Surplus Property Act Explained

Shorttitle:	Surplus Property Act
Longtitle:	An Act to aid the reconversion from a war to a peace economy through the distribution of Government surplus property and to establish a Surplus Property Board to effectuate the same, and for other purposes.
Nickname:	Surplus Property Act of 1944
Enacted By:	78th
Cite Statutes At Large:	, Chap. 479
Title Amended:	50a U.S.C.: War and National Defense^[1]
Sections Created:	50 Appendix U.S.C. §§ 1611-1646^[2]
Introducedin:	House
Introducedby:	William M. Colmer (D–MS)
Introduceddate:	June 23, 1944^[3]
Signedpresident:	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Signeddate:	October 3, 1944
Amendments:	Fulbright Act of 1946

Surplus Property Act of 1944 (ch. 479,, et seq., enacted October 3, 1944) is an act of the United States Congress that was enacted to provide for the disposal of surplus government property to "a State, political subdivision of a State, or tax-supported organization". It authorized a three-member board, known as the Surplus Property Board, a structure that was replaced within a year by an agency run by a single administrator. Many of its provisions were repealed on July 1, 1949.^[4]

See also

• War Assets Administration
• Law Enforcement Support Office

Further reading

• Financing the Acquisition of Surplus Plants and Goods. David L. Podell. Law and Contemporary Problems. 11. 2. Summer–Autumn 1945. 320 - 333. 10.2307/1190144. 1190144. Duke University School of Law.
• The Evolution of a Reconversion Policy: World War II and Surplus War Property Disposal . Dobney . Fredrick J. . May 1974 . . 36 . 3 . Taylor & Francis, Ltd. . 24443749 . 498–519.
• Planning for Peace: The Surplus Property Act of 1944 . Cain . Louis . Neumann . George . March 1981 . . 41 . 1 . Cambridge University Press . 2120907 . 129-135.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Title 50, Appendix - War and National Defense . United States Code ~ Title 50a Omitted or Repealed . U.S. Government Publishing Office.
2. Web site: United States Code: Surplus Property Act of 1944, 50a U.S.C. §§ 1611-1646 . 1946 . Title 50: War, Appendix . Law Library of Congress . United States Library of Congress . 5886-5867.
3. Web site: Surplus Property Act of 1944 ~ House Bill H.R. 1525 . June 23, 1944 . Disposal of Surplus Government Property and Plants . 90 . 5 . 78th Congressional Record of United States House of Representatives . U.S. Congress.gov . 6680.
4. Web site: Harry S. Truman. Special Message to the Congress on the Need for a Modern System for the Management of Government Property. 1948-03-05. Harry S. Truman.