Page images
PDF
EPUB

(f) accept in the name of the Office, and employ or dispose of in furtherance of the purposes of this Act, or of any title thereof. any money or property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible or intangible, received by gift, devise, bequest, or otherwise;

(g) accept voluntary and uncompensated services, notwithstanding the provisions of section 3679 (b) of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 665 (b));

(h) allocate and expend, or transfer to other Federal agencies for expenditure, funds made available under this Act as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions hereof, including (without regard to the provisions of section 4774(d) of title 10, United States Code) expenditure for construction, repairs, and capital improvements;

(i) disseminate, without regard to the provisions of section 4145 of title 39, United States Code, data and information, in such form as he shall deem appropriate, to public agencies, private organizations, and the general public;

(j) adopt an official seal, which shall be judicially noticed;

notwithstanding any other provision of law relating to the acquisition, handling, or disposal of real or personal property by the United States, deal with, complete, rent, renovate, modernize. or sell for cash or credit at his discretion any properties acquired by him in connection with loans, participations, and guaranties made by him pursuant to titles III and IV of this Act;

(1) collect or compromise all obligations to or held by him and all legal or equitable rights accruing to him in connection with the payment of obigations until such time as such obligations may be referred to the Attorney General for suit or collection;

(m) expend funds made available for purposes of this Act(1) for printing and binding, in accordance with applicable law and regulation; and

(2) without regard to any other law or regulation, for rent of buildings and space in buildings and for repair, alteration, and improvement of buildings and space in buildings rented by him; but the Director shall not utilize the authority contained in this subparagraph (2)—

(A) except when necessary to obtain an item, service, or facility, which is required in the proper administration of this Act, and which otherwise could not be obtained. or could not be obtained in the quantity or quality needed, or at the time, in the form, or under the conditions in which, it is needed, and

(B) prior to having given written notification to the Administrator of General Services (if the exercise of such authority would affect an activity which otherwise would be under the jurisdiction of the General Services Administration) of his intention to exercise such authority, the item, service, or facility with respect to which such authority is proposed to be exercised, and the reasons and justifications for the exercise of such authority: and

(n) establish such policies, standards, criteria, and procedures, prescribe such rules and regulations, enter into such contracts and agreements with public agencies and private organizations and persons, make such payments (in lump sum or installments, and in advance or by way of reimbursement, and in the case of grants, with necessary adjustments on account of overpayments or underpayments), and generally perform such functions and take such steps as he may deem to be necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this Act.

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

SEC. 603. (a) For purposes of chapter 15 of title 5 of the United States Code any overall community action agency which assumes responsibility for planning, developing, and coordinating communitywide antipoverty programs and receives assistance under this Act shall be deemed to be a State or local agency; and for purposes of clauses (1) and (2) of section 1502(a) of such title any agency receiving assistance under this Act (other than part C of title I) shall be deemed to be a State or local agency.

(b) Programs assisted under this Act shall not be carried on in a manner involving the use of program funds, the provision of services, or the employment or assignment of personnel in a manner supporting or resulting in the identification of such programs with (1) any partisan or nonpartisan political activity or any other political activity associated with a candidate, or contending faction or group, in an election for public or party office, (2) any activity to provide voters or prospective voters with transportation to the polls or similar assistance in connection with any such election, or (3) any voter registration activity. The Director, after consultation with the Civil Service Commission, shall issue rules and regulations to provide for the enforcement of this section, which shall include provisions for summary suspension of assistance or other action necessary to permit enforcement on an emergency basis.

APPEALS, NOTICE AND HEARING

SEC. 604. The Director shall prescribe procedures to assure that(1) special notice of and an opportunity for a timely and expeditious appeal to the Director is provided for an agency or organization which would like to serve as delegate agency under title I-B or II and whose application to the prime sponsor or community action agency has been wholly or substantially rejected or has not been acted upon within a period of time deemed reasonable by the Director;

(2) financial assistance under titles I-B, II, and III-B shall not be suspended for failure to comply with applicable terms and conditions, except in emergency situations, nor shall an application for refunding under sections 123, 221, 222, or 312 be denied, unless the recipient agency has been given reasonable notice and opportunity to show cause why such action should not be taken; and

(3) financial assistance under titles I-B, II, and III-B shall not be terminated for failure to comply with applicable terms and conditions unless the recipient agency has been afforded reasonable notice and opportunity for a full and fair hearing.

NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

SEC. 605. (a) There is hereby established in the Office a National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity (hereinafter referred to as the Advisory Council), to be composed of twenty-one members appointed, for staggered terms and without regard to the civil service laws, by the President. Such members shall be representative of the public in general and appropriate fields of endeavor related to the purposes of this Act. The President shall designate the chairman from among such members. The Advisory Council shall meet at the call of the chairman but not less often than four times a year. The Director shall be an ex officio member of the Advisory Council.

(b) The Advisory Council shall

(1) advise the Director with respect to policy matters arising in the administration of this Act; and

(2) review the effectiveness and the operation of programs under this Act and make recommendations concerning (A) the improvement of such programs, (B) the elimination of duplication of effort, and (C) the coordination of such programs with other Federal programs designed to assist low income individuals and families.

