in the exercise of its functions as such agency, including the making of loans on agricultural commodities: Provided, however, That the Corporation shall at all times maintain complete and accurate books of account and shall determine the procedures to be followed in the transaction of the corporate business.

(b) The financial transactions of the Corporation beginning with the period from July 1, 1944, shall be audited by the General Accounting Office in accordance with the principles applicable to commercial corporate transactions and under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States: Provided, That the Corporation shall continue to have the authority to make final and conclusive settlement and adjustment of any claims by or against the Corporation or the accounts of its fiscal officers: Provided further, That a report of such audit shall be made to the Congress, together with such recommendations as the Comptroller General may deem advisable, and that each such report shall cover 2 period of one fiscal year: Provided further, That a copy of each such report shall be furnished the Secretary of the Treasury and that the findings contained therein shall be considered by the Secretary in appraising the assets and liabilities and determining the net worth of the Corporation under sections 713a-1 and 713a-2 of this title: Provided, however, That nothing in this section shall be construed as modifying legislation. authorizing the use of funds of the Corporation for administrative expenses and requiring accountability therefor.

(c) The expenses of the audit as provided in this section may be paid up to and including June 30, 1946, from moneys advanced therefor by the Corporation, or from any appropriation or appropriations for the General Accounting Office, and appropriations so used shall be reimbursed promptly by the Corporation as billed by the Comptroller General: Provided, That any such advances or reimbursements shall be considered as nonadministrative expenses of the Corporation. For the purpose of such audit the representatives of the General Accounting Office shall have access to all papers, books, files, accounts, financial records, warehouses, and all other things, property, and places belonging to or under the control of or used or employed by the Corporation and shall be afforded full facilities for verifying transactions with the balances in depositaries and with fiscal agents: Provided further, That the certified financial reports and schedules of the fiscal agents of the Corporation based on commercial audits in the usual course of business may be accepted by the General Accounting Office in its audit of the financial transactions of the Corporation as final and not subject to further audit verification.

(d) Any examination of the corporate records shall be made at the place or places where such records are normally kept in the transaction of the corporate business, and the Corporation shall retain custody of contracts, youchers, schedules, or other financial or accounting documents, either original or duplicate, relating to its nonadministrative transactions. (Jan. 31, 1935, ch. 2, 7, 49 Stat. 4; Jan. 26, 1937, ch. 6, § 2, (a), 50 Stat. 5; Mar. 4, 1939, ch. 5, § 1(a), 53 Stat. 510; July 1, 1941, ch. 270,

650673°-46-46

§ 1, 55 Stat. 498; July 16, 1943, ch. 241, § 1, 57 Stat. 566, eff. June 30, 1943; Dec. 23, 1943, ch. 383, 57 Stat. 643; Feb. 28, 1944, ch. 71, §§ 1, 3, 58 Stat. 105, 106, eff. Feb. 17, 1944.)

AMENDMENTS

1944-Act Feb. 28, 1944, §§ 1, 3, cited to text, amended section, by substituting "June 30, 1945," for "February 17, 1944," and by making the first par. subsec. (a), striking period at the end and inserting colon in lieu thereof, inserting proviso, and adding subsecs. (b), (c), and (d).

1943-Act Dec. 23, 1943, cited to text, substituted "February 17, 1944” for "December 31, 1943."

Act July 16, 1943, cited to text, eff. June 30, 1943, substituted "December 31, 1943", for "June 30, 1943."

1941-Act July 1, 1941, cited to text, substituted "June 30, 1943" for "June 30, 1941" in first sentence.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Amendment of first sentence of section by section 1 of act Feb. 28, 1944, cited to text, was made effective as of Feb. 17, 1944. Further amendment of section by section 3 of act Feb. 28, 1944, cited to text, effective Feb. 28, 1944.

CROSS REFERENCES

Federal reserve banks as depositaries and fiscal agents for corporation, see section 395 of Title 12, Banks and Banking.

The Commodity Credit Corporation was consolidated with other agencies into the Administration of Food Production and Distribution within Department of Agriculture by Ex. Ord. No. 9322, Mar. 26, 1943, set out in nɔte under section 601 of Appendix to Title 50, War.

