to pay the premium charges for insurance shall cease and the mortgagee shall be entitled to receive the benefits of the insurance as provided in this subsection, except that in such event the 1 per centum deduction, set out in (i) hereof, shall not apply. If, during the time the mortgage is insured and before the mortgagee has received the benefits of the insurance, the United States acquires, or commences eminent domain proceedings to acquire, all or a substantial part (as defined by the Commissioner) of the mortgaged property for the use of the National Military Establishment, the mortgagee may, at its election, within such time and in accordance with such regulations as the Commissioner may prescribe, receive the benefits of the insurance as provided in this subsection, notwithstanding the fact that the mortgage may not be in default.

"(e) Debentures issued under this title shall be in such form and denominations in multiples of $50, shall be subject to such terms and conditions, and shall include such provisions for redemption, if any, as may be prescribed by the Commissioner with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, and may be in coupon or registered form. Any difference between the value of the mortgage determined as herein provided and the aggregate face value of the debentures issued, not to exceed $50, shall be adjusted by the payment of cash by the Commissioner to the mortgagee from the Military Housing Insurance Fund.

"(f) Debentures issued under this title shall be executed in the name of the Military Housing Insurance Fund as obligor, shall be signed by the Commissioner, by either his written or engraved signature, and shall be negotiable. All such debentures shall be dated as of the date of default as determined in accordance with subsection (d) of this section, and shall bear interest from such date at a rate determined by the Commissioner with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, at the time the mortgage was accepted for insurance, but not to exceed 3 per centum per annum, payable semiannually on the 1st day of January and the 1st day of July of each year, and shall mature ten years after the date thereof. Such debentures shall be exempt, both as to principal and interest, from all taxation (except surtaxes, estate, inheritance, and gift taxes) now or hereafter imposed by any Territory, dependency, or possession of the United States or by the District of Columbia, or by any State, county, municipality, or local taxing authority. They shall be paid out of the Military Housing Insurance Fund, which shall be primarily liable therefor, and they shall be fully and unconditionally guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States, and such guaranty shall be expressed on the face of the debentures. In the event the Military Housing Insurance Fund fails to pay upon demand, when due, the principal of or interest on any debentures so guaranteed, the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to the holders the amount thereof which is hereby authorized to be appropriated, and thereupon to the extent of the amount so paid the Secretary of the Treasury shall succeed to all the rights of the holders of such debentures.

"(g) The certificate of claim issued by the Commissioner to any mortgagee in connection with the insurance of mortgages under this title shall be for an amount determined in accordance with subsections

(e) and (f) of section 604 of this Act, except that any amount remaining after the payment of the full amount under the certificate of claim shall be retained by the Commissioner and credited to the Military Housing Insurance Fund.

"(h) The provisions of section 207 (k) and section 207 (1) of this Act shall be applicable to mortgages insured under this title and to property acquired by the Commissioner hereunder, except that as applied to such mortgages and property (1) all references in such sections to the 'Housing Fund' shall be construed to refer to the 'Military Housing Insurance Fund', and (2) the reference in section 207 (k) to 'subsection (g)' shall be construed to refer to 'subsection (d)' of this section 803.

"(i) The Commissioner shall also have power to insure under this title or titles II or VI any mortgage executed in connection with the sale by him of any property acquired under this title without regard to any limit as to eligibility, time or aggregate amount contained in this title or titles II or VI.

"(j) Any contract of insurance executed by the Commissioner under this title shall be conclusive evidence of the eligibility of the mortgage for insurance, and the validity of any contract of insurance so executed shall be incontestable in the hands of an approved mortgagee from the date of the execution of such contract, except for fraud or misrepresentation on the part of such approved mortgagee.

"(k) In order to assure an adequate market for mortgages insured under this title, the powers of the Federal National Mortgage Association and of any other Federal corporation or other Federal agency hereafter established, to purchase, service, or sell any mortgages, or partial interests therein, may be utilized in connection with mortgages insured under this title.

"SEC. 804. (a) Moneys in the Military Housing Insurance Fund not needed for current operations under this title shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States to the credit of the Military Housing Insurance Fund, or invested in bonds or other obligations of, or in bonds or other obligations guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the United States. The Commissioner may, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, purchase in the open market debentures issued under the provisions of this title. Such purchases shall be made at a price which will provide an investment yield of not less than the yield obtainable from other investments authorized by this section. Debentures so purchased shall be cancelled and not reissued,

"(b) Premium charges, adjusted premium charges, and appraisal and other fees, received on account of the insurance of any mortgage insured under this title, the receipts derived from any such mortgage or claim assigned to the Commissioner and from any property acquired by the Commissioner, and all earnings on the assets of the Military Housing Insurance Fund, shall be credited to the Military Housing Insurance Fund. The principal of and interest paid and to be paid on debentures issued in exchange for any mortgage or property insured under this title, cash adjustments, and expenses incurred in the handling of such mortgages or property and in the foreclosure and collection of mortgages and claims assigned to the Commissioner under this title, shall be charged to the Military Housing Insurance Fund.

