Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 54 Part 1.djvu/1047

 54 STAT.] 76TH CONG. , 3D SESS.-CH. 757-OCT. 8, 1940 acts performed by such officers or employees designated therefor by the Administrator shall have the same force and effect as though performed by the Administrator in person. Except in the event of suit as provided in section 617 hereof, all decisions rendered by the Administrator under the provisions of this part, or regulations issued pursuant thereto, shall be final and conclusive on all questions of law and fact, and no other official or court of the United States shall have jurisdiction to review by motion or otherwise any such decision. SEC. 609. (a) There shall be no recovery of payments made under this part from any person who, in the judgment of the Administrator, is without fault on his part and where, in the judgment of the said Administrator, such recovery would defeat the purpose of benefits otherwise authorized herein or would be against equity and good conscience. No disbursing officer or certifying officer shall be held liable for any amount paid to any person where the recovery of such amount is waived under this section. (b) Where, under the provisions of this section, the recovery of a payment made from the National Service Life Insurance Fund is waived, the National Service Life Insurance Fund shall be reimbursed for the amount of such payment from the current appropriation for National Service Life Insurance. SEC. 610. No State law providing for presumption of death shall be applicable to claims for National Service Life Insurance. If evidence satisfactory to the Administrator is produced establishing the fact of the continued and unexplained absence of any individual from his home and family for a period of seven years, during which period no evidence of his existence has been received, the death of such indi- vidual as of the date of the expiration of such period may, for the purposes of this part, be considered as sufficiently proved. SEC. 611. No United States Government life insurance shall be granted hereafter to any person under the provisions of section 300 of the World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended: Provided That this section shall not be construed to prohibit the issue of United States Government life insurance policies in cases in which acceptable applications accompanied by proper and valid remittances or author- izations for the payment of premiums have, prior to the date of enactment of this Act, been received by the Veterans' Administration or which have, prior to said date, been placed in the mails properly directed to said Veterans' Administration, or been delivered to an authorized representative of the War Department, the Navy Depart- ment, or the Coast Guard, and which are forwarded to the Veterans' Administration not later than one hundred and twenty days subse- quent to said date. SEC. 612. Any person guilty of mutiny, treason, spying, or deser- tion, or who, because of conscientious objections, refuses to perform service in the land or naval forces of the United States or refuses to wear the uniform of such force, shall forfeit all rights to insur- ance under this part. No insurance shall be payable for death inflicted as a lawful punishment for crime or for military or naval offense, except when inflicted by an enemy of the United States; but the cash surrender value, if any, of such insurance on the date of such death shall be paid to the designated beneficiary; if living or otherwise to the beneficiary or beneficiaries within the permitted class in accordance with the order specified in section 602 (h) (3). SEC. 613. Whoever in any claim for insurance issued under the provisions of this part makes any sworn statement of a material fact knowing it to be false, shall be guilty of perjury and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 1013 Post, p. 1014. Recovery of pay- ments. Reimbursement where recovery waived. Inapplicability of State law providing for presumption of death. U. S. Government life insurance. 43 Stat. 624 . 38U.S .C.§511. Proviso. Applications re- ceived prior to enact. ment. Forfeiture of rights to insurance. Ante, p. 1010. Perjury. Penalty.

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