CHAPTER 34 SUPPLIES AND SERVICES (PROCUREMENT) Purchase or procurement in general, 1925. Payment of subsidies in general; prohibition, 1925a. Interdepartmental procurement: In general, 1926. Through War or Navy Department, 1926a. Procurement of military supplies: Advertising requirements, 1928. Compulsory orders, 1930. Government manufacture, 1931. Preference for domestic production, 1933. Reserve stocks, 1934. From Department of Justice, 1936. From District of Columbia Reformatory, 1937. Munitions; educational orders, 1973. Ordnance and ordnance stores; in general, 1976. Portable stoves and ranges; for experimental purposes, 1979. Strategic and critical material: In general, 1981a. Acquisition by exchange, 1981b. Priority of Government business, 1982. Gauges, dies, jigs, tools, 1985. Ordnance, signal, and chemical warfare supplies; for experimental purposes, 1985a. Hereafter the Secretary of War, in addition to other duties imposed upon him by law, shall be charged with the supervision of the procurement of all military supplies and other business of the War Department pertaining thereto and the assurance of adequate provision for the mobilization of matériel and industrial organizations essential to wartime needs, and he may assign to the Under Secretary of War and The Assistant Secretary of War such duties in connection therewith as he may deem proper. Chiefs of branches of the Army shall report regarding all matters of procurement direct to the Secretary of War, the Under Secretary of War, or The Assistant Secretary of War, as the Secretary of War shall have prescribed Sec. 5a, added to act of June 3, 1916, by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 764); sec. 2, act of Dec. 16, 1940 (54 Stat. 1224); 10 U.S. C. 1193. * * * * * * This Act shall remain in force during the continuance of the present war, and for six months after the termination thereof, or until such earlier time as the Congress by concurrent resolution or the President may designate. Sec. 2, act of Dec. 16, 1940 (54 Stat. 1224); act * ** * of Dec. 15, 1944, (58 Stat. 807.). The second paragraph of this section has been amended as above. Provided 1925a. Payment of subsidies in general; prohibition.- * further, That none of the funds appropriated in this Act shall be used for the payment of any subsidy on agricultural or other products; Military Appropriation Act of June 28, 1944 (58 Stat. 579). * * A similar provision was contained in Military Appropriation Act, 1944 (57 Stat. 353). 1926. Interdepartmental procurement of supplies and services.-(a) Any executive department or independent establishment of the Government, or any bureau or office thereof, if funds are available therefor and if it is determined by the head of such executive department, establishment, bureau, or office to be in the interest of the Government so to do, may place orders with any other such department, establishment, bureau, or office for materials, supplies, equipment, work, or services of any kind that such requisitioned Federal agency may be in a position to supply or equipped to render, and shall pay promptly by check to such Federal agency as may be requisitioned, upon its written request, either in advance or upon the furnishing or performance thereof, all or part of the estimated or actual cost thereof as determined by such department, establishment, bureau, or office as may be requisitioned; but proper adjustments on the basis of the actual cost of the materials, supplies, or equipment furnished, or work or services performed, paid for in advance, shall be made as may be agreed upon by the departments, establishments, bureaus, or offices concerned: Provided, That the War Department, Navy Department, Treasury Department, Civil Aeronautics Administration, and the Maritime Commission may place orders, as provided herein, for materials, supplies, equipment, work, or services, of any kind that any requisitioned Federal agency may be in a position to supply, or to render or to obtain by contract: Provided further, That if such work or services can be as conveniently or more cheaply performed by private agencies such work shall be let by competive bids to such private agencies. Bills rendered, or requests for advance payments made, pursuant to any such order, shall not be subject to audit or certification in advance of payment. (b) Amounts paid as provided in subsection (a) shall be credited, (1) in the case of advance payments, to special working funds, or (2) in the case of payments other than advance payments, to the appropriations or funds against which charges have been made pursuant to any such order, except as hereinafter provided. The Secretary of the Treasury shall establish such special working funds as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection. Such amounts paid shall be available for expenditure in furnishing the materials, supplies, or equipment, or in performing the work or services, or for the objects specified in such appropria tions or funds. Where materials, supplies, or equipment are furnished from stocks on hand, the amounts received in payment therefor shall be credited to appropriations or funds, as may be authorized by other law, or, if not so