Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 97.djvu/1037

 PUBLIC LAW 98-160—NOV. 21, 1983 97 STAT. 1005 RELEASE OF REVERSIONARY INTEREST, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI SEC. 402. (a) The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs may execute such instruments as may be necessary to release the reversionary interest of the United States restricting to usc as a public park or other public purpose the parcel of land described in subsection (b) which is a portion of a larger tract of land previously conveyed by the United States to the city of Biloxi, Mississippi, pursuant to the Act entitled "An Act to provide for the conveyance of certain real property to the city of Biloxi, Mississippi", approved October 4, 1966 (Public Law 89-629; 80 Stat. 876). (b) The parcel of land referred to in subsection (a) is that parcel of land, consisting of approximately 7.24 acres, conveyed from the city of Biloxi, Mississippi, to Gulf Paving, Incorporated (a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi), by deed of June 29, 1973, recorded at book 65, page 589, in the records of the Office of the Chancery Clerk of Harrison County, Mississippi. TITLE V—STATUS AND ROLE OF ADMINISTRATOR OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS SEC. 501. The Congress finds that— 38 USC 210 note. (1) the Nation has an historic and deeply-rooted commitment to providing benefits and services to those who served in the Armed Forces; (2) this commitment must be continued and maintained, both to fulfill moral obligations to those who served in the past and to assure current and potential members of the Armed Forces that the Nation's obligations to those who serve will always be honored; (3) the Veterans' Administration is the principal Federal entity responsible for veterans' benefits and programs; (4) the Veterans' Administration has a potential population of beneficiaries of over 28 million veterans and over 55 million survivors and dependents; (5) the Veterans' Administration will distribute over $13.8 billion in income maintenance payments and over $1.5 billion in education, training, and rehabilitation assistance payments during fiscal year 1984, operates one of the Federal Govern- ment's two major home loan guaranty programs, with over four million loans currently guaranteed, administers the largest direct insurance program in the Nation, and operates 108 na- tional cemeteries and provides burial assistance for nearly 350,000 deceased veterans annually; (6) the Veterans' Administration operates the largest cen- trally administered health-care system—consisting of, among other facilities, 172 hospitals, 226 outpatient clinics, and 99 nursing home care units—in the United States; (7) the Veterans' Administration health-care system serves as the primary backup to the medical resources of the Department of Defense in time of war or national emergency involving the use of the Armed Forces in armed conflict; (8) in terms of share of the annual Federal budget, the Veterans' Administration ranks sixth among Federal depart-

