50 U.S.C.
United States Code, 2011 Edition
Title 50 - WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
TITLE 50 - APPENDIX-WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
STABILIZATION OF ECONOMY AND COMMODITY PRICES
From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov

STABILIZATION OF ECONOMY AND COMMODITY PRICES

ACT DEC. 30, 1947, CH. 526, 61 STAT. 945

Sec.
1911.
Declaration of purpose.
1912 to 1915. Omitted.
1916.
Critical shortages; recommendations by President; public hearings.
1917.
Repealed.
1918.
Food and conservation program; appropriations; administrative expenses.
1919.
Authorizations for appropriations.

        

§1911. Declaration of purpose

The purposes of this joint resolution [sections 1911 to 1919 of this Appendix] are to aid in stabilizing the economy of the United States, to aid in curbing inflationary tendencies, to promote the orderly and equitable distribution of goods and facilities, and to aid in preventing maldistribution of goods and facilities which basically affect the cost of living or industrial production.

(Dec. 30, 1947, ch. 526, §1, 61 Stat. 945.)

Ex. Ord. No. 9919. Delegation of Authority and Establishment of Procedures Under Sections 1911 to 1919 of This Appendix

Ex. Ord. No. 9919, Jan. 3, 1948, 13 F.R. 59, provided:

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the joint resolution approved December 30, 1947 (Public Law 395, 80th Congress) [sections 1911 to 1919 of this Appendix], and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

1. The authority to consult with representatives of industry, business, and agriculture with a view to encouraging the making of voluntary agreements or plans provided for in section 2 of the said joint resolution of December 30, 1947 [former section 1912 of this Appendix] (hereinafter referred to as the joint resolution), and the authority to approve any such agreements or plans and to make written requests for compliance with any such agreements or plans is delegated severally to the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Director of the Office of Defense Transportation as provided in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 5 hereof: Provided, however, that no such agreement or plan shall be approved by any of such officers unless it is first submitted to and approved by the Attorney General. The consultation above referred to may be through advisory committees approved by the appropriate governmental officer or agency as representative of the various segments of the industry involved. Prior to submitting any such proposed agreement or plan to the Attorney General the appropriate governmental officer or agency shall give industry, labor, and the public generally an opportunity to present their views with respect to the agreement or plan. The submission of the proposed agreement or plan to the Attorney General shall be accompanied by the favorable recommendation of the head of the appropriate department or agency and by a statement of (a) the circumstances which require the proposed agreement or plan, (b) the means by which the agreement or plan will be carried out, (c) the effect of the agreement or plan on persons and industries affected, including where appropriate the proposed degree of curtailment in amount and prospective use of any material, commodity, or product by any processor or user thereof, and the formulae for such curtailment, (d) the criteria used in the establishment of such formulae, and (e) the factual evidence on which the recommendation for approval is made, showing which information, if any, is subject to restrictions for reasons of military security.

2 (a). The authority delegated to the Secretary of the Interior by paragraph 1 hereof shall be exercised by him with respect to priority, allocation, and inventory control of fuels.

(b). For the purposes of this order the term “fuels” means coal, coke, petroleum and petroleum products, and natural and manufactured gas.

3 (a). The authority delegated to the Secretary of Agriculture by paragraph 1 hereof shall be exercised by him with respect to priority, allocation, and inventory control of agricultural commodities and with respect to speculative trading on commodity exchanges.

(b). For the purposes of this order, the term “agricultural commodities” means all commodities and products, simple, mixed, or compound, or complements to such commodities or products that are or may be eaten or drunk by human beings or animals, irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be put, and at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the product thereof in a vendible form for immediate human or animal consumption, but exclusive of such commodities and products as the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine. For the purposes of this order, the term “agricultural commodities” shall also include all starches, sugars, fats and oils of animal, vegetable, or marine origin (including oil seeds and other oil bearing materials, fatty acids, soap and soap powder), cotton, tobacco, wool, hemp, flax, fiber, and alcohol, and also such other commodities and products as the President may designate.

4 (a). The authority delegated to the Director of the Office of Defense Transportation by paragraph 1 hereof shall be exercised by him with respect to allocation of transportation facilities and equipment.

