SALARIES

SEC. 2. Each appointed commissioner shall receive compensation at the rate of $10,000 per annum, payable monthly, together with necessary traveling expenses and expenses incurred for subsistence or per diem allowance in lieu thereof, within the limitation prescribed by law, while away from his official residence in the performance of duties required by this act. The commissioners ex officio shal] receive no additional compensation for their services as commissioners.

PERSONNEL AND EXPENDITURES

SEC. 3. The commission may (1) without regard to the civil service laws, appoint a chief engineer who shall receive a salary at the rate of $pes annum, and (2) appoint, without regard to the civil service laws and, without regard to the classification Act of 1923, fix the salaries of such technical assistantr and experts and such other officers, employees, and agents, and make such expenditures (including expenditures for personal services and rent at the seat of government and elsewhere, for law books, books of reference, and periodicals, and for printing and binding), as may be necessary for the execution of the functions vested in the commission, and as may be provided for by the Congress from time to time. All expenditures of the commission shall be allowed and paid upon the presentation of itemized vouchers therefor approved by the chair

man.

HIGHWAY SURVEY

SEC. 4. (a) The commission is authorized to make preliminary examinations and surveys with a view to the construction of a post road and military highway (hereinafter referred to as the "central highway") from a point on or near the Atlantic coast to a point on or near the Pacific coast (such points to be designated by the commission), such central highway to be as direct as practicable between such points, except where, in the judgment of the commission, physical conditions, excessive cost, or other reasons render deviation necessary.

(b) The right of way for such central highway shall be not less than five hundred feet in width, the highway to be located wherever most desirable on the right of way.

(c) No part of such central highway shall be located within any municipality having a population, as shown by the latest available census, of two thousand five hundred or more, except where the houses average within a distance of one mile more than two hundred feet apart.

(d) The commission may select as part of the route for the central highway any highway or portion thereof which has been constructed (or is under construction) by or in behalf of the Federal Government or a State or political subdivision thereof.

REPORT

SEC. 5. The commission shall submit to the Congress within two years after the passage of this act a preliminary report of the examinations and surveys, and may make from time to time such additional reports as the commission may deem advisable. As soon as practicable the commission shall submit to the Congress a final report together with an estimate of the total cost of the proposed central highway and a plan therefor in such detail as may be practicable.

STUDY AND REPORT ON HIGHWAYS TO CONNECT WITH CENTRAL HIGHWAY

SEC. 6. With a view to providing for a system of highways connecting with the central highway, the commission is authorized and directed to make a careful and thorough study of existing routes and highways, for such purpose making use of all available surveys and investigations heretofore made, and to make a complete report to Congress, on or before the date of the submission of the final report on the central highway, upon the advisability and practicability of providing for the construction of the following additional highways:

(1) A highway from a point on or near the northern boundary of the State of Maine following a route as direct as practicable to a point in the southern part of the State of Florida; (2) a highway from a point on or near the northern boundary of the State of Washington following a route as direct as practicable to a point in the southern part of the State of California; (3) a highway from such southern point in California through the Southern States to connect with

the eastern seaboard highway; (4) a highway from a point on the central highway as near longitude 100 degrees as may be practicable, northwest to connect with the western seaboard highway in the State of Washington; and (5) a highway from a point on the central highway as near longitude 95 degrees as may be practicable, south to connect with the highway through the Southern States.

APPROPRIATION

SEC. 7. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $5,000,000, to be available until expended for expenses incurred in the administration of the functions vested in the commission by this act.

TITLE II. FEDERAL HIGHWAY CORPORATION

ORGANIZATION

SEC. 201. Upon acceptance by act of Congress of the final report and plan of the commission submitted pursuant to section 5, the commission shall be deemed to be converted into a corporation which is hereby declared to be a Federal governmental instrumentality under the name of "The Federal Highway Corporation" (referred to in this act as the "corporation").

SEC. 202. (a) The Secretary of War, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Postmaster General, and the six appointed members of the commission in office at the time of such conversion shall constitute the board of directors of the corporation (referred to in this act as the "board"). Any vacancies in the office of an appointed director shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments to the commission. Each appointed director shall receive from the corporation a salary of $10,000 per annum, together with necessary traveling expenses and expenses incurred for subsistence or per diem allowance in lieu thereof, within the limitations prescribed by law, while away from his official residence in the performance of duties required by this act. The Secretary of War, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Postmaster General shall receive no additional compensation for their services as directors. The board shall elect a chairman from among its members.

(b) The terms of office of the six appointed directors first taking office shall expire, as designated by the President at the time of the incorporation, two at the end of the third year, two at the end of the sixth year, and two at the end of the ninth year after the date of the incorporation. The terms of office of all successors shall expire nine years after the expiration of the terms for which their predecessors were appointed; but any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of his predecessor.

