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"(c) Each contract for the sale by the United States of land for irrigation farming shall provide for the return in periodic installments over a period of not to exceed forty (40) years from the end of the development period for the irrigation block in which the land is located or from the date of the contract, whichever be the later, of the amount of the appraised value of the land and of the improvements thereon, as determined by the Secretary, together with interest on unpaid balances of said amount at not less than three percent per annum. Leases for irrigation farming shall provide for comparable returns to the United States, except that, during the development period of any irrigation block or during the first five years of irrigation of any tract of land, leases for not to exceed five years may be made upon such terms and conditions as will, in the Secretary's judgment, reasonably assure development of the land for irrigation and will be in the interests of the United States. Provision shall be made for the return, in periods not exceeding the maximum provided herein for land sale contracts, of the costs incurred by the United States in clearing, leveling and preparing lands for the handling of irrigation water and in providing domestic water under contracts with, in the Secretary's discretion, individual water users or organizations of water users or irrigation or other districts. Sales or leases other than for irrigation farming of land owned by the United States shall be upon terms and conditions satisfactory to the Secretary, except that the purchase prices or rentals shall be in such amounts as in his judgment will adequately compensate the United States for the value of the land, or interest therein, covered by the sale or lease.

“Qualifications of applicants for the purchase of land for irrigation farming shall be prescribed as provided in subsection C of section 4 of the Act of December 5, 1924 (43 Stat. 702). Preference among applicants, otherwise qualified, measured by standards so prescribed, may be given to persons in various classes, including as classes persons who have served in the armed forces of the United States in wartimes and have been honorably discharged or separated therefrom or placed in the reserve forces and persons who have been forced, by economic circumstances beyond their control, to abandon farms in other parts of the United States, when, in the Secretary's judgment, this is in the interest of the Nation and in keeping with sound development of the project, but not more than 75 per centum of the land offered in any one irrigation block shall be sold on the basis of such preferences. In sales or leases of land, other than for irrigation farming, the Secretary may provide for preference of the owner from which the United States acquired the land, or the lessee of such land at the time of such acquisition, whether acquired for construction purposes or pursuant to this Act, it being the policy of the Congress to provide that such former owners, and such lessees thereof, may upon terms and con ditions satisfactory to the Secretary, remain on the land acquired until such times as in the Secretary's judgment the land is needed for the project.

"(d) Any lands or interests in lands acquired by the United States under the provisions of this Act shall be subject to all provisions of the laws of the State of Washington relating to the organization, government, and regulation of irrigation, reclamation, and conservancy districts and shall be subject to liens for charges legally assessed by any such district, to the same extent and in the same manner as public lands subject to entry are or may be subject to said laws and charges by the provisions of sections 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 of the Act of August 11, 1916 (39 Stat. 506), as amended by the Act of May 15, 1922 (42 Stat. 541). Upon the execution by the United States of a contract of sale of any lands within the project, the lands to which such contract relates may be taxed by the State or political subdivisions thereof in which such lands are located, in the same manner and to the same extent as lands of a like character held under private ownership may be taxed. All taxes legally assessed upon said lands contracted for sale shall be a lien upon the lands and may be enforced by the sale of the lands in the same manner and under the same proceeding whereby said taxes are enforced against lands held under private ownership: Provided, That the title or interest which the State or political subdivision thereof may convey by tax sale, tax deed, or as a result of any tax proceeding shall be subject to whatever title remains in the United States and to any prior lien reserved to the United States for all unpaid instalments upon the contract of sale, whether accrued or otherwise and any other charges upon said land which have accrued or may accrue under and by virtue of said

contract of sale or the contract between the United States and the irrigation district in which the land is located.

"(e) The Secretary shall prepare, in collaboration with the Secretary of Agriculture, the heads of such other Federal departments and agencies as would be concerned therewith, a representative to be designated for this purpose by the Governor of the State of Washington, and such representatives as may be designated for the purpose by the districts under contract with the United States pursuant to section 2 (a) of this Act, a program of project land acquisition, development, and settlement. This program shall provide for the participation therein of the Department of Agriculture and of other Federal departments and agencies to the extent that they are qualified, in view of their functions and facilities, to perform to best advantage the units of work to be prosecuted thereunder, and the program shall set forth the parts of the work to be performed by the Secretary and the parts to be performed by the other departments and agencies. This program, and modifications thereof, shall be presented, together with the recommendations thereon of the collaborating departments and agencies, to the President, and shall become effective upon his approval thereof. To enable any department or agency to carry on work that it is authorized to perform under this approved program, and for which it has not received a direct appropriation, the Secretary may transfer to such department or agency, from funds appropriated to the Department of the Interior under the authority of this Act, such amounts as may be required for the accomplishment of such work.

