15 U.S.C. § 714b — General powers of Corporation

Page 1172 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 714a 1 So in original. Should be ‘‘Congress)’’. retary of Agriculture by Reorg. Plan No. 2 of 1953, see Exceptions From Transfer of Functions note set out under section 712a of this title. § 714a. Location of offices The Corporation may establish offices in such place or places as it may deem necessary or de- sirable in the conduct of its business. (June 29, 1948, ch. 704, § 3, 62 Stat. 1070.) Executive Documents EXCEPTIONS FROM TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For exception of functions of corporations of Depart- ment of Agriculture from transfer of functions to Sec- retary of Agriculture by Reorg. Plan No. 2 of 1953, see Exceptions From Transfer of Functions note set out under section 712a of this title. § 714b. General powers of Corporation The Corporation— (a) Shall have succession in its corporate name. (b) May adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal, which shall be judicially noticed. (c) May sue and be sued, but no attachment, injunction, garnishment, or other similar proc- ess, mesne or final, shall be issued against the Corporation or its property. The district courts of the United States, including the district courts of any Territory or possession, shall have exclusive original jurisdiction, without regard to the amount in controversy, of all suits brought by or against the Corporation: Provided, That the Corporation may intervene in any court in any suit, action, or proceeding in which it has an interest. Any suit against the Corpora- tion shall be brought in the District of Colum- bia, or in the district wherein the plaintiff re- sides or is engaged in business. No suit by or against the Corporation shall be allowed unless (1) it shall have been brought within six years after the right accrued on which suit is brought, or (2) in the event that the person bringing such suit shall have been under legal disability or be- yond the seas at the time the right accrued, the suit shall have been brought within three years after the disability shall have ceased or within six years after the right accrued on which suit is brought, whichever period is longer. The defend- ant in any suit by or against the Corporation may plead, by way of set-off or counterclaim, any cause of action, whether arising out of the same transaction or not, which would otherwise be barred by such limitation if the claim upon which the defendant’s cause of action is based had not been barred prior to the date that the plaintiff’s cause of action arose: Provided, That the defendant shall not be awarded a judgment on any such set-off or counterclaim for any amount in excess of the amount of the plaintiff’s claim established in the suit. All suits against the Corporation shall be tried by the court with- out a jury. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, the Federal Tort Claims Act (Public Law 601, Seventy-ninth Congres 1 shall be applicable to the Corporation. Any suit by or against the United States as the real party in interest based upon any claim by or against the Corporation shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (c) to the same extent as though such suit were by or against the Corporation, except that (1) any such suit against the United States based upon any claim of the type enumerated in section 1491 of title 28, may be brought in the United States Court of Federal Claims, and (2) no such suit against the United States may be brought in a district court unless such suit might, without regard to the provisions of this subchapter, be brought in such court. (d) May adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws, rules, and regulations governing the manner in which its business may be conducted and the powers vested in it may be exercised. (e) Shall have all the rights, privileges, and immunities of the United States with respect to the right to priority of payment with respect to debts due from insolvent, deceased, or bankrupt debtors. The Corporation may assert such rights, privileges, and immunities in any suit, action, or proceeding. (f) Shall be entitled to the use of the United States mails in the same manner and upon the same conditions as the executive departments of the Federal Government. (g) May enter into and carry out such con- tracts or agreements as are necessary in the conduct of its business, except that obligations under all such contracts or agreements (other than reimbursable agreements under section 714i of this title) for equipment or services relating to automated data processing, information tech- nologies, or related items (including tele- communications equipment and computer hard- ware and software) may not exceed $170,000,000 in fiscal year 1996 and not more than $188,000,000 in the 6-fiscal year period beginning on October 1, 1996, unless additional amounts for such con- tracts and agreements are provided in advance in appropriation Acts. State and local regu- latory laws or rules shall not be applicable with respect to