Second War Powers Act, 1942

Mr. MCLAUGHLIN. Subcommittee No. 4 is convened for consideration of S. 2208, known as the Second War Powers Act. This bill has passed the Senate, and has been referred to the Judiciary Committee of the House.

(The subcommittee had under consideration S. 2208, which is as follows:)

[S. 2208, 77th Cong., 2d sess.]

AN ACT To further expedite the prosecution of the war

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE I-EMERGENCY POWERS IN THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION OVER MOTOR CARRIERS

SEC. 101. Section 204 of the act of August 9, 1935 (49 Stat. 543), otherwise known as the Motor Carrier Act, 1935, as amended, is hereby amended by adding after subsection (d) thereof the following:

"(e) The Commission shall have authority with respect to motor carriers, to be exercised under similar circumstances and procedure, equivalent to the authority it has with respect to other carriers under section 1 (15) of part I, and shall have authority, to the extent necessary to facilitate the prosecution of the war and not in contravention of State laws and regulations with respect to sizes and weights of motor vehicles, to make reasonable directions with respect to equipment, service, and facilities of motor carriers, and to require the joint use of equipment, terminals, warehouses, garages, and other facilities; and motor carriers shall be subject to the same penalties for failure to comply with action taken by the Commission under this paragraph as other carriers for failure to comply with action taken by the Commission under section 1 (15) of part I.

"(f) Notwithstanding any other applicable provision of this Act, to the extent that it may be in the public interest, the Commission may modify, change, suspend or waive any order, certificate, permit, license, rule, or regulation issued under this part."

SEC. 102. Subsection (a) of section 210a of said Act is hereby amended by striking out the words "but for not more than an aggregate of one hundred and eighty days".

SEC. 103. Subsection (a) of section 311 of said Act is hereby amended by striking out the words "but not for more than an aggregate of one hundred and eighty days".

TITLE II-ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY

SEC. 201. The Act of July 2, 1917 (40 Stat. 241), entitled "An Act to authorize condemnation proceedings of lands for military purposes," as amended, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following section:

"SEC. 2. The Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, or any other officer, board, commission, or governmental corporation thereto authorized by the President, may acquire by purchase, donation, or other means of transfer, or may cause proceedings to be instituted in any court having jurisdiction of such proceedings, to acquire by condemnation, any real property, temporary use thereof, or other interest therein, together with any personal property located thereon or used therewith, that shall be deemed necessary, for military, naval, or other war purposes, such proceedings to be in accordance with the Act of August 1, 1888 (25 Stat. 357), and any other applicable Federal statute, and may dispose of such property or interest therein by sale, lease, or otherwise, in accordance with section 1 (b) of the Act of July 2, 1940 (54 Stat. 712). Upon or after the filing of the condemnation petition, immediate possession may be taken and the property may be occupied, used, and improved for the purposes of this Act, notwithstanding any other law. Property acquired by purchase, donation, or other means of transfer may be occupied, used, and improved, for the purposes of this section prior to the approval of title by the Attorney General as required by section 355 of the Revised Statutes, as amended."

TITLE III-PRIORITIES POWERS

SEC. 301. Subsection (a) of section (2) of the Act of June 28, 1940 (54 Stat. 676), entitled "An Act to expedite national defense, and for other purposes," as amended by the Act of May 31, 1941 (55 Stat. 236), is amended as follows:

(a) In paragraph (1) of said subsection (a), strike out the words "this section" and the words "this subsection" wherever they appear, and substitute the words "this paragraph."

(b) Strike out paragraph (2) of said subsection and substitute a new paragraph (2) and add paragraphs (3) to (8), as follows:

"(2) Deliveries of material to which priority may be assigned pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include, in addition to deliveries of material under contracts or orders of the Army or Navy, deliveries of material under

"(A) Contracts or orders for the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States under the terms of the Act of March 11, 1941, entitled 'An Act to promote the defense of the United States';

"(B) Contracts or orders which the President shall deem necessary or appropriate to promote the defense of the United States;

"(C) Subcontracts or suborders which the President shall deem necessary or appropriate to the fulfillment of any contract or order as specified in this subsection. Deliveries under any contract or order specified in this subsection may be assigned priority over deliveries under any other contract or order; and the President may require acceptance of and performance under such contracts or orders in preference to other contracts or orders for the purpose of assuring such priority. Whenever the President is satisfied that the fulfillment of requirements for the defense of the United States will result in a shortage in the supply of any material or of any facilities for defense or for private account or for export, the President may allocate such material or facilities in such manner, upon such conditions and to such extent as he shall deem necessary or appropriate in the public interest and to promote the national defense.