"SEC. 5. The Secretary may enter into agreements to pay, out of funds derived from the leasing of lands acquired pursuant to, or funds appropriated under, the authority of this Act, annual sums in lieu of taxes to any State or political subdivision thereof with respect to any real property situated therein acquired pursuant to the authority of this Act. The amount so paid for any year upon any such property shall not exceed the taxes that would be paid to the State or subdivision as the case may be upon such property if it were not exempt from taxation thereby.

"SEC. 6. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums of money as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, to be reimbursable to the extent required by this Act. All revenues received in carrying out the provisions of section 4 hereof shall be covered into the General Treasury as 'Miscellaneous Receipts.' Amounts equal to appropriated funds requisitioned by the Secretary and made available for disbursement on the books of the Treasurer of the United States, shall be debited in a special account in the Treasury, to be known as the 'Columbia Basin Land Development Account.' Amounts equal to revenues covered into the General Treasury as 'Miscellaneous Receipts,' shall be credited in said special account. After such credits equal the amount of the debits with interest thereon at the rate of three percent per annum from the respective dates of the debits, additional credits in said special account shall be made by the Secretary, in the manner determined by him, the basis of corresponding credits to the construction cost obligations of the district or districts entering into contracts under section 2 hereof.

"SEC. 7. No water shall be delivered for irrigation purposes within the project, until the State of Washington, by appropriate legislation, shall have adopted, authorized, ratified, and consented to all the provisions of this Act insofar as such provisions or any of them, in whole or in part, may come within the scope of State jurisdiction or authority or be applicable to State lands.

"Legislation otherwise conforming to the standards above stated in this section will meet the requirements of the section even though, by reason of limitations in the State constitution, the contracts required under subsection 2 (c) cannot be executed pursuant to such legislation as to the State's school and other public lands. As to such lands, the provisions and requirements of subsection 2 (c) shall remain effective, but if these constitutional limitations have not been removed at least six months prior to the expiration of the time provided for the execution of the contracts the time is hereby extended for a period ending six months after the removal of the limitations.

"SEC. 8. The Secretary is authorized to perform any and all acts, to make such rules and regulations and to include in the contracts hereinbefore provided for such provisions as he may deem necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying

the provisions of this Act into full force and effect; and in connection with sales or exchanges under the Act, he is authorized to execute appropriate instruments of conveyance without regard to the provisions of law governing the patenting of public lands. Wherever in this Act functions, powers or duties are conferred upon the Secretary, said functions, powers or duties may be performed, exercised, or discharged by his duly authorized representative or representatives. Authority like that granted to the Secretary by this section is hereby granted to the head of any department or agency which is to perform any part of the project land acquisition, development, and settlement pursuant to subsection 4 (e) to the extent required fully to perform the work assigned to him thereunder.

"SEC. 9. The consent of the United States is hereby given to the sale of school lands and any other public lands of the State of Washington which may be included in any irrigation or reclamation project to which this Act is or may be applicable at prices not to exceed their appraised values, determined as provided in subsection 2 (a) hereof.

"SEC. 10. If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provisions to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby.

"SEC. 11. This Act may be cited as "The Columbia Basin Project Act.'"

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To assist in breaking up large holdings‒‒‒‒‒‒ 25, 39, 43, 82, 163, 192, 210
Agriculture, Department of:

Cooperation in settlement program_.

Endorsement_.

Participation in-

_21–23, 40, 92, 127, 136, 156, 216

143, 183

Drafting of bill___

Joint investigations--

21, 93, 143

Report on bill___

Amendments suggested:

Bureau of Reclamation amendments.

Bureau's redraft of H. R. 6522_.

Concerning authority to acquire lands by condemnation_

Selection of settlers___

State representative designated by Governor of Washington_____

Appraisal of lands:

126

215

19, 75

220

139

107, 139

12, 18

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(For matters having direct relationship to H. R. 6522, see appropriate

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