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PUBLIC LAW 295-AUG. 9, 1955

Public Law 295

[69

ST A T.

CHAPTER 655

August 9, 1955 [S. 23911

AN ACT To amend the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, and for other purposes.

Defense Production Act Amendments of 1955. 64 Stat. 798. 50 USC a p p. 2062.

Be it enacted by the Senate and Ho'u^e of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Defense Production Act Amendments of 1955". SEC. 2. Section 2 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, is amended to read as follows: DECLARATION OF POLICY

so u s e 2093.

app,

50 U S C 2151.

D i s t r ibution of defense contracts.

"SEC. 2. I n view of the present international situation and in order to provide for the national defense and national security, our mobilization effort continues to require some diversion of certain materials and facilities from civilian use to military and related purposes. I t also requires the development of preparedness programs and the expansion of productive capacity and supply beyond the levels needed to meet the civilian demand, in order to reduce the time required for full mobilization in the event of an attack on the United States." SEC. 3. Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, is amended by adding at the end thereof a new subsection as follows: " (g) When in his judgment it will aid the national defense, and upon a certification by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior that a particular strategic and critical material is likely to be in short supply in time of war or other national emergency, the President may make provision for the development of substitutes for such strategic and critical materials." SEC. 4. Subsection (c) of section 701 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "(c) Whenever the President invokes the powers given him in this Act to allocate any material in the civilian market, he shall do so in such a manner as to make available, so far as practicable, for business and various segments thereof in the normal channel of distribution of such material, a fair share of the available civilian supply based, so far as practicable, on the share received by such business under normal conditions during a representative period preceding any future allocation of materials: Provided, That the President shall, in the allocation of materials in the civilian market, give due consideration to the needs of new concerns and newly acquired operations, undue hardships of individual businesses, and the needs ot smaller concerns in an industry." SEC. 5. Section 701 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, is amended by adding after subsection (c) a new subsection as follows: " (d) In order to further the objectives and purposes of this section, the Office of Defense Mobilization is directed to investigate the distribution of defense contracts with particular reference to the share of such contracts which has gone and is now going to small business, either directly or by subcontract; to review the policies, procedures, and administrative arrangements now being followed in order to increase participation by small business in the mobilization program; to explore all practical ways, whether by amendments to laws, policies, regulations, or administrative arrangements, or otherwise, to increase the share of defense procurement going to small business; to get from the departments and agencies engaged in procurement, and from other appropriate agencies including the Small Business Administration, their views and recommendations on ways to increase the share of

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