(b). The powers, authority, and discretion conferred on the President by section 4(a) of the joint resolution [section 1914(a) of this Appendix] with respect to the use of transportation equipment and facilities by rail carriers are hereby included within the powers, authority, and discretion delegated to the Director of the Office of Defense Transportation under Executive Order No. 8989 of December 18, 1941 (6 F.R. 6725), as amended by Executive Order No. 9389 of October 18, 1943 (8 F.R. 14183), Executive Order No. 9156 of May 2, 1942 (7 F.R. 3349), Executive Order No. 9214 of August 5, 1942 (7 F.R. 6097), and Executive Order No. 9729 of May 23, 1946 (11 F.R. 5641). The said Executive orders are amended accordingly.

5. The authority delegated to the Secretary of Commerce by paragraph 1 hereof shall be exercised by him with respect to priority, allocation, and inventory control of scarce commodities which basically affect the cost of living or industrial production, other than fuels as provided in paragraph 2, agricultural commodities as provided in paragraph 3, and transportation facilities and equipment as provided in paragraph 4.

6. The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized to carry out a program for the conservation of food and feed and for that purpose to exercise the authority conferred upon the President by section 8 of the joint resolution [section 1918 of this Appendix].

7. The Secretary of Commerce is hereby authorized to continue exercising the powers, authority, and discretion conferred upon the President by section 6 of the act of July 2, 1940, 54 Stat. 714, as amended [section 701 of this Appendix]. Such powers, authority, and discretion, and the powers, authority, and discretion vested in the President by section 3 of the joint resolution [section 1913 of this Appendix] are hereby included within the delegation made to the Secretary of Commerce by Executive Order No. 9630 of September 27, 1945 (10 F.R. 12245), and the said Executive order is modified accordingly.

8. Each governmental officer or agency exercising authority delegated under this order shall, in exercising such authority, consult with other agencies or committees having special information or sources of such information about the supply of or demand for the materials, commodities, or facilities involved and with other agencies or committees having responsibilities related to such authority. Each agency shall establish such committees and other working groups as may be appropriate to consult with and obtain the advice of other agencies.

9. Nothing in this order shall be deemed to affect the powers, authority, or discretion delegated to the Secretary of Agriculture by Executive Order No. 9915 of December 30, 1947.

Harry S Truman.      

§§1912 to 1915. Omitted

Codification

Section 1912, acts Dec. 30, 1947, ch. 526, §2, 61 Stat. 945; Feb. 9, 1949, ch. 6, 63 Stat. 5, relating to voluntary agreements, expired by its own terms on Sept. 30, 1949.

Section 1913, act Dec. 30, 1947, ch. 526, §3, 61 Stat. 946, amending section 701 of this Appendix, expired on Feb. 28, 1949, when section 701 expired.

Section 1914, act Dec. 30, 1947, ch. 526, §4, 61 Stat. 946, relating to allocation of transportation facilities and grain, expired on Feb. 28, 1949, as to transportation facilities and on Jan. 31, 1948, as to grain.

Section 1915, act Dec. 30, 1947, ch. 526, §5, 61 Stat. 946, relating to delegation of President's authority under sections 701 and 1912 of this Appendix, expired with the expiration of those sections.

§1916. Critical shortages; recommendations by President; public hearings

(a) Whenever the President shall determine that there is or threatens to be a critical shortage of any raw material, commodity, or product which jeopardizes the health or safety of the people of the United States or its national security or welfare and that there is no prospect that such critical shortage may soon be remedied by an increase in the available supply without additional governmental action and that the situation cannot be solved by voluntary agreement under the provisions of this Act [sections 1911 to 1919 of this Appendix], he may prepare proposed measures for conserving such raw material, commodity, or product which he shall submit to the Congress in the following form:

(1) A statement of the circumstances which, in the President's judgment, require the proposed conservation measures.

(2) A detailed procedure for the administration of the proposed measures including the additional budget and additional personnel required for their enforcement.

