loans, purchases, guaranties, and purchase and guaranty agreements, to the extent authorized by law, and (3) procuring by purchase agricultural commodities for sale to other Government agencies. The Corporation may carry out such purposes and objects only if and to the extent that the programs with respect thereto are set forth in budgets submitted to Congress under the Government Corporation Control Act, and approved by Congress.

(b) Solely in futherance of the purposes and objects of the Corporation, the Corporation

(1) May make, carry out, and enforce contracts in its own name. (2) May adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal, which shall be judicially noticed.

(3) May sue or be sued, but (A) no attachment, injunction, garnishment, or other similar process, mesne or final, shall be issued against the Corporation or its property, and (B) the district courts of the United States (including the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia and the United States courts of any Territory or possession) shall have exclusive jurisdiction of suits, actions, and proceedings brought by or against the Corporation, except that the Corporation may intervene in any suit, action, or proceeding in which it has an interest.

(4) May employ and fix the compensation of such personnel as may be necessary in the conduct of its business, and may contract for services. With the exception of the Directors and executive officers of the Corporation and special experts, the personnel of the Corporation shall be employed subject to the civil-service laws and their compensation fixed in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended.

(5) Except to the extent otherwise provided in this Act, shall have the rights, privileges, and immunities of the United States, but shall not have the right to priority of payment with respect to debts due from insolvent, deceased, or bankrupt debtors, or immunity from the imposition of court costs, fees, or charges or from the allowance of interest on claims and judgments. (6) May make final and conclusive settlement and adjustments of any claims by or against the Corporation for the accounts of its fiscal officers. (7) May borrow money from the Treasury of the United States. (8) Shall be entitled to the free use of the United States mails in the same manner and upon the same conditions as the Executive departments of the Federal Government.

(9) Shall have such other powers as may be necessary or appropriate for the exercise of the powers specifically vested in the Corporation.

(c) The Corporation shall have succession until July 1, 1950.

(d) State and local regulatory laws or rules shall not be applicable with respect to contracts or agreements of the Corporation or the parties thereto if and to the extent that such contracts or agreements provide that such laws or rules shall not be applicable, or if and to the extent that such laws or rules are inconsistent with such contracts or agreements.

(e) In the Corporation's purchasing and selling operations with respect to agricultural commodities (except sales to other Government agencies), and in the warehousing, transporting, processing, or handling of agricultural commodities, the Corporation shall utilize the usual and customary channels, facilities, and arrangements of trade and commerce.

(f) The Corporation shall not have power to acquire real property or any interest therein, or to acquire or lease warehouses, elevators, mills, gins, processing plants, railroads or other transportation facilities, barges, boats, or wharves; except that nothing herein shall prevent the Corporation from contracting for the use of any of the foregoing in accordance with the usual customs of trade and commerce, or preventing the Corporation from renting or leasing office space necessary for the conduct of its business.

(g) In exercising its powers and conducting its business under this Act, the Corporation shall not discriminate either in favor of or against any form of business enterprise, cooperative or otherwise.

(h) The Corporation shall annually make and file with the Secretary of Agriculture a complete report as to the business of the Corporation, which shall be forwarded by the Secretary of Agriculture to the President for submission to the Congress.

MANAGEMENT OF THE CORPORATION

SEC. 4. (a) The management of the Corporation shall be vested in a Board of Directors (hereinafter called the "Board"), which shall consist of the Secre

tary of Agriculture, who shall be Chairman, and ten other members who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Of the directors so appointed, five shall be appointed to devote their full time to the business of the Corporation (such directors being hereinafter referred to as "full-time directors"), and five shall be appointed to serve part time in the same manner as directors of corporations generally (such directors being hereinafter referred to as "part-time directors"). The directors appointed by the President shall be so chosen that there will be represented on the Board persons of demonstrated ability and of experience in the various fields of activity with which the Corporation is concerned. One of such directors shall have been connected with an agricultural cooperative organization for a period of not less than ten years prior to his appointment, one shall have been engaged in the private grain business for a period of not less than ten years prior to his appointment. one shall have been engaged in the cotton business for a period of not less than ten years prior to his appointment, and one shall have been engaged in actual farming operations for a period of not less than ten years prior to his appointment. None of the directors, except the Chairman, shall hold any other office or employment under the United States. The full-time directors shall each receive compensation at the rate of $15,000 per annum, and the part-time directors shall each receive $50 for each day spent in the business of the Corporation, together with their necessary traveling expenses and a per diem not exceeding $10 in lieu of subsistence while engaged in the business of the Corporation.

