All that certain lot, piece or parcel of ground. situated in the second ward of the city of Pittsburgh, county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, together with the appurtenances, bounded and described as follows, to wit: Beginning at the corner of Ninth Street (formerly Anderson Street and before that Hand Street) and Liberty Avenue; thence northerly by Ninth Street one hundred twelve and one-half feet to an alley; thence at right angles with the last line by said alley westwardly thirty-six feet eight inches to a point in a party wall; thence by a line in said party wall, parallel with Ninth Street, southwardly one hundred twelve and one-half feet to Liberty Avenue; thence eastwardly by the same avenue thirty-six feet eight inches to Ninth Street at the place of beginning. (b) In the case of any real property transferred to the Federal Works Agency for the use of the Public Buildings Administration, pursuant to this section, by a corporation, all of the capital stock of which is owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the Government, a conveyance to the United States of America, without representation or warranty, of all right, title, and interest of such corporation therein shall be made. SEC. 206. The Federal Works Administrator is hereby authorized to assume permanent custody and control for the use of the Public Roads Administration, without reimbursement, the property located within the area known as Vancouver Barracks, in Vancouver, Washington, consisting of two buildings numbered 689 and 698, and five and three-tenths acres, more or less, of land described as follows: Beginning at a point on the east line of West Reserve Street and the north line of East Fifth Street in the southeast quarter of section 27, township 2 north, range 1 east, Willamette meridian, in the city of Vancouver, county of Clark, State of Washington, which point is a bronze disk monument, said point being north twenty-two degrees thirty-seven minutes east, a distance of one thousand four hundred and seventy-four and seven-tenths feet; thence south eighty-three degrees ten minutes east, a distance of exactly forty-eight feet from the southeast corner of Amos Short donation land claim; thence north twentytwo degrees thirty-seven minutes east, a distance of two hundred and sixty-eight and three-tenths feet; thence south eighty-three degrees ten minutes east, a distance of eight hundred and sixty and six-tenths feet; thence south twenty degrees seventeen minutes west, a distance of two hundred and seventy-eight and eight-tenths feet; thence north eighty-five degrees twelve minutes west, a distance of exactly seventythree feet; thence north eighty-three degrees ten minutes west, a distance of two hundred and eighty-four and five-tenths feet; thence north sixty-eight degrees twenty-three minutes west, a distance of sixty-one and five-tenths feet; thence north eighty-three degress ten minutes west, a distance of four hundred and fifty-one and nine-tenths feet to the point of beginning. TITLE III-IMPROVEMENT OF EXISTING BUILDINGS SEC. 301. The Commissioner of Public Buildings is authorized to formulate, undertake and prosecute a program for the renovation and improvement of federally owned buildings outside the District of Columbia for which funds are not otherwise available, including appurtenances and approaches thereto, that are under the control of the Public Buildings Administration for repair and preservation: Provided, That where necessary or desirable in carrying out the program herein authorized, additional land may be acquired to accommodate equipment or special appliances and devices proposed to be installed or to provide working areas to accomplish the objectives sought in this title: Provided further, That no project, the estimated cost of which is less than $25,000, shall be deemed to be eligible for the program authorized by this title. SEC. 302. For carrying out the purposes of this title, including administrative, supervisory, traveling, and other expenses in connection therewith, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated the sum of $30,000,000 to remain available until expended. TITLE IV-MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS SEC. 401. (a) In addition to the authority conferred upon him by any other law the Commissioner of Public Buildings, whenever he deems it desirable or advantageous, is authorized to employ, by contract or otherwise and without regard to the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, or to the civil-service laws, rules, and regulations or to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, the services of established architectural or other professional or technical corporations, firms, or individuals, to such extent as he may require for any public building project which the Public Buildings Administration is authorized by Congress to construct, or for any such project, funds for which are transferred by another agency to the Public Buildings Administration for construction of the project, regardless of specific legislation governing such other agency: Provided, That this authorization shall not apply to the employment of such corporations, firms, or individuals on a permanent basis, but their services shall be limited to the individual project for which employed: Provided further, That nothing contained in this section shall relieve the Commissioner of Public Buildings or any other duly authorized contracting officer of the Public Buildings Administration who shall execute a construction contract from the responsibility of interpreting such contract, of passing on the acceptability of materials and workmanship supplied pursuant to such contract, of approving changes in such contract during the construction period, of certifying vouchers for payments becoming due the contractor, or of effecting final settlement of the contract. (b) The Commissioner of Public Buildings is hereby authorized, whenever he deems it to be in the public interest, to hold a competition for the design of any project, to stipulate the terms, scope, and the conditions of each such competition and to make awards in pursuance thereof. SEC. 402. The third paragraph of section 5 of the Public Buildings Act of May 25, 1926 (44 Stat. 630), as amended, is hereby deleted and the following is hereby substituted therefor: "With respect to sites or additions to sites acquired under this Act, the Commissioner of Public Buildings is hereby authorized, in his discretion to rent, until they are needed for construction purposes, such sites or additions to sites and any improvements located thereon not reserved by the vendors, at a fair rental value and upon such terms and