§ 713a. Same; increase of capital stock.-The Secretary of Agriculture and the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration are hereby authorized and directed to take all necessary steps to increase the capital stock of the Commodity Credit Corporation by $97,000,000; and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation is hereby authorized and directed to acquire $97,000,000 of the nonassessable capital stock of the Commodity Credit Corporation: Provided, That nothing herein shall be construed to increase the amount of notes, bonds, debentures, and other such obligations which the Reconstruction Finance Corporation is authorized and empowered under existing law to issue and to have outstanding at any one time. (Apr. 10, 1936, ch. 168, 49 Stat. 1191.)

§ 713a-1. Same; annual appraisal of assets; restoration of capital impairment.-As of the 31st of March in each year and as soon as possible thereafter, beginning with March 31, 1938, an appraisal of all the assets and liabilities of the Commodity Credit Corporation for the purpose of determining the net worth of the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury. The value of assets shall, insofar as possible, be determined on the basis of the cost, including not more than one year of carrying charges, of such assets to the Corporation, or the average market prices of such assets for a period of twelve months ending with March 31 of each year, whichever is less; and a report of any such appraisal shall be submitted to the President as soon as possible after it has been made. In the event that any such appraisal shall establish that the net worth of the Commodity Credit Corporation is less than $100,000,000, the Secretary of the Treasury, on behalf of the United States, shall restore the amount of such capital impairment by a contribution

to the Commodity Credit Corporation in the amount of such impairment. To enable the Secretary of the Treasury to make such payment to the Commodity Credit Corporation, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated annually, commencing with the fiscal year 1938, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, an amount equal to any capital impairment found to exist by virtue of any appraisal as provided herein. (As amended July 1, 1941, ch. 270, § 2, 55 Stat. 498.)

§ 713a-2. Same; capital excess; deposit in Treasury for retirement of public debt. In the event that any appraisal pursuant to section 713a-1 of this title shall establish that the net worth of the Commodity Credit Corporation is in excess of $100,000,000, such excess shall, as soon as practicable after such appraisal, be deposited in the Treasury by the Commodity Credit Corporation and shall be credited to miscellaneous receipts. The Secretary of the Treasury is directed, as soon as practicable, to use any amounts so deposited to retire an equivalent amount of the public debt, which amount shall be in addition to any other amount required to be used for such purpose. (Mar. 8, 1938, ch. 44, § 2, 52 Stat. 107.)

§ 713a-3. Same; transfer to United States of stock held by Secretary of Agriculture, Governor of Farm Credit Administration, and Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The Secretary of Agriculture, the Governor of the Farm Credit Administration, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation are hereby authorized and directed to transfer to the United States all right, title, and interest in and to the capital stock of the Commodity Credit Corporation which each of them now holds. All rights of the United States arising out of the ownership of such capital stock shall be exercised by the President, or by such officer, officers, agency, or agencies as he shall designate, and in such manner as he shall prescribe. (Mar. 8, 1938, ch. 44, § 3, 52 Stat. 107.)

§ 713a-4. Same; obligations of corporation; issuance; sales; purchase; redemption; etc.-With the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commodity Credit Corporation is authorized to issue and have outstanding at any one time, bonds, notes, debentures, and other similar obligations in an aggregate amount not exceeding $3,000,000,000. Such obligations shall be in such forms and denominations, shall have such maturities, shall bear such rates of interest, shall be subject to such terms and conditions, and shall be issued in such manner and sold at such prices as may be prescribed by the Commodity Credit Corporation, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. Such obligations shall be fully and unconditionally guaranteed both as to interest and principal by the United States, and such guaranty shall be expressed on the face thereof, and such obligations shall be lawful investments and may be accepted as security for all fiduciary, trust, and public funds the investment or deposit of which shall be under the authority or control of the United States or any officer or officers thereof. In the event that the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be unable to pay upon demand, when due, the principal of, or interest on, such obligations, the Secretary of the