(b) The directors first appointed after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be appointed for terms as follows: one full-time and one part-time director shall be appointed for a term of one year, one full-time and one-part-time director for a term of two years, one full-time and one part-time director for a term of three years, one full-time and one part-time director for a term of four years, and one full-time and one part-time director for a term of five years. Their successors shall be appointed for terms of five years each, but in any case a person appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member whom he succeeds. If the Corporation ceases to have succession before the term of any director would otherwise expire, the term of that director shall end when the Corporation ceases to have succession.

(c) Seven members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum of the Board for the transaction of business of the Board. The Board shall meet at least once in every calendar month.

(d) The Board shall have power, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Act, to prescribe, amend, and repeal bylaws, rules, and regulations (1) governing the manner in which the business of the Corporation shall be conducted and its powers exercised, (2) defining the functions and duties of the executive officers of the Corporation, and (3) determining and prescribing the manner in which obligations of the Corporation shall be incurred and its expenditures allowed and paid. The Board may require bonds of any officer or employee of the Corporation and fix the penalties thereof. The Corporation may pay the premium of any such bonds.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

SEC. 5. There shall be the following executive officers of the Corporation: a president (who shall be selected from among the full-time directors), not more than four vice presidents (who may be selected from among the full-time directors), a comptroller, and a secretary. The executive officers shall be appointed by the Board and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. They shall receive such compensation for their services as the Board may prescribe, except that a full-time director shall not receive any additional compensation by reason of his service as an executive officer. The executive officers of the Corporation shall not engage in any other business, vocation, or employment.

CAPITAL OF CORPORATION

SEC. 6. (a) As of 12: 01 A. M., July 1, 1948, the Corporation shall issue a receipt to the Secretary of the Treasury for the value of the net assets transferred to the Corporation under the provisions of section 13 hereof; such receipt shall be evidence of the ownership of the Corporation by the United States of America. The amount of the receipt shall be increased or decreased by any subsequent changes in the investment of the United States Government on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles. Assets, the ownership of which hereafter may be transferred to the Corporation without cost, or for consideration clearly not com

mensurate with the value received, shall be included in the investment of the United States Government at net values to be determined by agreement between the Corporation and the Director of the Bureau of the Budget. Any income earned by the Corporation shall be included in the investment and any losses incurred, for which no specific appropriation has been made, shall reduce the investment.

(b) The Corporation shall pay interest periodically on the investment of the United States Government therein at a rate calculated annually in advance by the Treasury as required to reimburse it for its cost. For the purpose of computing interest any income earned by the Corporation shall be considered as part of the Government's investment at the beginning of the fiscal year following that in which earned, and any losses incurred, for which no specific appropriation has been made, shall be considered as reducing the Government's investment at the beginning of the fiscal year following that in which incurred.

(c) The Corporation is authorized to use in the conduct of its business all its funds and other assets, and all funds and other assets which may hereafter be paid, transferred, or allocated to, or otherwise acquired by it.

(d) The Corporation shall pay into the Treasury the amount of its funds, from whatever source derived, in excess of the current requirements of the Corporation. Such payments shall be applied, first, to the liquidation of the receipt evidencing ownership until it has been reduced to $1.00, after which any payments shall be considered as dividends and covered into miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury.

(e) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury, to be paid over to the Corporation from time to time as may be necessary to cover losses of the Corporation, such sums as are estimated in advance for such purpose in the Corporation's budgets submitted in accordance with the Government Corporation Control Act and approved by the Congress.