(c) The board shall meet at such times and places as the board may designate. (d) Vacancies in the board shall not impair the power of the remaining directors to execute the functions of the board. Six directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the corporation.

(e) The board shall direct the exercise of all the functions of the corporation.

CAPITAL STOCK

SEC. 203. The authorized capital stock of the corporation shall be such amount as Congress fixes in the act accepting the report and plan of the commission submitted pursuant to section 5, and all of such amount is hereby subscribed by the United States. Such subscription shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury, within appropriations made therefor, in amounts of $5,000,000 or multiples thereof, upon call from time to time by the corporation, and after thirty days' notice of each call to the Secretary of the Treasury. Upon any such payment a receipt therefor shall be issued by the corporation to the United States and delivered to the Secretary of the Treasury, and shall be evidence of the stock ownership of the United States.

ISSUANCE OF SECURITIES

SEC. 204. The corporation may borrow money and issue its notes, bonds, or other evidence of indebtedness therefor, except that the corporation shall not have power to issue or obligate itself in an amount of notes, bonds, or other

evidences of indebtedness outstanding at any time in excess of 75 per centum of the value, as determined from time to time by the Secretary of the Treasury, of the real estate comprising the right of way for the central highway. The rate of interest, the maturity, and the other terms of such notes, bonds, or other evidence of indebtedness, and the security therefor, shall be determined by the corporation.

LIABILITY OF THE UNITED STATES

SEC. 205. The United States shall assume no liability, directly or indirectly, for any notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness issued by the corporation, and all such evidences of indebtedness shall so state on their face.

TAXATION

SEC. 206. The notes, bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness of the corporation, and income derived in respect thereof, and the corporation, its income and property, shall not be exempt from taxation by the United States, but shall be exempt from taxation by a State or political subdivision thereof.

GENERAL POWERS OF CORPORATION

SEC. 207. The corporation

(a) Shall have perpetual succession in its corporate name.

(b) May sue and be sued in its corporate name.

(c) May adopt a corporate seal, which shall be judicially noticed, and may alter it at pleasure.

(d) May make contracts.

(e) May acquire, hold for any lawful purpose, and dispose of property; except that the corporation shall not dispose of any part of the right of way of the central highway except by lease as herein provided.

(f) May appoint, fix the compensation of, and remove, without prejudice to contract rights, such officers, employees, and agents as are necessary for the conduct of the affairs of the corporation. Such employees and agents may be either individuals, partnerships, corporations, or associations. Each officer, employee, or agent responsible for the handling of money or other property of the corporation shall give bond in such amount, with such penalties and upon such terms, as the corporation may determine.

(g) May adopt, amend, and repeal by-laws.

(h) Shall have such powers not specifically denied by law as are necessary and proper to the exercise of the functions vested in it by this act.

OFFICES

SEC. 208. The corporation shall maintain its principal office in the District of Columbia and may establish such agencies or branch offices at such places as it finds advisable. The corporation shall be held an inhabitant and resident of the District of Columbia and of each State in which it is doing business, within the meaning of laws of the United States relating to venue of civil suits.

BOOKS

SEC. 209. The corporation shall keep, at its principal office in the custody of the board, correct books, showing the original minutes of the directors' meetings, and showing the accounts of the corporation's business transactions. The books shall be kept in such form and shall be open to inspection to such persons and at such times as the corporation may prescribe.

AUDIT

SEC. 210. The books and accounts of the corporation shall be audited at least once every year by the General Accounting Office. The report of the auditors shall be included by the corporation in its annual report to the Congress.

REPORT

SEC. 211. The corporation shall make an annual report to Congress at the beginning of each regular session containing a statement of the operations of the corporation during the preceding fiscal year.

SPECIAL POWERS OF THE CORPORATION

SEC. 212. The corporation is authorized

(a) To establish, construct, maintain, improve, and regulate the central highway (including tunnels, bridges, drainage structures, signs, guard rails, and protective sturctures in connection with the highway) in accordance with the plan approved by the Congress in accordance with the provisions of section 201, and for such purpose to acquire by purchase, condemnation, donation, or otherwise any real estate or interest therein which it deems necessary.

(b) After the completion of the central highway to provide, in its discretion, for tourist camps on any part of the right of way not used for roadbed.

(c) After the completion of the central highway to provide, in its discretion, for the establishment, operation, and maintenance along the highway, subject to the requirements of the air commerce act of 1926, of emergency landing fields, light and other signal structures radio directional finding facilities, radio and other electrical communication facilities, and other structures and facilities in the aid of air navigation approved by the Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary of Commerce shall designate the route of such highway as a civil airway whenever and to the extent that the Secretary of Commerce finds that such route is suitable for interstate and foreign air commerce. The air navigation facilities owned or operated by the corporation may be made available for public use under such conditions and to the same extent as air navigation facilities owned or operated by the United States.