conditions as he may deem to be in the public interest. Such 81504-51-9 rentals may be deposited into a common fund account or accounts in the Treasury, and notwithstanding the provisions of the Act of June 30, 1932 (40 U. S. C. 303b), shall be available to pay the cost of such maintenance, repair, and alterations of any improvements located on such sites or additions to sites as is necessary to keep them in rentable condition and for the establishment of necessary reserves therefor: Provided, That except for such necessary reserves, as determined by the Commissioner, the unobligated balances of rentals so deposited into the Treasury shall be covered at the end of each fiscal year into miscellaneous receipts: Provided further, That with respect to improvements on such sites or additions to sites which are suitable for residential purposes only and the estimated annual rentals of which will not exceed $1,200, the Commissioner may enter into leases without regard to the provisions of section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, as amended." SEC. 403. Section 5 of the Public Buildings Act of May 25, 1926 (44) Stat. 630), is hereby amended to delete the following words which appear at the end of the last paragraph thereof: "and to charge against the total sum of $150,000,000 hereinbefore authorized only the respective net excess cost, if any, over and above the proceeds of such sales, or providing such new sites and buildings", and after the words "miscellaneous receipts" change the comma to a period. SEC. 404. The Federal Works Administrator, together with the Postmaster General where his office is concerned, is authorized to accept on behalf of the United States unconditional gifts of real, personal, or other property in aid of any project or function within their respective jurisdictions. SEC. 405. The provisions of section 601 of the Economy Act, approved June 30, 1932, as amended, are hereby extended to authorize the Public Buildings Administration to furnish services in the continental United States, on the basis of full reimbursement, at the request of the State Department, to any international body with which the United States Government is affiliated. SEC. 406. The Commissioner of Public Buildings is authorized to contract for seeding, planting, or landscaping the grounds of any public building constructed or acquired by the Public Buildings Administration in an amount not exceeding $1,800, without reference to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes. SEC. 407. The Commissioner of Public Buildings is authorized to procure space in the District of Columbia by lease, upon such terms and for such period, not in excess of one year, as he may deem in the public interest, for the housing of any Federal agency or agencies, except the Post Office Department, and to assign and reassign such space. As used in this section, the term "Federal Agency" means any executive department (except the Post Office Department), independent establishment, commission, board, bureau, in the executive branch, or other agency of the United States, including wholly owned Government corporations. SEC. 408. The Federal Works Administrator is hereby authorized to enter into such agreements with the city of Chicago, Illinois, as he shall deem necessary and in the public interest, in connection with the construction by the said city of a superhighway through the Congress Street Post Office located in said city. For the purposes of this section there is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sum as shall be necessary to defray such cost, if any, which said Administrator shall determine should be borne by the United States as an incident to the construction by the said city of the superhighway through said post office. SEC. 409. The Federal Works Administrator and the Postmaster General shall submit to the Congress promptly after the convening of each new Congress, reports showing the location and the approximate accommodations of such public building projects throughout the United States, its Territories and possessions, as they shall find eligible to be constructed in accordance with applicable statutory provisions. Such reports shall indicate the limit of cost of each project when in excess of $200,000. When the estimated cost of a project does not exceed $200,000 the limit of cost shall be determined by the Commissioner of Public Buildings. The report herein provided for shall supersede the report required by the Public Buildings Act of 1926 (44 Stat. 630, as amended). SEC. 410. The Federal Works Administrator, with the approval of the Bureau of the Budget, is authorized, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to change or rechange the name or designation of any building in the custody and jurisdiction of the Federal Works Agency. SEC. 411. All Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent or in conflict with the foregoing provisions are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency or conflict. Approved June 16, 1949. [CHAPTER 288-1ST SESSION] [H. R. 4754] AN ACT To simplify the procurement, utilization, and disposal of Government property, to reorganize certain agencies of the Government, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SHORT TITLE That this Act may be cited as the "Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949". Sec. 2. Declaration of policy. Sec. 3. Definitions. TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE I-ORGANIZATION Sec. 101. General Services Administration. Sec. 102. Transfer of affairs of Bureau of Federal Supply. Sec. 103. Transfer of affairs of the Federal Works Agency. Sec. 104. Records management: Transfer of the National Archives. Sec. 105. Transfer for liquidation of the affairs of the War Assets Administration. Sec. 106. Redistribution of functions. Sec. 107. Transfer of funds. Sec. 108. Status of transferred employees. Sec. 109. General supply fund. TITLE II-PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Sec. 201. Procurement, warehousing, and related activities. Sec. 203. Disposal of surplus property. Sec. 204. Proceeds from transfer and disposition of property. Sec. 205. Policies, regulations, and delegations. Sec. 206. Surveys, standardization, and cataloging. Sec. 207. Applicability of antitrust laws. Sec. 208. Employment of personnel. Sec. 209. Civil remedies and penalties. Sec. 210. Reports to Congress. TITLE III-PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE Sec. 301. Declaration of purpose. Sec. 302. Application and procurement methods. Sec. 303. Advertising requirements. Sec. 304. Requirements of negotiated contracts. Sec. 305. Advance payments. Sec. 306. Waiver of liquidated damages. |