EXISTING LAWS

SEC. 7. All provisions of Federal law applicable to the Commodity Credit Corporation existing under the laws of Delaware shall, insofar as they are not inconsistent with this Act, be applicable to the Commodity Credit Corporation of the United States created by this Act. As of the close of June 30, 1948, Commodity Credit Corporation existing under the laws of Delaware shall cease to be an agency of the United States.

SUITS AGAINST CORPORATION

SEC. 8. (a) Any suit, action, or proceeding against the Corporation shall be brought in the District of Columbia or in the district within which the plaintiff resides or transacts business, and for such purpose the process of the district court of such district shall run to and may be served at any place in the United States. Except as provided in subsection (c), in actions at law, either party shall have the right to a trial by jury.

(b) No suit, action, or proceeding may be maintained against the Corporation unless it shall have been instituted within five years after the cause of action accrued.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Federal Tort Claims Act shall be applicable to the Corporation.

COOPERATION WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES

SEC. 9. The Corporation may, with the consent of the agency concerned, accept and utilize, on a compensated or uncompensated basis, the officers, employees, services, facilities, and information of any agency of the Federal Government, or of any State, the District of Columbia, any Territory or possession, or any political subdivision thereof. The Corporation may allot or transfer to such agencies as the Corporation may request to assist it in the conduct of its corporate business any of the funds available to the Corporation for administrative expenses and necessary to reimburse such agencies for their costs. The personnel and facilities of the Corporation may, with the consent of the Corporation, be utilized on a reimbursable basis by any agency of the Federal Government in the performance of any part or all of the functions of such agency: Provided, That when the Corporation is so utilized the status of the Corporation as agent and arrangements for complete reimbursement shall be recognized and provided by

contract: Provided further, That in no case shall the Corporation undertake any activity for such agency unless the agency is authorized by law to undertake such activity and has funds available for such purpose.

UTILIZATION OF ASSOCIATIONS AND TRADE FACILITIES

SEC. 10. The Corporation may, in the conduct of its business, utilize on a contract or fee basis, committees or associations of producers, and trade and business organizations and facilities.

INTEREST OF MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESS

SEC. 11. The provisions of section 1 of the Act of February 27, 1877, as amended (41 U. S. C., 1940 edition, 22), shall apply to all contracts or agreements of the Corporation, except contracts or agreements of a kind which the Corporation may enter into with farmers participating in a program of the Corporation.

CRIMES AND OFFENSES

SEC. 12. (a) Whoever makes any statement knowing it to be false, or whoever willfully overvalues any security, for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of the Corporation, or for the purpose of obtaining for himself or another money, property, or anything of value, under this Act, or under any other Act applicable to the Corporation, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

(b) Whoever, being connected in any capacity with the Corporation or any of its programs, (i) embezzles, abstracts, purloins, or willfully misapplies any money, funds, securities, or other things of value, whether belonging to the Corporation or pledged or otherwise entrusted to it; or (ii) with intent to defraud the Corporation, or any other body, politic or corporate, or any individual, or to deceive any officer, auditor, or examiner of the Corporation, makes any false entry in any book, report, or statement of, or to, the Corporation, or draws any order, or issues, puts forth or assigns any note or other obligation or draft, mortgage, judgment, or decree thereof; or (iii) with intent to defraud the Corporation, participates or shares in, or receives directly or indirectly any money, profit, property, or benefits through any transaction, loan, commission, contract, or an other act of the Corporation, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both

(c) Whoever shall willfully steal, conceal, remove, dispose of, or convert to his own use or to that of another any property owned or held by, or mortgaged or pledged to, the Corporation, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

(d) Whoever conspires with another to accomplish any of the acts made unlawful by the preceding provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof. be subject to the same fine or imprisonment, or both, as is applicable in the case of conviction for doing such unlawful acts.

(e) All the general penal statutes relating to crimes and offenses against the United States shall apply with respect to the Corporation, its property, money, contracts and agreements, employees, and operations: Provided, That such general penal statutes shall not apply to the extent that they relate to crimes and offenses punishable under subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d), of this section: Provided further, That sections 114 and 115 of the Act of March 4, 1909, as amended (18 U. S. C., 1940 edition, 204, 205) shall not apply to contracts or agreements of a kind which the Corporation may enter into with farmers participating in a program of the Corporation.

