appropriate to carry out the provisions of this Act. OPERATION OF RUBBER-PRODUCING FACILITIES BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

SEC. 7. (a) The powers, functions, duties, and authority to produce and sell synthetic rubber conferred in section 7 (b) of this Act shall be exercised and performed by such department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States as the President may designate, whether or not existing at the date of enactment of this Act.

(b) The department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States designated by the President, pursuant to section 7 (a) of this Act, shall have the powers, functions, duties, and authority to produce and sell synthetic rubber, including the component materials thereof, in amounts sufficient to assure the production of synthetic rubber as required by the President in section 3 of this Act: Provided, That so far as practicable the President shall authorize such production of synthetic rubber, including the component materials thereof, as may be necessary to satisfy voluntary usage of synthetic rubber, including the component materials thereof during the period of stock piling of natural rubber.

(c) The aforesaid powers, functions, duties, and authority to produce and sell include all power and authority in such department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States to do all things necessary and proper in connection with and related to such production and sale, including but not limited to the power and authority to make repairs, replacements, alterations, improvements, or betterments to the rubber-producing facilities owned by the Government or in connection with the operation thereof and to make capital expenditures as may be necessary for the efficient and proper operation and maintenance of the rubber-producing facilities owned by the Government and performace of said powers, functions, duties, and authority.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9 of this Act, the aforesaid powers, functions, duties, and authority to produce and sell include the power and authority in such department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States to (a) lease for operation for Government account all or any part of the Government-owned rubber-producing facilities in connection with the performance of said powers, functions, duties, and authority to produce and sell; (b) lease, for a period not exceeding the term of this Act, Government-owned rubber-producing facilities for private purposes if such lease contains adequate provisions for the recapture thereof for the purposes set forth in section 7 (b) of this Act and if such lease provides that any synthetic rubber or component material as may be produced by the leased facilities shall not be used to satify mandatory requirements established by section 3; (c) grant permanent easements or licenses for private purposes in, on, or over land comprising part of the Government-owned rubber-producing facilities if such grant provides that such easement or license shall not interfere with the use at any time of the rubber producing facilities involved; and (d) sell or otherwise dispose of obsolete or other property not necessary for the production of the rated capacity of the particular plant to which such property is charged.

(e) The price at which synthetic rubber and component materials are sold pursuant to section 7 (b) of this Act shall be determined on a basis which will return the entire cost of manufacture and distribution without loss to the United States. The department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States authorized under section 7 (a) to make such sales shall make a semiannual report of operation of Government-owned facilities to the President and Congress disclosing the accounting methods used to establish its selling price for the type of synthetic rubber.

STAND-BY FACILITIES

SEC. 8. (a) To effectuate further the policies set forth in section 2 of this Act, the President is authorized to place in adequate stand-by condition such rubberproducing facilities as he shall determine necessary to maintain the continued existence of rubber-producing facilities capable of producing the tonnage of chemical rubber required by section 5 (a) of this Act.

(b) Rubber-producing facilities placed in stand-by condition by the President pursuant to section 8 (a) of this Act may be maintained by such department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States, whether or not existing on the date of enacment of this Act, as the President may designate: Provided, That nothing contained in section 8 (b) of this Act shall preclude such department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States from entering into contracts with private persons for the maintenance of stand-by facilities: Provided further, That the cost of placing facilities in stand-by condition, maintaining such facilities in adequate stand-by condition, and, when necessary, reactivating such facilities, shall be paid from such sums as the Congress, from time to time, may appropriate to carry out the provisions of this Act.

DISPOSAL OF GOVERNMENT-OWNED RUBBER-PRODUCING FACILITIES

SEC. 9. (a) The department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States designated by the President pursuant to section 7 (a) of this Act shall undertake immediate study, conducting such hearings as may be necessary, in order to determine and formulate a program for disposal to private industry by sale or lease of the Government-owned rubberproducing facilities. A report with respect to the development of such a disposal program shall be made to the President and to Congress not later than April 1, 1949.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9 (a), the department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States designated by the President pursuant to section 7 (a) of this Act may sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of to private persons any rubber-producing facility not required to fulfill the capacity set forth in section 5 (a) of this Act providing that such sale or lease shall be on the condition that any synthetic rubber or component materials produced in such facility shall not be used to satisfy the mandatory requirements established by section 3 of this Act: Provided, That the sale or lease of any neoprene plant shall include such terms, conditions, restrictions, and reservations in the disposal of such facility as will be adequate to assure its continued availability: And provided further, That the terms of such sale or lease shall provide that such neoprene plant shall be maintained so that it shall be physically capable of producing the product or products, or product or products similar thereto, which such facility was capable of producing at the time of sale or lease, within one hundred and twenty days after the declaration of a national emergency by the President.

ADMINISTRATION

SEC. 10. (a) The President may issue such rules and regulations as he deems necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act.

(b) The President may exercise any or all of the powers, authority, and discretion conferred upon him by this Act, including but not limited to the powers and authority conferred in section 12 of this Act through such departments, agencies, officers, Government corporations, or instrumentalities of the United States, whether or not existing at the date of the enactment of this Act, as he may direct.

(c) The President, whenever practicable, shall consolidate all of the powers, functions, and authority contained in this Act in one department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States, whether or not existing at the date of enactment of this Act. The President is authorized to cause a corporation to be organized for the purpose of producing and selling synthetic rubber.