Treasury shall pay to the holder the amount thereof which is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and thereupon to the extent of the amount so paid the Secretary of the Treasury shall succeed to all rights of the holders of such obligations. The Secretary of the Treasury, in his discretion, is authorized to purchase any obligations of the Commodity Credit Corporation issued hereunder, and for such purpose the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to use as a public-debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of any securities hereafter issued under sections 745, 747, 752, 752a, 753, 754, 754a, 754b, 757, 757b, 757c, 758, 760, 764-766, 769, 771, 773, 774 (2), and 801 of Title 31, and the purpose for which securities may be issued under such sections, are extended to include any purchases of the Commodity Credit Corporation's obligations hereunder. The Secretary of the Treasury may at any time sell any of the obligations of the Commodity Credit Corporation acquired by him under this section. All redemptions, purchases, and sales by the Secretary of the Treasury of the obligations of the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be treated as public-debt transactions of the United States. No such obligations shall be issued in excess of the assets of the Commodity Credit Corporation, including the assets to be obtained from the proceeds of such obligations, but a failure to comply with this provision shall not invalidate the obligations or the guaranty of the same. The Commodity Credit Corporation shall have power to purchase such obligations in the open market at any time and at any price. (As amended July 1, 1941, ch. 270, § 3, 55 Stat. 498; July 16, 1943, ch. 241, § 2, 57 Stat. 566.)

§ 713a-5. Same; exemption of corporation and its obligations from taxation.-Bonds, notes, debentures, and other similar obligations issued by the Commodity Credit Corporation under the provisions of sections 713a-1 to 713a-5 of this title shall be deemed and held to be instrumentalities of the Government of the United States, and as such they and the income derived therefrom shall be exempt from Federal, State, municipal, and local taxation (except surtaxes, estate, inheritance, and gift taxes). The Commodity Credit Corporation, including its franchise, its capital, reserves, and surplus, and its income shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by the United States, by any Territory, dependency, or possession thereof, or by any State, county, municipality, or local taxing authority; except that any real property of the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be subject to State, Territorial, county, municipal, or local taxation to the same extent according to its value as other real property is taxed. (Mar. 8, 1938, ch. 44, § 5, 52 Stat. 108.)

CROSS REFERENCES

United States obligations and evidences of ownership issued after March 27, 1942, as subject to Federal taxation, see section 742a of Title 31, Money and Finance.

§ 713a-6. Sale of surplus agricultural commodities to foreign governments. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commodity Credit Corporation, with the approval of the Presi

dent, is authorized to sell surplus agricultural commodities, acquired by such Corporation through its loan operations, to foreign governments on the condition that, except for rotation to prevent deterioration, such commodities shall be held in reserve by such governments for a period of not less than five years from the date of acquisition, and shall not be disposed of unless a war or war emergency results in a serious interruption of normal supplies of such commodities: Provided, That under this section no concession below the prevailing world market price for the unrestricted use of such commodities, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture, shall be granted, in consideration of the obligation assumed by such governments to hold such commodities in reserve as required hereinbefore, in excess of a maximum amount equal to the average carrying charges, as estimated by the Secretary of Agriculture, that would be incurred if such commodities should be held for an additional eighteen months' period by the Commodity Credit Corporation. In determining specific cotton to be sold under this section, the determination shall be made by sampling and selection at the place where the cotton is stored on the date of signing any sales agreement or contract under this section, and no cotton shall be sold under any such sales agreement or contract which, after such date, is transported to any other place and there sampled and selected: Provided further, That in case of a sale, settlement must be made within sixty days after delivery and not more than five hundred thousand bales of cotton shall be sold upon the terms and conditions provided in this section. (Aug. 11, 1939, ch. 701, 53 Stat. 1418.)

§ 713a-7. Exchange of surplus agricultural commodities for reserve stocks of strategic materials. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, has concluded a treaty involving the exchange of surplus agricultural commodities produced in the United States which are held under loans made or made available by the Commodity Credit Corporation for stocks of strategic and critical materials produced abroad, the Commodity Credit Corporation is authorized, upon terms and conditions prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture, to accept such strategic and critical materials in exchange for such surplus agricultural commodities; and for the purpose of such exchange 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 shall determine which materials are strategic and critical and the quantity and quality of such materials. In order to carry out the provisions of this section, the Commodity Credit Corporation is authorized, upon terms and conditions prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture, to procure, convey, transport, handle, store, maintain, or rotate such surplus agricultural commodities, and such reserve stocks of strategic and critical materials, as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section.

The Commodity Credit Corporation is authorized and directed to transfer to warehouses in or near cotton manufacturing centers in New England not to exceed three hundred thousand bales of cotton, to which it now has title or may hereafter acquire title,