(d) To lease, upon such terms and conditions as the corporation deems advisable, any part of the right of way of the central highway not used for roadbed. Each such lease shall contain a provision authorizing the corporation to readjust the rental charges of the property leased at the end of each ten years at least; but the lease shall be valid for the term stipulated therein subject to the condition that the lessee, after such readjustment, agrees to pay the rental charges so readjusted. In lieu of real-estate taxes, the corporation shall pay to the State and its political subdivisions empowered to collect real-estate taxes, in which the property leased is located, 10 per centum of all moneys received as rentals from property so located. The corporation shall distribute such amount to the State and its political subdivisions in such proportions as the governor of such State determines and reports to the corporation to be just and equitable, based upon the distribution of real-estate taxes in such State under the laws thereof.

(e) To issue permits and licenses for openings into, crossings over and under, or the use of any portion of the right of way of the central highway for purposes not inconsistent with the provisions of this act. In each such case the permittee or licensee shall be required to make such payment as will be sufficient to compensate completely for any damage done, and the receipts therefrom shall be covered into the treasury of the corporation.

CHARACTER OF HIGHWAY

In

SEC. 213. Except where such a plan is impracticable and unnecessary, the central highway shall be so constructed as to permit a two-way fast traffic for tourist and nontruck traffic, and a two-way traffic for trucks and heavy traffic. The width and number of the traffic lanes shall be fixed by the commission. approving the types and width of construction, types of surface, and kinds of material, and the character of improvement, repair, and maintenance in each case, the corporation shall give consideration to the type and character which shall be best suited for each locality and to the probable character and extent of the future traffic.

INCOME FROM OPERATIONS OF THE CORPORATION

SEC. 214. (a) The income of the corporation after paying the expenses of operation and maintenance and improvement of the central highway and other property of the corporation shall be used

(1) For the payment of interest upon any notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness issued under the provisions of section 204 and for the retirement of such notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness; and

(2) For the payment of interest upon bonds issued under the provisions of section 304 and for the retirement of such bonds from time to time as the condition of the treasury of the corporation permits.

(b) After all the notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of this section, and the bonds described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of this section have been retired, there shall be paid to every State which shall have donated land for the right of way 75 per cent of the annual income of the corporation derived from leases on such donated property in such State.

TITLE III-MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

COOPERATION WITH EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND OTHER AGENCIES

SEC. 301. (a) The commission and the corporation may, in cooperation with any Government establishment, avail themselves of the services and facilities of such Government establishment in order to avoid preventable expense or duplication of effort.

(b) The President may, by Executive order, direct any such Government establishment to furnish the commission or the corporation with such information and data pertaining to the functions of the commission or the corporation, respectively, as may be contained in the records of such Government establishment. The order of the President may provide such limitations as to the use of the information and data as he deems desirable.

(c) The commission and the corporation may cooperate with any State or department, agency, or political subdivision thereof, or with any person; and may construct, maintain, and operate any part of the central highway within any State, by or through the State highway department of such State or any State department, commission, board, or official having adequate powers and suitably equipped and organized to discharge to the satisfaction of the commission and corporation the duties herein required.

APPROPRIATION OF PUBLIC LANDS

SEC. 302. (a) If the corporation determines that any part of the public lands or reservations of the United States is reasonably necessary for the right of way of the central highway or as a source of materials for the construction or maintenance of the highway, the corporation shall file with the head of the executive department supervising the administration of such lands or reservations a map showing the portion of such lands or reservations which it is desired to appropriate. (b) If within a period of two months after such filing such officer shall not have certified to the corporation that the proposed appropriation of such land or materials is contrary to the public interest or inconsistent with the purposes for which such land or materials have been reserved, or shall have agreed to the appropriation and transfer under conditions which he deems necessary for the adequate protection and utilization of such lands or reservations, such land or materials may be appropriated for the purposes and subject to the conditions so specified.

(c) If at any time the need for any such land or materials for such purpose shall no longer exist, notice of the fact shall be given by the corporation, and such land or materials shall immediately revert to the control of the head of the executive department from which they have been appropriated.

REGULATION OF THE HIGHWAY

SEC. 303. The corporation may prescribe and promulgate such regulations as it deems necessary for preserving and protecting the central highway and safeguarding traffic thereon; but nothing in this act shall affect the civil, criminal, or administrative jurisdiction of the several States over persons or property upon the highway, or the rights and duties of persons with respect to the use and enjoyment of the highway under the laws of the several States.

ISSUANCE OF BONDS

SEC. 304. (a) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments upon the stock subscription when called by the corporation.

(b) In order to meet such payments, the Secretary of the Treasury, if he deems it advisable, may exercise the authority granted by the various Liberty bond acts and the Victory loan act, as amended and supplemented, to issue bonds,