contracts or agreements of the Cor- poration or the parties thereto to the extent that such contracts or agreements provide that such laws or rules shall not be applicable, or to the extent that such laws or rules are incon- sistent with such contracts or agreements. (h) May contract for the use, in accordance with the usual customs of trade and commerce, of plants and facilities for the physical handling, storage, processing, servicing, and transpor- tation of the agricultural commodities subject to its control. The Corporation shall not have power to acquire real property or any interest therein except that it may (a) rent or lease of- fice space necessary for the conduct of its busi- ness and (b) acquire real property or any inter- est therein for the purpose of providing storage adequate to carry out effectively and efficiently any of the Corporation’s programs, or of secur- ing or discharging obligations owing to the Cor- poration, or of otherwise protecting the finan- cial interests of the Corporation: Provided, That the authority contained in this subsection shall not be utilized by the Corporation for the pur- pose of acquiring real property, or any interest therein, in order to provide storage facilities for any commodity unless the Corporation deter- mines that existing privately owned storage fa- cilities for such commodity in the area con- Page 1173 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 714b cerned are not adequate: Provided further, That no refrigerated cold storage facilities shall be constructed or purchased except with funds spe- cifically provided by Congress for that purpose: And provided further, That any contract entered into by the Corporation for the use of a storage facility shall provide at least that (1) the rental rate charged for an extended term in excess of one year shall be at an annual rate less than that which is charged for a one-year contract, (2) any obligation of the Corporation to pay for the use of any space in a facility shall be re- lieved to the extent that the Corporation does not use the space and payment is made by an- other person for the use of such space, and (3) if the Corporation determines that it no longer needs the space reserved in the facility, the Cor- poration may be relieved, for the remaining term of the contract, of its obligations to an ex- tent and in a manner that will provide signifi- cant savings to the Corporation while permit- ting the owner of the facility reasonable time to lease such space to another person: And provided further, That nothing contained in this sub- section shall limit the duty of the Corporation, to the maximum extent practicable consistent with the fulfillment of the Corporation’s pur- poses and the effective and efficient conduct of its business, to utilize the usual and customary channels, facilities, and arrangements of trade and commerce in the warehousing of commod- ities: And provided further, That to encourage the storage of grain on farms, where it can be stored at the lowest cost, the Corporation may make loans to grain growers needing storage fa- cilities when such growers shall apply to the Corporation for financing the construction or purchase of suitable storage, and these loans shall be deducted from the proceeds of price sup- port loans or purchase agreements made be- tween the Corporation and the growers, except that the Secretary shall make such loans in areas in which the Secretary determines that there is a deficiency of such storage. To encour- age the alleviation of natural resource conserva- tion problems that reduce the productive capac- ity of the Nation’s land and water resources or that cause degradation of environmental qual- ity, the Corporation may, beginning December 22, 1981, make loans to any agricultural producer for those natural resource conservation and en- vironmental enhancement measures that are recommended by the applicable county and State committees established under section 590h(b) of title 16 and are included in the pro- ducer’s conservation plan approved by the local soil and water conservation district; such loans shall be for a period not to exceed ten years at a rate of interest based upon the rate of interest charged the Corporation by the United States Treasury; the Corporation may make loans to any one producer in any fiscal year in an amount not to exceed $25,000; loans up to $10,000 in amount may be unsecured and loans in excess of $10,000 shall be secured; and the total of such unsecured and secured loans made in each fiscal year shall not exceed $200,000,000: Provided, That the authority provided by this sentence to make loans shall be effective only to the extent and in such amounts as may be provided for in prior ap- propriation Acts. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commodity Credit Corpora- tion shall, to the maximum extent practicable, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and upon terms and conditions prescribed or ap- proved by the Secretary of Agriculture, accept strategic and critical materials produced abroad in exchange for agricultural commodities ac- quired by the Corporation. Insofar as prac- ticable, in effecting such exchange of goods, the Secretary shall: (1) use normal commercial trade channels; (2) take action to avoid dis- placing usual marketings of United States agri- cultural commodities and the products thereof; (3) take reasonable precautions to prevent the resale or transshipment to other countries, or use for other than domestic use in the importing country, of agricultural commodities used for such exchange; and (4) give priority to commod- ities easily storable and those which serve as prime incentive goods to stimulate production of critical and strategic materials. The Corpora- tion may solicit bids from, and utilize, private trading firms to effect such exchange of goods. The determination of the quantities and quali- ties of such materials which are desirable for stock piling and the determination of which ma- terials are strategic and critical shall be made in the manner prescribed by section 3 of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act [50 U.S.C. 98b]. Strategic and critical mate- rials acquired by Commodity Credit Corporation in exchange for agricultural commodities shall, to the extent approved by the President, be transferred to the stock pile provided for by the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act [50 U.S.C. 98 et seq.]; and in the same fiscal year such materials are transferred to the stock pile the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be reimbursed for the strategic and critical mate- rials so transferred to the stock pile from the funds made available for the purpose of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act, in an amount equal to the fair market value, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, of the material transferred to the stock pile. If the volume of petroleum products (including crude oil) stored in the Strategic Pe- troleum Reserve is less than the level prescribed under section 6234 of title 42, the Corporation shall, to the maximum extent practicable and with the approval of the Secretary of Agri- culture, make available annually to the Sec- retary of Energy, upon the request of the Sec- retary of Energy, a quantity of agricultural products owned by the Corporation with a mar- ket value at the time of such request of at least $300,000,000 for use by the Secretary of Energy in acquiring petroleum products (including crude oil) produced abroad for placement in the Stra- tegic Petroleum Reserve through an exchange of such agricultural products. The terms and con- ditions of each such exchange, including provi- sions for full reimbursement to the Commodity Credit Corporation, shall be determined by the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Agri- culture. Nothing contained herein shall limit the authority of the Commodity Credit Corpora- tion to acquire, hold, or dispose of such quantity of strategic and critical materials as it deems advisable in carrying out its functions and pro- tecting its assets: Provided, That, notwith- Page 1174 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 714b standing any other provision of law, where a grain storage facility owned by the Corporation is not needed by the Corporation and, upon being offered for sale no person offers to pay the minimum price set by the Corporation for such facility for use in connection with storage or handling of agricultural commodities, then the Corporation may, without declaring such facil- ity to be excess property, sell it by bids at not less than such minimum price to any public or private nonprofit agency or organization for use for the purposes of such agency or organization. This provision shall apply also to facilities which on the effective date of this Act have been declared excess to the needs of the Commodity Credit Corporation but have not been claimed by any other Government agency, or surplus to the needs of the Government but not disposed of pursuant to the provisions of chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of sub- title I of title 41. (i) May borrow money subject to any provision of law applicable to the Corporation: Provided, That the total of all money borrowed by the Corporation, other than trust deposits and ad- vances received on sales, shall not at any time exceed in the aggregate $30,000,000,000. The Cor- poration shall at all times reserve a sufficient amount of its authorized borrowing power which, together with other funds available to the Corporation, will enable it to purchase, in accordance with its contracts with lending agen- cies, notes, or other obligations evidencing loans made by such agencies under the Corporation’s programs. (j) Shall determine the character of and the necessity for its obligations and expenditures and the manner in which they shall be incurred, allowed, and paid. (k) Shall have authority to make final and conclusive settlement and adjustment of any claims by or against the Corporation or the ac- counts of its fiscal officers. (l) May make such loans and advances