(d) The President may transfer to the departments, agencies, officers, Government corporations, or instrumentalities of the United States, or to any of them, which he directs to exercise the powers, authority, and discretion conferred upon him by this Act, such rubber-producing facilities, personnel, prop

erty, and record relating to such powers, authority, and discretion, as he deems necessary; and he may so transfer all appropriations or other funds available for carrying out such powers, authority, and discretion. To the extent deemed necessary for the discharge of the responsibilities under this Act, any personnel authorized to be transferred may be employed and their compensation fixed without regard to the civil-service laws and the Classification Act of 1923, as amended.

(e) In addition to the reports required by section 7 (e) and 9 (a) of this Act, each department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States to whom the President may delegate any powers, authority, and discretion conferred by this Act shall make a semiannual report to the President and to the Congress of operations under this Act.

(f) The departments, agencies, officers, Government corporations, or instrumentalities of the United States who exercise authority delegated pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall appoint such rubber-manufacturing industry advisory committees as may be deemed appropriate for industry consultation on matters arising in connection with regulations issued pursuant to section 3 and with the administration of the provisions of this Act.

PATENT POOLING AND USE OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION

SEC. 11. (a) To effectuate further the policies of this Act, the President is authorized and directed to take such action as may be appropriate with respect to patent pooling, patent licensing and exchange of information agreements entered into with the Government as a part of the wartime synthetic rubber program, insofar as practicable and consistent with the purposes of this Act, to effectuate immediate cessation of further accumulation of technical information or rights to patents under the agreement dated December 19, 1941, as supplemented June 12, 1942, between the Government and others.

(b) Any department, agency, officer, Government corporation, or instrumentality of the United States as the President may designate to perform the powers, functions, duties, and authority referred in section 7 (b) of this Act, shall be entitled to the benefits of the Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 851), as amended July 1, 1918 (40 Stat. 705), or any similar Act.

INFORMATION, REPORTS, SUBPENAS, WITNESSES, AND TESTIMONY

SEC. 12. (a) The President shall be entitled to obtain such information from, require such reports and the keeping of such records by, make such inspection of the books, records, and other writings, premises, or property of, any person and make such investigations, as may be necessary or appropriate, in his discretion, to the enforcement or administration of the provisions of this Act.

(b) For the purpose of obtaining any information, verifying any report required, or making any investigation pursuant to section 12 (a) of this Act, the President may administer oaths and affirmations, and may require by subpena or otherwise the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of any books or records or any other documentary or physical evidence which may be relevant to the inquiry. Such attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of such books, records, or other documentary or physical evidence may be required at any designated place from any State, Territory, or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States: Provided, That the production of a person's books, records, or other documentary evidence shall not be required at any place other than the place where such person resides or transacts business, if, prior to the return date specified in the subpena issued with respect thereto, such person furnishes the President with a true copy of such books, records, or other documentary evidence (certified by such person under oath to be a true and correct copy) or enters into a stipulation with the President as to the information contained in such books, records, or other documentary evidence. Witnesses shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the courts of the United States. No person shall be excused from attending and testifying or from producing any books, records, or other documentary evidence or certified copies thereof, or physical evidence, in obedience to any such subpena, or in any action or proceeding which may be instituted under this Act on the ground that the testimony or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of him may tend to incriminate him or subject him to a penalty or forfeiture; but no individual shall be subject to prosecution and punishment, or to

any penalty or forfeiture, for or on account of any transaction, matter, or thing concerning which he is compelled to testify or produce evidence, documentary or otherwise, after having claimed his privilege against self-incrimination, except that any such individual so testifying shall not be exempt from prosecution and punishment for perjury committed in so testifying. The President shall not publish or disclose any information obtained under this section which the Presi dent deems confidential or with reference to which a request for confidential treatment is made by the person furnishing such information, unless the Presi dent determines that the withholding thereof is contrary to the interest of the national defense and security; and anyone violating this provision shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not exceeding $1,000 or be imprisoned not exceeding two years, or both.

PENALTIES

SEC. 13. Any person who willfully performs any act prohibited, or willfully fails to perform any act required by any division of this Act or any rule, regulation, or order thereunder, shall upon conviction be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS

SEC. 14. (a) The district courts of the United States, and the United States courts of any Territory or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, shall have jurisdiction of violations of this Act or any rule, regulation, or order or subpena thereunder, and of all civil actions under this Act to enforce any liabiltiy or duty created by, or to enjoin any violation of this Act or any rule, regulation, order, or subpena thereunder.

(b) Any criminal proceeding on account of any such violation may be brought in any district in which any act, failure to act, or transaction constituting the alleged violation occurred. Any such civil action may be brought in any such district or in the district in which the defendent resides or transacts business. Process in such cases, criminal or civil, may be served in any district wherein the defendant resides or transacts business or whenever the defendant may be found; and subpenas for witnesses who are required to attend a court in any district in any such cases may run into any other district. No costs shall be assessed against the United States in any proceeding under this Act.

EXCULPATORY CLAUSE

SEC. 15. No person shall be held liable for damages or penalties for any default under any contract or order which shall result directly or indirectly from compliance with this Act or any rule, regulation, or order issued thereunder, notwithstanding that any such rule, regulation, or order shall thereafter be declared by judicial or other competent authority to be invalid.

EXEMPTION FROM ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT

SEC. 16. Functions exercised under this Act shall be excluded from the operation of the Administrative Procedure Act except as to the requirements of sections 3 and 10 thereof.

SEPARABILITY

SEC. 17. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and of the application of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 18. For the purposes of this Act—

(1) The term "natural rubber" means all forms and types of tree, vine, or shrub rubber, including guayule and natural rubber latex, but excluding reclaimed natural rubber;

(2) The term "synthetic rubber" means any product of chemical synthesis similar in general properties and applications to natural rubber, and specifically capable of vulcanization, produced in the United States, not including reclaimed synthetic rubber;