"SEC. 805. Whenever the Secretary of the Army, Navy, or Air Force

determines that it is desirable to lease real property within the meaning of the Act of August 5, 1947 (61 Stat. 774), to effectuate the purposes of this title, the Secretary concerned is authorized to lease such property under the authority of said Act upon such terms and conditions as in his opinion will best serve the national interest without regard to the limitations imposed by said Act in respect to the term or duration of the lease, and the power vested in the Secretary of the Department concerned to revoke any lease made pursuant to said Act in the event of a national emergency declared by the President shall not apply. Whenever the Secretary of the Army, Navy, or Air Force determines it to be in the interest of national defense, he is hereby authorized to sell, transfer, and convey at fair value (as determined by him), for use under this title, all or any right, title, and interest in any real property under his jurisdiction, notwithstanding any limitations or requirements of law with respect to the use or disposition of such property. The authority conferred by this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other power or authority of the Secretary of the Army, Navy, or Air Force.

"SEC. 806. The second sentence of section 214 of the National Housing Act, as amended, relating to housing in the Territory of Alaska, shall not apply to mortgages insured under this title on property in said Territory.

"SEC. 807. Nothing in this title shall be construed to exempt any real property acquired and held by the Commissioner under this title from taxation by any State or political subdivision thereof, to the same extent, according to its value, as other real property is taxed.

"SEC. 808. The Commissioner is authorized and directed to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this title."

SEC. 2. Sections 1 and 5 of the National Housing Act, as amended, are further amended by striking out the words "titles II, III, VI, and VII" each time they appear and inserting in lieu thereof the words "titles II, III, VI, VII, and VIII".

SEC. 3. Section 212 (a) of said Act, as amended, is further amended by striking out the words "effective date of this section," and inserting in lieu thereof the words "effective date of this section, or under title VIII,".

SEC. 4. Section 301 (a) of said Act, as amended, is further amended

(1) By striking out of paragraph (1) the words "under title II, or title VI" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "under title II, title VI, or title VIII"; and

(2) By striking out the period and adding the following proviso at the end of paragraph (1) (E): ": Provided, That such aggregate amount paid by the Association shall not include any amount paid by it for a mortgage or mortgages which are insured under title VIII of this Act; and".

SEC. 5. (a) Section 1 of the Act of July 30, 1947 (61 Stat. 675), is hereby amended to read as follows:

"The Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force, or their designees within their respective establishments, are authorized to sell and contract to sell, under such regulations and at such prices and for such periods of time, as the

Secretary concerned may prescribe, to purchasers within, or in the immediate vicinity of, naval or military activities, such utilities and related services as are not otherwise available from local private or public sources.

(b) Section 2 of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 2. The utilities and related services authorized to be sold under this Act are: (1) Electric power, (2) steam, (3) compressed air, (4) water, (5) sewage and garbage disposal services, (6) gas (natural, manufactured, or mixed), (7) ice, (8) mechanical refrigeration, and (9) telephone service; and the proceeds received for any such utilities and related services sold pursuant to the authority of this Act shall be credited to the appropriation or appropriations currently available for the supply of such services: Provided, That any utility or related service provided and sold under the authority of this Act shall not be so provided unless it is determined that the utility or related service is not at the time of such sale or contract to sell available from a private or other public source, and that the furnishing thereof is in the interest of national defense or in the public interest.

(c) Section 3 of said Act is hereby amended by deleting the words "The Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of War" and substituting therefor the words "The Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force".

(d) Section 5 of said Act is hereby repealed. Approved August 8, 1949.

[PUBLIC LAW 278-81ST CONGRESS]
[CHAPTER 524-1ST SESSION]

[S. J. Res. 109]

JOINT RESOLUTION

To amend the National Housing Act, as amended.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the National Housing Act, as amended, is hereby amended

(1) by striking out of the first sentence of section 2 (a) "September 1, 1949" and inserting in lieu thereof "November 1, 1949".

(2) by striking out of the proviso in section 203 (a) "$5,300,000,000" and inserting in lieu thereof "$5,500,000,000" and by striking out of such proviso "$5,500,000,000" and inserting in lieu thereof "$6,000,000,000".

(3) by striking out of the second proviso in section 603 (a) "August 31, 1949" in each place where it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof "October 31, 1949”.

Approved August 30, 1949.

(327)