of its funds as are necessary in the conduct of its busi- ness. (m) Shall have such powers as may be nec- essary or appropriate for the exercise of the powers specifically vested in the Corporation, and all such incidental powers as are customary in corporations generally; but any research fi- nanced by the Corporation shall relate to the conservation or disposal of commodities owned or controlled by the Corporation and shall be conducted in collaboration with research agen- cies of the Department of Agriculture. Notwith- standing any other provision of this subchapter, the Corporation may, in the exercise of its power to remove and dispose of surplus agricul- tural commodities, export, or cause to be ex- ported, not to exceed such amounts of commod- ities owned by the Corporation as will enable the Corporation to finance research and develop- ment of external combustion engines using fuel other than that derived from petroleum and pe- troleum products. The total value of commod- ities exported annually for the purposes of the research authorized by the preceding sentence may not exceed $30,000,000. (June 29, 1948, ch. 704, § 4, 62 Stat. 1070; June 7, 1949, ch. 175, §§ 2, 5, 63 Stat. 154, 156; Aug. 10, 1949, ch. 412, § 12(a), 63 Stat. 591; June 28, 1950, ch. 381, § 2, 64 Stat. 261; Mar. 20, 1954, ch. 102, § 2, 68 Stat. 30; Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1172, § 2, 68 Stat. 1047; Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 782, § 2, 69 Stat. 634; Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 815, § 1(a), 70 Stat. 783; Pub. L. 89–758, Nov. 5, 1966, 80 Stat. 1307; Pub. L. 95–113, title XI, § 1104, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat. 954; Pub. L. 95–279, title III, § 301(a), May 15, 1978, 92 Stat. 242; Pub. L. 96–41, § 3(b), July 30, 1979, 93 Stat. 325; Pub. L. 96–234, § 3, Apr. 11, 1980, 94 Stat. 333; Pub. L. 97–35, title I, § 151, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 370; Pub. L. 97–98, title XV, § 1520(a), title XVI, § 1606, Dec. 22, 1981, 95 Stat. 1335, 1347; Pub. L. 97–164, title I, § 161(1), Apr. 2, 1982, 96 Stat. 49; Pub. L. 99–198, title XI, § 1167(b), title XVII, § 1761, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1503, 1651; Pub. L. 99–260, § 11, Mar. 20, 1986, 100 Stat. 52; Pub. L. 100–202, § 101(k) [title I, § 101], Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329–322, 1329–336; Pub. L. 102–572, title IX, § 902(b)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4516; Pub. L. 104–127, title I, § 161(b)(1), Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 934; Pub. L. 105–185, title V, § 521(a), June 23, 1998, 112 Stat. 580; Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(a) [title VII, § 756], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681, 2681–34.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Federal Tort Claims Act, referred to in subsec. (c), is title IV of act Aug. 2, 1946, ch. 753, 60 Stat. 842, which was classified principally to chapter 20 (§§ 921, 922, 931–934, 941–946) of former Title 28, Judicial Code and Judiciary. Title IV of act Aug. 2, 1946, was substan- tially repealed and reenacted as sections 1346(b) and 2671 et seq. of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Proce- dure, by act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 992, the first section of which enacted Title 28. The Federal Tort Claims Act is also commonly used to refer to chapter 171 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see Ta- bles. For distribution of former sections of Title 28 into the revised Title 28, see Table at the beginning of Title 28. The Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act, referred to in subsec. (h), is act June 7, 1939, ch. 190, as revised generally by Pub. L. 96–41, § 2, July 30, 1979, 93 Stat. 319, which is classified generally to sub- chapter III (§ 98 et seq.) of chapter 5 of Title 50, War and National Defense. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 98 of Title 50 and Tables. The effective date of this Act, referred to in subsec. (h), probably refers to the effective date of Pub. L. 89–758, which was approved on Nov. 5, 1966. CODIFICATION The words ‘‘of the District of Columbia and’’ in the phrase of subsec. (c) reading ‘‘including the district courts of the District of Columbia and of any Territory or possession’’ have been deleted as superfluous in view of section 132(a) of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Pro- cedure, which states that ‘‘There shall be in each judi- cial district a district court which shall be a court of record known as the United States District Court for the district’’ and section 88 of Title 28 which states that ‘‘The District of Columbia constitutes one judicial dis- trict’’. In subsec. (h), ‘‘chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41’’ substituted for ‘‘the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended’’ on authority of Pub. L. 107–217, § 5(c), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1303, which Act enacted Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works, and