(3) The proposed degree of curtailment in current and prospective use of each such raw material, commodity, or product by each processor and/or user thereof, including the specific formulae proposed for such curtailment with respect to each class or classes of processors or users and the criteria used in the establishment of such formulae.

(4) A complete record of the factual evidence upon which his recommendations are based, including all information provided by any agency of the Federal Government which may have been made available to him in the course of his consideration of the matter.

(b) Within fifteen days after the submission of such proposed conservation measures, the Joint Economic Committee shall conduct public hearings thereon and shall make such recommendations to the Congress for legislative action as in its judgment the recommendations of the President and any additional information disclosed at the public hearings may require.

(Dec. 30, 1947, ch. 526, §6, 61 Stat. 947; June 18, 1956, ch. 399, §2, 70 Stat. 290.)

Amendments

1956—Subsec. (b). Act June 18, 1956, changed “Joint Committee on the Economic Report” to “Joint Economic Committee”.

§1917. Repealed. Pub. L. 104–127, title II, §229, Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 963

Section, act Dec. 30, 1947, ch. 526, §7, 61 Stat. 947, authorized Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out projects to stimulate and increase production of foods, agricultural commodities, and products thereof, in non-European foreign countries.

§1918. Food and conservation program; appropriations; administrative expenses

(a) In order to alleviate shortages in foods and feeds, and to assist in stabilizing prices, the President shall carry out a program for the conservation of food and feed. In carrying out such program, the President is authorized, through the dissemination of information, educational and other campaigns, the furnishing of assistance, and such other voluntary and cooperative measures as he deems necessary or appropriate, to encourage and promote the efficient utilization, care, and preservation of food and feed, the elimination of practices which waste food and feed, the control and eradication of insects and rodents, the consumption of less of these foods and feeds which are in short supply and more of those foods and feeds which are in abundant supply, and other conservation practices. The authority herein conferred may be exercised by the President through such departments, agencies, independent establishments, and officials of the Federal Government and such State, local, and private agencies as he may determine.

(b) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the President such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. To enable the President to carry out this section for the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1948, there is made available not to exceed $1,000,000 from any funds made available by the Congress for carrying out Public Law 84, Eightieth Congress, or from any funds made available by the Congress for interim foreign aid. Funds made available for the purpose of this section may be used for necessary administrative expenses, including personal services in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, purchase or hire of motor vehicles, temporary or intermittent services of experts or consultants or organizations thereof, including stenographic reporting services, by contract, without regard to the civil service and classification laws (the compensation of any such individual not to exceed $50 per day). Funds made available for the purposes of this section may be allotted for any of the purposes of this section to any department, agency, or independent establishment of the Government, or transferred to any other agency requested to assist in carrying out this section. Funds allotted to any department, agency, or independent establishment of the Government shall be available for obligation and expenditure in accordance with the laws governing obligations and expenditures of the department, agency, or independent establishment, or organizational unit thereof concerned, and without regard to sections 3709 and 3648 of the Revised Statutes, as amended [see 41 U.S.C. 6101; 31 U.S.C. 3324(a), (b)].

(Dec. 30, 1947, ch. 526, §8, 61 Stat. 947.)

References in Text

Public Law 84, Eightieth Congress, referred to in subsec. (b), is act May 31, 1947, ch. 90, 61 Stat. 125, which was classified generally to chapter 17 (§1411 et seq.) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse, and which was repealed by act Aug. 26, 1954, ch. 937, title V, §542(a)(2), 68 Stat. 861. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

Section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, referred to in subsec. (b), which was classified to section 5 of former Title 41, Public Contracts, was repealed and restated in section 6101 of Title 41, Public Contracts, by Pub. L. 111–350, §§3, 7(b), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3677, 3855.

Section 3648 of the Revised Statutes, referred to in subsec. (b), which was classified to section 529 of former Title 31, Money and Finance, was repealed and restated as section 3324(a) and (b) of Title 31, Money and Finance, by Pub. L. 97–258, §§1, 5(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 877, 1068.

§1919. Authorizations for appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary for purposes of carrying out the provisions of this joint resolution [sections 1911 to 1919 of this Appendix].

(Dec. 30, 1947, ch. 526, §9, 61 Stat. 948.)