authorized, so as to be available to replace the materials, supplies, or equipment, except that where the head of any such department, establishment, bureau, or office determines that such replacement is not necessary the amounts paid shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. (c) Orders placed as provided in subsection (a) shall be considered as obligations upon appropriations in the same manner as orders or contracts placed with private contractors. Advance payments credited to special working funds shall remain available to the procuring agency for entering into contracts and other uses during the fiscal year or years for which the appropriation involved was made and thereafter until said appropriation lapses under the law to the surplus fund of the Treasury. Sec. 1, act of Mar. 4, 1915 (38 Stat. 1084); sec. 7, act of May 21, 1920 (41 Stat. 613); sec. 601, Title VI, Part II, act of June 30, 1932 (47 Stat. 417); act of July 20, 1942 (56 Stat. 661); sec. 1, act of June 26, 1943 (57 Stat. 219); 31 U. S. C. The first paragraph of this section has been amended as above. * Section 8, Title IV, act of June 22, 1936 (49 Stat. 1648); 31 U. S. C. 686c, which constituted the third paragraph of the original text of this section, was expressly repealed by section 2, act of June 26, 1943 (57 Stat. 219). The National War Agencies Appropriation Act, 1944 (57 Stat. 536) and section 203, National War Agencies Appropriation Act, 1945 (58 Stat. 546), prohibit interdepartmental services under authority of this section for certain war agencies without the prior approval of the Bureau of the Budget. By 2191e-6, post, transfers of surplus property between Government agencies are given priority over all other disposals provided for in the Surplus Property Act. By Executive Order No. 9418, January 29, 1944, the President authorized the War Food Administration to place orders with other agencies for materials or services to be obtained by contract or otherwise. By Executive Order No. 9440, May 9, 1944, the President authorized the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to place orders with other agencies for materials or services to be obtained by contract or otherwise. 1926a. [Expired] Interdepartmental procurement through War or Navy Department.-During the fiscal year 1944, the appropriations available to either the War Department or the Navy Department shall be available for procurement as provided for in such appropriations by any other executive department or independent establishment of the Government through administrative allotments in such amounts as may be authorized by the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy, respectively, without transfer of funds on the books of the Treasury Department: Provided, That orders placed with the procuring department or establishment by the allotting department or establishment shall be considered as obligations upon the appropriations involved in the same manner as orders or contracts placed with private contractors: Provided further, That disbursing officers of the allotting department may make disbursements chargeable to such allotments upon vouchers certified by officers of the procuring department or establishment: Provided further, That whenever vouchers are certified by an officer of the procuring department or establishment and are paid by a disbursing officer of the allotting department the certifying officer and not the disbursing officer shall be held responsible and accountable for the existence and correctness of the facts certified, including the correctness of computations shown on certified vouchers and on any required supporting documents. Sec. 117, Naval Appropriation Act of June 26, 1943 (57 Stat. 217). A similar provision was contained in section 104, Supplemental Naval Appropriation Act, 1943 (57 Stat. 56). It was not repeated in the appropriation act for the fiscal year 1945. 1928. Procurement of military supplies; advertising requirements. The exemption from the requirements of R. S. 3709 in third paragraph of this section was increased to $50 by Military Appropriation Act of June 13, 1940 (54 Stat. 352), and to $100 by Military Appropriation Act of June 30, 1941 (55 Stat. 391), and subsequent acts, including section 204, Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1945 (58 Stat. 385). 1929. Procurement of military supplies; bids. Notes of Decisions Mistake. The fact that a bidder on build- | after its acceptance by the United States, ing at Coast Guard Station for United States U. S. v. Conti (C. C. A. 1, 1941), 119 F. made an error in his figuring did not afford (2d) 652. him a valid ground for withdrawing his bid 1930. Procurement of military supplies; compulsory orders. For provision making War Department appropriations available for procurements under this section, see 1985, post. For provisions similar to this section but not limited to "time of war or when war is imminent", see 2225-9, post. By Executive Order No. 9040, January 24, 1942, as amended by Executive Order No. 9138, April 17, 1942, the Chairman of the War Production Board was designated to perform the functions and exercise the authority vested in the President by this section. 