Pub. L. 111–350, § 6(c), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3854, which Act en- acted Title 41, Public Contracts. Amendment by Pub. L. 95–113, which directed the Corporation to make secured storage facility loans of Page 1175 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 714b not to exceed $50,000, later increased to $100,000, to growers of dry or high moisture grain, soybeans, rice, and high moisture forage and silage during the period Oct. 1, 1977, to Sept. 30, 1981, was omitted from the Code as terminated. See Effective and Termination Dates of 1977 Amendment note set out below. AMENDMENTS 1998—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 105–277 substituted ‘‘$188,000,000’’ for ‘‘$193,000,000’’. Pub. L. 105–185 substituted ‘‘$193,000,000’’ for ‘‘$275,000,000’’. 1996—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 104–127, § 161(b)(1)(A), in- serted before period at end of first sentence ‘‘, except that obligations under all such contracts or agreements (other than reimbursable agreements under section 714i of this title) for equipment or services relating to auto- mated data processing, information technologies, or re- lated items (including telecommunications equipment and computer hardware and software) may not exceed $170,000,000 in fiscal year 1996 and not more than $275,000,000 in the 6-fiscal year period beginning on Oc- tober 1, 1996, unless additional amounts for such con- tracts and agreements are provided in advance in ap- propriation Acts’’. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 104–127, § 161(b)(1)(B), in second sentence, struck out ‘‘shall have power to acquire per- sonal property necessary to the conduct of its business but’’ after ‘‘The Corporation’’. 1992—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–572 substituted ‘‘United States Court of Federal Claims’’ for ‘‘United States Claims Court’’. 1987—Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 100–202 substituted ‘‘$30,000,000,000’’ for ‘‘$25,000,000,000’’. 1986—Subsec. (m). Pub. L. 99–260 inserted provision authorizing the Corporation to dispose of or export sur- plus agricultural commodities in amounts that will en- able the Corporation to finance research and develop- ment of external combustion engines using fuel other than that derived from petroleum and petroleum prod- ucts and limiting the total value of the commodities exported annually to a maximum of $30,000,000. 1985—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 99–198, § 1761, inserted an ad- ditional proviso reading as follows: ‘‘That any contract entered into by the Corporation for the use of a storage facility shall provide at least that (1) the rental rate charged for an extended term in excess of one year shall be at an annual rate less than that which is charged for a one-year contract, (2) any obligation of the Corporation to pay for the use of any space in a fa- cility shall be relieved to the extent that the Corpora- tion does not use the space and payment is made by an- other person for the use of such space, and (3) if the Corporation determines that it no longer needs the space reserved in the facility, the Corporation may be relieved, for the remaining term of the contract, of its obligations to an extent and in a manner that will pro- vide significant savings to the Corporation while per- mitting the owner of the facility reasonable time to lease such space to another person:’’. Pub. L. 99–198, § 1167(b), in sentence beginning ‘‘Not- withstanding any other provision of law’’ substituted ‘‘Commodity Credit Corporation shall, to the maximum extent practicable, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and upon terms and conditions prescribed or approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, accept stra- tegic and critical materials’’ for ‘‘Commodity Credit Corporation is authorized, upon terms and conditions prescribed or approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, to accept strategic and critical materials’’; in sentence beginning ‘‘Insofar as practicable’’ substituted ‘‘the Secretary shall: (1) use normal commercial trade chan- nels; (2) take action to avoid displacing usual mar- ketings of United States agricultural commodities and the products thereof; (3) take reasonable precautions to prevent the resale or transshipment to other countries, or use for other than domestic use in the importing country, of agricultural commodities used for such ex- change; and (4) give priority’’ for ‘‘normal commercial trade channels shall be utilized and priority shall be given’’; inserted sentence reading ‘‘The Corporation may solicit bids from, and utilize, private trading firms to effect such exchange of goods.’’; in sentence begin- ning ‘‘Strategic and critical materials’’ substituted ‘‘in the same fiscal year such materials are transferred’’ for ‘‘when transferred’’; and inserted sentence beginning ‘‘If the volume of petroleum products’’ and sentence be- ginning ‘‘the terms and conditions’’ relating to acquisi- tion of petroleum products for placement in the Stra- tegic Petroleum Reserve and terms and conditions of each exchange. 