Public Law 85–913

That section 4 (a) of the Virgin Islands Corporation Act (63 Stat. 350, 352; 48 U. S. C. 1407c (a)) is hereby amended to read as follows:

“(a)“(a)

To have succession until June 30, 1969, unless sooner dissolved

Termination date.

by Act of Congress. At such time as the Board of Directors finds that the economic development of the Virgin Islands of the United States will be served effectively by the sale of some or all of the assets

Sale of assets.

of the Corporation to private enterprise, such disposal may be effected, and for this purpose the Board of Directors is authorized to sell any or all such assets at such time as it considers appropriate for a fair and reasonable value, without regard to the provisions of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended, or

63 Stat. 377.

40 USC 471 note.

any other law: Provided. That the sale of any property valued at $500 or more shall be made only after public advertisement and by sealed competitive bids or public auction: Provided further, That in either such case the Government of the Virgin Islands shall have the right to purchase the property at a price not greater than that offered by the highest responsible bidder and that, in the case of sales of property valued at less than $500, it shall have a right to purchase at a price not greater than that offered by responsible prospective purchasers.

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Sec. 2.

The first sentence of section 4 (i) of said Act is hereby

48 USC 1407c.

amended to read as follows:

“(i)“(i)

To appoint, without regard to the provisions of the civil-service

Appointment of employees, etc.

laws, such officers, agents, attorneys, and employees as may be necessary for the conduct of the business of the Corporation; to delegate to them such powers and to prescribe for them such duties as may be deemed appropriate by the Corporation; to establish an efficiency or merit rating system, as may be desirable; to fix and pay-such compensation to them for their services as the Corporation may determine, without regard to the provisions of the classification laws except to the extent that these laws may be extended to the Corporation by the President of the United States: without regard to the provisions of any other law, to establish hours of work, conditions governing the payment of compensation for overtime hours, and working rules and working conditions generally; and to require bonds from such of them as the Corporation may designate, the premiums therefor to be paid by the Corporation.”

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Sec. 3.

Section 4 of said Act is hereby amended by adding at the

Salt Water distillation plant, construction authority.

end thereof the following new subsections (o) and (p):

“(o)“(o)

To construct, operate, and maintain salt water distillation facilities in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands. Such facilities shall be used to supply water for sale to the government of the Virgin Islands and to persons purchasing directly from the Corporation: Provided, That the principal contract for the construction of such facilities shall not be executed by the Corporation—

“(i)“(i)

until the government of the Virgin Islands has contracted to purchase a minimum quantity of water at a price established by the Corporation, and the price established by the Corporation for sale of water shall be calculated to cover, as a minimum, all costs of construction, operation, and maintenance of such water distillation facilities, including but not limited to depreciation and payment of interest on the Corporation’s indebtedness in connection with such facilities;

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“(ii)“(ii)

until the Secretary of the Interior has concluded that such facilities will most economically and expeditiously provide an adequate supplemental supply of potable water for St. Thomas; and

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“(iii)“(iii)

if the Secretary so concludes, until the expiration of forty-five calendar days (exclusive of days on which the House

Reports to Congress.

of Representatives or the Senate is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain) from the date on which such construction contract has been submitted to the Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate. With such contract, there shall also be submitted to such committees an explanatory statement of the Secretary’s conclusion pursuant to (ii) hereof, together with the reasons therefor and supplemental data concerning alternative sources of water which have been investigated.

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The Corporation shall report annually to the Congress on the operation

Report to Congress.

of the plant and shall include in its reports all technical and operational information pertinent to the prosecution of the Government’s saline water research and development program (Act of July 2, 1952,

42 USC 1951 et seq.

Corporation borrowing authority.

66 Stat. 328, as amended) which is derived from said operation.

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“(p)“(p)

To borrow from the Treasury of the United States, within such amounts as may be approved in appropriation Acts, for the sole purpose of constructing, operating, and maintaining the facilities authorized in subsection (o) of this section, sums of money not to exceed a total of $2,000,000. For this purpose the Corporation may issue to the Secretary of the Treasury its notes, debentures, bonds, or other obligations to be redeemable at the option of the Corporation before maturity in such manner as may be stipulated in such obligations: Provided, That all such obligations shall be redeemed within a period of not to exceed twenty years from date of issuance out of revenues from the sale of water. Each such obligation shall bear interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration the current average market yields on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States having comparable maturities. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to purchase any obligations of the Corporation to be issued hereunder and, for such purpose, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to use as a public-debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of any securities issued under the

40 Stat. 288.

31 USC 774(2).

Second Liberty Bond Act, as amended, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under the Second Liberty Bond Act, as amended, are extended to include any purchases of the Corporation’s obligations hereunder.”

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Sec. 4.

Section 6 (a) of said Act is hereby amended by striking out

48 USC 1407e.

the figure “$9,000,000” in both places where it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof the figure “$11,000,000”.

Sec. 5.

Section 8 (a) of said Act is hereby amended to read as

48 USC 1407g.

follows:

(a)(a)

“(a) Appropriations are authorized for payment to the Corporation in the form of a grant of such amounts as may be necessary to cover losses incurred in the conduct of its activities which are included in the annual budget as predominantly revenue producing.”

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Sec. 6.

The first paragraph of section 9 of said Act is hereby

48 USC 1407h.

amended by striking out the words “the Chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “the Administrator of the Small Business Administration”.

Sec. 7.