Such recommendations shall include such proposals for changes in this Act as the Advisory Council deems appropriate.

(c) The Advisory Council shall make an annual report of its findings and recommendations to the President not later than March 31 of each calendar year beginning with the calendar year 1967. The President shall transmit each such report to the Congress together with his comments and recommendations.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESEARCH OR DEMONSTRATION CONTRACTS

SEC. 606. (a) The Director or the head of any other Federal agency administering a program under this Act shall make a public announcement concerning:

(1) The title, purpose, intended completion date, identity of the contractor, and proposed cost of any contract with a private or non-Federal public agency or organization for any demonstration or research project; and

(2) The results, findings, data, or recommendations made or reported as a result of such activities.

(b) The public announcements required by subsection (a) shall be made within thirty days of entering into such contracts and thereafter within thirty days of the receipt of such results.

(c) It shall be the duty of the Comptroller General to assure that the requirements of this section are met, and he shall at once report to the Congress concerning any failure to comply with these requirements.

LABOR STANDARDS

SEC. 607. All laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors in the construction, alteration or repair, including painting and decorating of projects, buildings and works which are federally assisted under this Act shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar construction in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 276a-276a-5). The Secretary of Labor shall have, with respect to such labor standards, the authority and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (15 F.R. 3176; 64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. 133-133z-15), and section 2 of the Act of June 13, 1934, as amended (48 Stat. 948, as amended; 40 U.S.C. 276(c)).

REPORTS

SEC. 608. Not later than one hundred and twenty days after the close of each fiscal year, the Director shall prepare and submit to the President for transmittal to the Congress a full and complete report on the activities of the Office during such year.

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 609. As used in this Act

(1) the term "State" means a State, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, or the Virgin Islands, and for purposes of title I and title II the meaning of "State" shall also include the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; except that when used in section 225 of this Act this term means only a State or the District of Columbia. The term "United States" when used in a geographical sense includes all those places named in the previous sentence, and all other places continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States;

(2) the term "financial assistance" when used in titles I, II, III-B, IV, and V-B includes assistance advanced by grant, agreement, or contract, but does not include the procurement of plant or equipment, or goods or services;

(3) the term "permanent resident of the United States" when used in titles I-A and I-B shall include any native and citizen of Cuba who arrived in the United States from Cuba as a nonimmigrant or as a parolee subsequent to January 1, 1959, under the provisions of section 214(a) or 212(d) (5), respectively, or any person admitted as a conditional entrant under section 203 (a) (7), of the Immigration and Nationality Act; and

(4) the term "Director" means the Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity.

PROGRAMS FOR THE ELDERLY POOR

SEC. 610. It is the intention of Congress that whenever feasible the special problems of the elderly poor shall be considered in the development, conduct, and administration of programs under this Act. The Director shall (1) carry out such investigations and studies,

including consultations with appropriate agencies and organizations, as may be necessary to develop and carry out a plan for the participation of the elderly poor in programs under this Act, including programs providing employment opportunities, public service opportunities, education and other services and activities which assist the elderly poor to achieve self-sufficiency; (2) maintain a constant review of all programs under this Act to assure that the needs of the elderly poor are given adequate consideration; (3) initiate and maintain interagency liaison with all other appropriate Federal agencies to achieve a coordinated national approach to the needs of the elderly poor; and (4) determine and recommend to the President and the Congress such programs requiring additional authority and the necessary legis lation to provide such authority. In exercising his responsibilities under this section, the Director shall cooperate with the Commissioner on Aging. The Director shall describe the ways in which this section has been implemented in the annual report required by section 608.

COMPARABILITY OF WAGES

SEC. 610-1. (a) The Director shall take such action as may be necessary to assure that persons employed in carrying out programs financed under part A of title I or title II (except a person compensated as provided in section 602) shall not receive compensation at a rate which is (1) in excess of the average rate of compensation paid in the area where the program is carried out to a substantial number of the persons providing substantially comparable services, or in excess of the average rate of compensation paid to a substantial number of the persons providing substantially comparable services in the area of the person's immediately preceding employment, whichever is higher or (2) less than the minimum wage rate prescribed in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

(b) Not later than sixty days after the close of the fiscal year 1967 and each fiscal year thereafter the Director shall prepare and submit to the President for submission to the Congress a list of the names of all officers or employees whose compensation is subject to the limita tions set forth in subsection (a) of this section and who were receiving at the end of such fiscal year a salary of $10,000 or more per year, together with the amount of compensation paid to each such person and the amount of such compensation paid from funds advanced or granted pursuant to this Act. No grant, contract or agreement shall be made under any of the provisions of this Act referred to in subsection (a) of this section which does not contain adequate provisions to assure the furnishing of information required by the preceding sentence.

(c) No person whose compensation exceeds $6,000 per annum and is paid pursuant to any grant, contract, or agreement authorized under part A of title I or part A of title II (except a person compensated as provided in section 602) shall be employed at a rate of compensation which exceeds by more than 20 percent the salary which he was receiv ing in his immediately preceding employment, but the Director may grant exceptions for specific cases. In determining salary in preceding employment for one regularly employed for a period of less than 12 months per year, the salary shall be adjusted to an annual basis.

« PreviousContinue »