1982—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–164 substituted ‘‘Claims Court’’ for ‘‘Court of Claims’’. 1981—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 97–98 inserted ‘‘, except that the Secretary shall make such loans in areas in which the Secretary determines that there is a deficiency of such storage’’, and inserted provision authorizing the Secretary to make loans to grain growers needing stor- age facilities for the storage of grain on farms in areas where the Secretary determines that there is a defi- ciency of such storage and also inserted provision that, to encourage the alleviation of natural resource con- servation problems that reduce the productive capacity of the Nation’s land and water resources or that cause degradation of environmental quality, the Corporation may, beginning December 22, 1981, make loans to any agricultural producer for those natural resource con- servation and environmental enhancement measures that are recommended by the applicable county and State committees established under section 590h(b) of title 16 and are included in the producer’s conservation plan approved by the local soil and water conservation district, that such loans shall be for a period not to ex- ceed ten years at a rate of interest based upon the rate of interest charged the Corporation by the United States Treasury, that the Corporation may make loans to any one producer in any fiscal year in an amount not to exceed $25,000, that loans up to $10,000 in amount may be unsecured and loans in excess of $10,000 shall be secured, that the total of such unsecured and secured loans made in each fiscal year shall not exceed $200,000,000, and that the authority to make such loans be effective only to the extent and in such amounts as may be provided for in prior appropriation Acts. Pub. L. 97–35 substituted ‘‘the Corporation may make loans’’ for ‘‘the Corporation shall make loans’’ in fourth proviso. 1980—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 96–234 substituted ‘‘$100,000’’ for ‘‘$50,000’’ in two places, and struck out provisions respecting the size of the facility for purposes of ob- taining loans. 1979—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 96–41 substituted ‘‘section 3 of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act’’ for ‘‘section 2 of the Strategic and Critical Mate- rials Stock Piling Act (60 Stat. 596)’’ and ‘‘the Presi- dent’’ for ‘‘the Munitions Board of the Department of Defense’’. 1978—Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 95–279 substituted ‘‘$25,000,000,000’’ for ‘‘$14,500,000,000’’. 1977—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 95–113 inserted proviso di- recting the Corporation to make secured storage facil- ity loans of not to exceed $50,000 to growers of dry or high moisture grain, soybeans, rice, and high moisture forage and silage during the period Oct. 1, 1977, to Sept. 30, 1981. See Codification note set out above. 1966—Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 89–758 inserted provisions allowing for the sale of grain storage facilities by bids when no person offers to pay the minimum price set by the Commodity Credit Corporation at not less than the minimum price to any public or private nonprofit agen- cy. 1956—Subsec. (i). Act Aug. 1, 1956, substituted ‘‘$14,500,000,000’’ for ‘‘$12,000,000,000’’. 1955—Subsec. (i). Act Aug. 11, 1955, substituted ‘‘$12,000,000,000’’ for ‘‘$10,000,000,000’’. 1954—Subsec. (i). Act Aug. 31, 1954, substituted ‘‘$10,000,000,000’’ for ‘‘$8,500,000,000’’. Subsec. (i). Act Mar. 20, 1954, substituted ‘‘$8,500,000,000’’ for ‘‘$6,750,000,000’’. 1950—Subsec. (i). Act June 28, 1950, substituted ‘‘$6,750,000,000’’ for ‘‘$4,750,000,000’’. Page 1176 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 714c 1949—Subsec. (c). Act June 7, 1949, § 5, conferred juris- diction on the district courts ‘‘without regard to the amount in controversy’’, enabled the Corporation and persons having claims against the Corporation to plead set-offs and counterclaims which are barred by the statute of limitations, if, at the time the plaintiff’s cause of action arose, the defendant’s cause of action on which the set-off or counterclaim is based was not barred by the statute of limitations, and provided that certain claims against the United States could be brought in the United States Court of Claims. Subsec. (h). Act June 7, 1949, § 2, enabled the Corpora- tion to acquire items of personal and real property to be used in connection with the care, preservation, stor- age, and handling of agricultural commodities con- trolled by it, and enabled the Corporation to take liens on real property as security for obligations owing to it and to bid in on any execution or foreclosure sale to protect its financial interests in the matter. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME National Military Establishment changed to Depart- ment of Defense by act Aug. 10, 1949. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1998 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 105–185, title V, § 521(b), June 23, 1998, 112 Stat. 580, provided that: ‘‘The amendment made by sub- section (a) [amending this section] takes effect on Oc- tober 1, 1997.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 102–572 effective Oct. 29, 1992, see section 911 of Pub. L. 102–572, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1982 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 97–164 effective Oct. 1, 1982, see section 402 of Pub. L. 97–164, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Proce- dure. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1981 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 97–98 effective Dec. 22, 1981, see section 1801 of Pub. L. 97–98, set out as an Effective Date note under section 4301 of Title 7, Agriculture. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1978 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 95–279 effective Oct. 1, 1978, see section 301(d) of Pub. L. 95–279, set out as a note under section 713a–4 of this title. EFFECTIVE AND TERMINATION DATES OF 1977 AMENDMENT Section 1104 of Pub. L. 95–113 provided that the amendment made by that section is effective only with respect to the fiscal years beginning Oct. 1, 1977, and ending Sept. 30, 1981. STORAGE COST ADJUSTMENT FOR FISCAL YEARS 1988 AND 1989 Pub. L. 100–203, title I, § 1106, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–5, required the Secretary of Agriculture to reduce expenditures of the Commodity Credit Corporation for commercial storage, transportation, and handling of commodities owned by the Corporation by $230,000,000 from the amount of funds otherwise projected to be ex- pended in fiscal years 1988 and 1989 under the budget base determined under section 901 of title 2. INCREASE IN BORROWING AUTHORITY EFFECTIVE ONLY TO EXTENT PROVIDED IN APPROPRIATION ACTS Pub. L. 95–279, title III, § 301(c), May 15, 1978, 92 Stat. 242, provided that: ‘‘The increase in the borrowing au- thority of the Commodity Credit Corporation made by this section [amending this section and section 713a–4 of this title] shall be effective only to the extent pro- vided in appropriation Acts.’’ Executive Documents DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS Functions of President under subsec. (h) of this sec- tion delegated to Secretary of Defense, see section 2 of Ex. Ord. No. 12626, Feb. 25, 1988, 53 F.R. 6114, set out as a note under section 98 of Title 50, War and National Defense. EXCEPTIONS FROM TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS For exception of functions of corporations of Depart- ment of Agriculture from transfer of functions to Sec- retary of Agriculture by Reorg. Plan No. 2 of 1953, see Exceptions From Transfer of Functions note set out under section 712a of this title. § 714c. Specific powers of Corporation In the fulfillment of its purposes and in car- rying out its annual budget programs submitted to and approved by the Congress pursuant to chapter 91 of title 31, the Corporation is author- ized to use its general powers only to— (a) Support the prices of agricultural commod- ities (other than tobacco) through loans, pur- chases, payments, and other operations. (b) Make available materials and facilities re- quired in connection with the production and marketing of agricultural commodities (other than tobacco). (c) Procure agricultural commodities (other than tobacco) for sale to other Government agencies, foreign governments, and domestic, foreign, or international relief or rehabilitation agencies, and to meet domestic requirements. (d) Remove and dispose of or aid in the re- moval or disposition of surplus agricultural commodities (other than tobacco). (e) Increase the domestic consumption of agri- cultural commodities (other than tobacco) by expanding or aiding in the expansion of domes- tic markets or by developing or aiding in the de- velopment of new and additional markets, mar- keting facilities, and uses for such commodities. (f) Export or cause to be exported, or aid in the development of foreign markets for, agricul- tural commodities (other than tobacco) (includ- ing fish and fish products, without regard to whether such fish are harvested in aquacultural operations). (g) Carry out conservation or environmental programs authorized by law. (h) Carry out such other operations as the Congress may specifically authorize or provide for. In the Corporation’s purchasing and selling operations with respect to agricultural commod- ities (other than tobacco) (except sales to other Government agencies), and in the warehousing, transporting, processing, or handling of agricul- tural commodities (other than tobacco), the Corporation shall, to the maximum extent prac- ticable consistent with the fulfillment of the Corporation’s purposes and the effective and ef- ficient conduct of its business, utilize the usual and customary channels, facilities, and arrange- ments of trade and commerce (including, at the option of the Corporation, the use of private sec- tor entities).