"(3) The President shall be entitled to obtain such information from, require such reports and the keeping of such records by, make such inspection of the books, records, and other writings, premises or property of, any person (which, for the purpose of this subsection, shall include any individual, partnership, association, business trust, corporation, or any organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not), and make such investigations, as may be necessary or appropriate, in his discretion, to the enforcement or administration of the provisions of this subsection.

"(4) For the purpose of obtaining any information, verifying any report required, or making any investigation pursuant to paragraph (3), the provisions of sections 9 and 10 of the Act of September 26, 1914 (38 Stat. 722), are hereby made applicable to the jurisdiction, powers, and duties of the President.

"(5) Any person who willfully performs any act prohibited, or willfully fails to perform any act required by, any provision of this subsection or any rule, regulation, or order hereunder, whether heretofore or hereafter issued, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

"(6) The district courts of the United States and the United States courts of any Territory or other place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and the courts of the Philippine Islands shall have jurisdiction of violations of this subsection or any rule, regulation, or order or subpena hereunder, whether heretofore or hereafter issued, and of all civil actions under this subsection to enforce any liability or duty created by, or to enjoin any violation of, this subsection or any rule, regulation, order, or subpena hereunder whether heretofore or hereafter issued. Any criminal proceeding on account of any such violation may be brought in any district in which any act, failure to act, or transaction constituting the violation occurred. Any such civil action may be brought in any such district or in the district in which the defendant resides or transacts business. Process in such cases, criminal or civil, may be served in any district wherein the defendant resides or transacts business or wherever the defendant may be found; and subpena for witnesses who are required to attend a court in any district in any such case may run into any other district. No costs shall be assessed against the United States in any proceeding under this subsection.

"(7) No person shall be held liable for damages or penalties for any default under any contract or order which shall result directly or indirectly from his compliance with this subsection or any rule, regulation, or order issued hereunder, notwithstanding that any such rule, regulation, or order shall thereafter be declared by judicial or other competent authority to be invalid.

"(8) The President may exercise any power, authority, or discretion conferred on him by this subsection, through such department, agency, or officer of the Government as he may direct and in conformity with any rules or regulations which he may prescribe."

TITLE IV-PURCHASE BY FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS OF GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS

SEC. 401. Subsection (b) of section 14 of the Act of December 23, 1913 (38 Stat. 265), otherwise known as the Federal Reserve Act, as amended, is hereby amended by striking out of the proviso the words "but only in the open market," so that the proviso will read as follows: "Provided, That any bonds, notes, or other obligations which are direct obligations of the United tates or which are fully guaranteed by the United States as to principal and interest may be bought and sold without regard to maturities."

TITLE V-WAIVER OF NAVIGATION AND INSPECTION LAWS

SEC. 501. During the national emergency declared by the President on May 27, 1941, to exist, for the purpose of securing the most expeditious transportation consistent with safety of men and materials that are necessary to national defense and to reduce delays in water-borne transportation, provide quicker turn-arounds, expedite deliveries, and help to prevent shortages in defense or critical materials, and, when in the opinion of the Secretary of Commerce there is no other reasonable recourse, the Secretary of Commerce is authorized, upon written recommendation of the Secretary of the Navy, and of the Secretary of War, and of the Secretary of the Treasury, and of the Secretary of Labor, and of the Chairman, United States Maritime Commission, or any three of the above-named officials, to waive compliance with the navigation and vessel inspection laws of the United States, except laws requiring the division of crews of vessels of the United States into watches, or limiting the hours of labor of seamen on such vessels, but only to such extent and in such manner and upon such terms as he may find after investigation to be necessary or proper for the national defense: Provided, however, That the Secretary of Commerce shall not waive compliance with any of such laws to such an extent as will permit the navigation of any vessel in an unsafe condition, nor with the coastwise laws of the United States where the service desired can be supplied promptly by American ships: Provided further, That in the exercise of authority granted by this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall waive compliance with any of such laws only by specific rulings for specific occasions, and shall in each case specifically state the particular laws with which compliance is waived and the reasons therefor: And provided further, That during the effec

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Second War Powers Act, 1942: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary ...