there is nothing to stop the Post Office Department from using the Corps of Engineers at once. This seems to me a rather left-handed concession by someone who has been somewhat imposed upon. Mr. STAATS. We note in that regard that under the Public Buildings Act of 1959, GSA could have delegated such construction authority direct to the corps. GSA seems to have accomplished the same results, though indirectly, by giving a liberal interpretation to the redelegation authority in the 1966 agreement. In any event, irrespective of the delegation and/or redelegation issue, the agreements in question are within the purview of the Economy Act discussed above. With regard to the period following July 1, 1971, section 411 of the new title 39, United States Code, provides that executive agencies are authorized to furnish personal and nonpersonal services to the Postal Service under such terms and conditions, including reimbursability, as the Postal Service and the head of the agency concerned shall deem appropriate. Also, section 401 of the new title 39 authorizes the Postal Service to construct, operate, lease, and maintain buildings and facilities on property owned or controlled by it. In view of such authority, our opinion is that the corps may continue to render services to the Postal Service in the construction of postal facilities as generally set out in the agreements. A question has been raised regarding the authority of the Postal Service or the corps as agent of the Postal Service to enter into construction contracts in the name of the United States. Regarding this matter, section 401 of the new title 39, United States Code, provides that the Postal Service may sue and be sued in its official name, and may enter into and perform contracts and determine the nature of its expenditures. However, it should be noted that section 201 provides that "There is established as an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States the United States Postal Service." The contract authority of the Postal Service does not specifically require such contracts to be entered into in the name of the Postal Service. It has been held that where an agent of the United States under an act of Congress might sue and be sued, such provision does not strip from the United States the right to sue in its own name. The United States itself is the real party in interest in suits involving contracts and property of its wholly owned instrumentalities and it is not necessary that such agency bring suit in its own name. Also, section 6(1) of the Postal Reorganization Act provides that judgments against the United States arising out of activities of the U.S. Postal Service shall be paid by the Postal Service out of any funds available to it. Considering the above, it cannot be clearly said that contracts by the Postal Service or the corps as agent for the Postal Service may not be in the name of the United States. This concludes our formal statement. (The document referred to follows:) UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOLLOWED BY THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT IN LEASING AND CONSTRUCTING FACILITIES UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOLLOWED BY THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT IN LEASING AND CONSTRUCTING FACILITIES This document presents information in response to the requests made by the Chairman, Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, House Committee on Public Works, in his letters to the Comptroller General of April 6 and June 2, 1971. Among other things, it describes the development of the Post Office Department (now the Postal Service) facility acquisition authority; events leading to the 1966 delegation of authority by the General Services Administration (GSA) to the Postmaster General for the design and construction of postal facilities; certain aspects of the management of the leasing and construction of postal facilities; the recent agreements entered into by the Department and the Corps of Engineers (Corps) concerning postal facilities; the impact of the agreements on GSA; and a comparison of land acquisition and lease construction procedures followed by the Department, Corps, and GSA. DEVELOPMENT OF POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT FACILITY ACQUISITION AUTHORITY CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY Section 2 of the Public Buildings Act of 1959, as amended, provides that no Government-owned public building shall be constructed except by the Administrator of General Services. Under section 13 of the act, public buildings include Federal office buildings, post offices, and customhouses, but exclude specific projects, such as projects on military reservations and hospitals. Section 15 provides that the Administrator, with certain exceptions, is authorized to delegate the authority vested in him by the act to an executive agency when the Administrator determines that such delegation will promote efficiency and economy. The act provides also that no appropriation shall be made to construct any Government-owned public building involving an expenditure in excess of $100,000 or to alter any such building involving an expenditure in excess of $200,000 unless a prospectus has been approved by the Public Works Committees of the Congress. In December 1964, the Postmaster General presented to the President a proposal that would have given the Department direct construction authority primarily because the characteristics of the buildings needed by the Department differed significantly from those of the office buildings needed by other civilian agencies. A committee of business executives, appointed by the President to advise the Postmaster General in this area, recommended that the Department have permanent authority to acquire, construct, and own buildings for postal purposes in addition to its authority to lease such facilities. GSA did not concur with the recommendation on the premise that it had the experience and competency to design and construct postal facilities and that such work was foreign to the basic mission of the Department, i.e., receiving, handling, processing, and distributing mail. This In April 1966 Senate bill S. 3256 was introduced. bill would have authorized the Postmaster General to construct postal buildings. The Administrator of General Services by letter dated April 18, 1966, to the Postmaster General stated |