TRANSFER OF ASSETS OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, A DELAWARE CORPORATION

SEC. 13. The assets, funds, property, and records of Commodity Credit Corporation existing under the laws of Delaware shall be transferred to the Corporation (such transfer to be effective as of the close of June 30, 1948), and the Secretary of Agriculture, representing the United States as the sole owner of the capital stock of Commodity Credit Corporation existing under the laws of

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Delaware, is hereby authorized and directed to institute or cause to be instituted such proceedings as are required for the dissolution of said corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware. The costs of such dissolution of said corporation shall be borne by the Corporation. Upon such transfer the rights, privileges, and powers, and the duties and liabilities of Commodity Credit Corporation existing under the laws of Delaware, in respect to any contract, agreement, loan, account, or other obligation shall become the rights, privileges, and powers, and the duties and liabilities, respectively, of the Corporation, and the enforceable claims of or against Commodity Credit Corporation existing under the laws of Delaware, shall become the claims of or against, and may be enforced by or against the Corporation.

PART II. STATEMENT ON A BILL TO PROVIDE A FEDERAL CHARTER FOR THE COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION

A. ANALYSIS OF PROPOSED CHARTER SUBMITTED HEREWITH

The proposed charter submitted herewith would create a Federal corporation with corporate succession until July 1, 1950, only. Management of the Corporation would be vested in a Board of Directors of 11 members. The Secretary of Agriculture would be Chairman of the Board and the 10 remaining members would be appointed by the President by and with the consent of the Senate. Five of these would serve as full-time directors. To provide representation for some segments of agriculture, provision is made that among the Directors there be appointed a farmer, a representative of an agricultural cooperative organization, a representative from the private grain trade, and a representative from the cotton trade.

Section 3 of the charter submitted herewith sets forth the purposes of the Corporation and the powers that it may exercise. The section provides that in carrying out these purposes and in exercising the enumerated powers, the Corporation shall act only to the extent that its activities have been approved in annual budgets and in accordance with law. This section further provides that the Corporation shall use the usual and customary channels of private trade; that in conducting its business the Corporation shall not discriminate either in favor of or against any form of business enterprise; and that the Corporation shall not acquire real property except that it may lease office space for the necessary conduct of its business.

Section 8 provides that in actions at law to which the Corporation may be a party, either party to the action may claim a trial by jury.

Other sections of the bill incorporate the recommendations of the General Accounting Office submitted to this committee on January 20 and February 26.

B. THE CORPORATION SHOULD BE GRANTED CORPORATE SUCCESSION UNTIL JUNE 30, 1950, ONLY

Three compelling reasons demand this:

(a) The General Accounting Office has pointed out that the activities of the Corporation are now governed by a maze of statutes, Executive orders, and directives. In 1946, as of the date of hearings before the House Committee on Appropriations, then considering the Government Corporation appropriations for 1947, Commodity Credit's activities were affected by no less than 104 public laws, 23 Executive orders, and 3 Presidential proclamations. In the report of those hearings, set out in fine print, and covering 59 pages of the text, are the corporate charter, the Corporation's bylaws, and pertinent parts of the governing statutes, Executive orders, and directives.

An example of the confusion and inability to fix responsibility that result from this maze of statutes, Executive orders, and directives is found in the operation of the act of July 15, 1947, Public Law 188, the Second Decontrol Act of 1947. That act specifically charges the Secretary of Commerce with the responsibility of controlling all exports. Yet on September 8, 1947, the Department of Commerce took the stand that the control of the export of agricultural commodities rested with the Secretary of Agriculture. This stand was based on two Executive orders. Both predated the act of July 15, 1947. Neither was based on the export control law. Both appear to be based on provisions of the Second War Powers Act repealed early in 1947. In this instance, the maze of statutes, orders, and directives was in fact enabling one branch of the executive department to avoid a statutory responsibility imposed by Congress.