1931. Procurement of military supplies; Government * * manufacture.— * The Secretary of War shall cause to be manufactured or produced at the Government arsenals or Government-owned factories of the United States all such supplies or articles needed by the War Department as said arsenals or factories are capable of manufacturing or producing upon an economical basis. All appropriations for manufacture of matériel pertaining to approved projects which are placed with arsenals, Governmentowned factories, or other ordnance establishments shall remain available for such purpose until the close of the next ensuing fiscal year. Sec. 5a, added to the act of June 3, 1916, by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 765); sec. 2, act of Dec. 16, 1940 (54 Stat. 1224); 10 U. S. C. 1195. * * * This Act shall remain in force during the continuance of the present war, and for six months after the termination thereof, or until such earlier time as the Congress by concurrent resolution or the President may designate. Sec. 2, act of Dec. 16, 1940 (54 Stat. 1224); act ** ** * The first paragraph of this section has been amended as above. 1933. Procurement of military supplies; preference for domestic production. * Provided, That no part of this or any other appropriation contained in this Act shall be available for the procurement of any article of food or clothing not grown or produced in the United States or its possessions, except to the extent that the head of the department concerned shall determine that articles of food or clothing grown or produced in the United States or its possessions cannot be procured of satisfactory quality and in sufficient quantities and at reasonable prices as and when needed, and except procurements by vessels in foreign waters and by establishments located outside the continental United States, except the Territories of Hawaii and Alaska, for the personnel attached thereto. Fifth Supplemental National Defense Appropriation Act of Apr. 5, 1941 (55 Stat. 125). The above provision is added as a new paragraph of this section. found in the following acts: Naval Appropriation Act of May 25, 1939 (53 Stat. 767). 1934. Procurement of military supplies; reserve stocks. Similar provisions are An appropriation of $750,000 for the procurement and maintenance of reserve stores for use in time of war or national emergency was made by the Navy appropriation act of May 25, 1939 (53 Stat. 770). See also 1981a, post. 1936. Procurement of military supplies from Department of Justice. By Part 1, Reorganization Plan No. II, transmitted to Congress under authority of section 4, act of April 3, 1939, ante, 888c and effective July 1, 1939, The Federal Prison Industries, Inc., was transferred to the Department of Justice, to be administered under the direction and supervision of the Attorney General. The functions of this organization were continued until June 30, 1941, by act of May 31, 1940 (54 Stat. 229). Commodities manufactured in Federal or District of Columbia penal and correctional institutions for use by the Federal Government are expressly excepted from the provisions of the act of October 14, 1940 (54 Stat. 1134), as amended by act of July 9, 1941 (55 Stat. 581), prohibiting the interstate transportation of prison-made products. Purchases in connection with the activities of the United States Maritime Commission in constructing cargo vessels were exempted from the provisions of this section by section 2, act of February 6, 1941 (55 Stat. 6). Executive Order No. 325A, May 18, 1905, prohibiting the employment of convict labor in connection with procurements by the Government, was suspended for the duration of the war by Executive Order No. 9196, July 9, 1942. Notes of Decisions In general.-There is no provision of Federal law which prohibits the purchase by the Federal Government of either State or Federal prison-made goods. can State statutes which might be thought to restrict the type of products that be made in State prisons for the Federal Government may be found upon examination in the light of the present war conditions and the present Federal necessities not to prevent procurement of war materials by the Federal Government from this source. (May 6, 1942), 40 Op. Atty. Gen. No. 45. The Federal statutes relating to interstate shipment of prison-made goods (54 Stat. 1134; 45 Stat. 1084; 49 Stat. 494) are not intended to prevent the procurement of such goods from Federal or State prisons by the Federal Government. Federal procurement in this connection includes purchases by Government contractors, subcontractors, or brokers, but Moreover that Order has no application to 1937. Procurement of military supplies from District of Columbia Reformatory.-* * *Provided, That the various departments and institutions of the District of Columbia and the Federal Government may purchase at fair market prices, as determined by the Commissioners, products and services of said industrial enterprises: ** * * Sec. 1, District of Columbia Appropriation Act of June 28, 1944 (58 Stat. 522). As repeated in District of Columbia Appropriation Act, 1945, this section, based on section 1, act of February 25, 1929 (45 Stat. 1290) was changed in form as indicated above. |