An Act to extend and amend the Renegotiation Act of 1951
PL 83-764 (H.R.6287), enacted 09/01/1954

1116 
PUBLIC LAW 764-SEPT. 1, 1954 
[68 S 
T A T . 
58 Stat. 387. 
5 u s e 851 note. 
Ante, p. 736. 
24 Stat. 492. 
"(e) This section does not and shall not be construed to amend or 
modify the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944 (Public Law 369, 
Seventy-eighth Congress), as amended." 
SEC. 603. The Official Reporters of the proceedings and debates of 
the Senate and their employees shall be considered to be officers or 
employees in or under the legislative branch of the Government 
within the meaning of the provisions of section 2 (a) of the Federal 
Employees' Group Life Insurance Act of 1954. 
SEC. 604. The Act entitled "An Act authorizing the employment of 
mail messengers in the postal service", approved March 3, 1887 (39 
U. S. C, sec. 578), is amended by adding at the end thereof the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
"The Postmaster General may, in his discretion and under such 
regulations as he may prescribe, readjust the compensation of the 
liolder of any contract for the performance of mail-messenger service 
on account of increased or decreased costs occasioned by changed con-
ditions which could not reasonably have been anticipated at the time 
such contract was made." 
Approved September 1, 1954. 
September 1, 1954 
[H. R. 6287] 
Public Law 764 
CHAPTER 1209 
AN ACT 
To extend and amend the Renegotiation Act of 1951. 
R e n e go t iation 
A c t of 1951, ex-
tension, etc. 
65 Stat. 7. 
5 0 u s e 
a p p . 
1212. 
A 
g g r e g a t e 
amounts. 
5 0 u s e 
a p p . 
1215. 
Exemptions. 
5 0 u s e 
a 
1216. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsection (a) 
of section 102 of the Eenegotiation Act of 1951 is hereby amended by 
striking out "December 31, 1953" and inserting in lieu thereof "De-
cember 31, 1954." 
SEC. 2. (a) Section 105 (f) (1) of such Act is amended by strik-
ing out "$250,000" wherever it appears therein and inserting in lieu 
thereof the following: "$250,000, in the case of a fiscal year ending 
before June 30, 1953, or $500,000, in the case of a fiscal year ending on 
or after June 30, 1953". 
(b) Section 105 (f) (3) of such Act is amended by inserting, in 
the second sentence thereof, after "the $250,000 amount" the following: 
", the $500,000 amount,". 
SEC. 3. (a) Paragraph (6) of section 106 (a) of such Act is hereby 
amended by inserting immediately following the second period therein 
the following: "In designating those classes and types of contracts 
which shall be exempt and in exempting any individual contract under 
this paragraph, the Board shall consider as not having a direct or 
immediate connection with national defense any contract for the fur-
nishing of materials or services to be used by the United States, a De-
partment or agency thereof, in the manufacture and sale of synthetic 
rubbers to a private person or to private persons which are to be used 
for nondefense purposes. If the use by such private person or per-
sons shall be partly for defense and partly for nondefense purposes, 
the Board shall consider as not having a direct or immediate connec-
tion with national defense that portion of the contract which is de-
termined not to have been used for national defense purposes. 
The 
method used in making such determination shall be subject to approval 
by the Board." 
(b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be effective as 
if it were a part of such Renegotiation Act of 1951 on the date of its 
enactment. 
68 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 764-SEPT. 1, 1954 
1117 
SEC. 4. (a) Paragraph (1) of section 106 (c) of such Act is hereby 
amended by striking out "from subcontracts" and inserting in lieu 
thereof "from contracts or subcontracts." 
(b) Paragraph (1) of section 106 (c) of such Act is further 
amended by inserting " ( A ) " after the word "except" and by adding 
before the period at the end of such paragraph the following: "and 
(B) to receipts and accruals from contracts for new durable pro-
ductive equipment in cases in which the Board finds that the new 
durable productive equipment covered by such contracts cannot be 
adapted, converted, or retooled for commercial use". 
(c) Paragraph (2) of such section 106 (c) is hereby amended to 
read as follows: 
"(2) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of this subsection, the 
term 'durable productive equipment' means machinery, tools, or 
other equipment which does not become a part of an end prod-
uct, or of an article incorporated therein, and which has an 
average useful life of more than five years." 
(d) The amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall 
apply only with respect to fiscal years (as defined in section 103 (h) 
of the Renegotiation Act of 1951) ending on or after June 30, 1953. 
SEC. 5. (a) Section 106 (a) of such Act is hereby amended— 
(1) by striking out, in paragraph (7), "by reason of this sub-
section." and inserting in lieu thereof "by reason of any para-
graph, other than paragraph (8), of this subsection; or"; and 
(2) by adding at the end of such section the following: 
"(8) any contract or subcontract for the making or furnishing 
of a standard commercial article, unless the Board makes a specific 
finding that competitive conditions affecting the sale of such 
article are such as will not reasonably prevent excessive profits. 
This paragraph shall apply to any such contract or subcontract 
only if (1) the contractor or subcontractor files, at such time and 
in such form and detail as the Board shall by regulations pre-
scribe, such information and data as may be required by the Board 
under its regulations for the purpose of enabling it to reach a 
decision with respect to the making of a specific finding under 
this paragraph, and (2) within a period of six months after the 
date of filing of such information and data, the Board fails to 
make a specific finding that competitive conditions affecting the 
sale of such article are such as will not reasonably prevent exces-
sive profits, or (3) within such six-month period, the Board makes 
a specific finding that competitive conditions affecting the sale of 
such article are such as will reasonably prevent excessive profits. 
Any contractor or subcontractor may waive the exemption pro-
vided in this paragraph with respect to receipts or accruals in 
any fiscal year by including a statement to such effect in the 
financial statement filed by such contractor or subcontractor for 
such fiscal year pursuant to section 105 (e) (1). Any specific 
finding of the Board under this paragraph shall not be reviewed 
or redetermined by any court or agency other than by the Tax 
Court of the United States in a proceeding for a redetermination 
of the amount of excessive profits determined by an order of the 
Board. For the purpose of this paragraph— 
"(A) the term 'article' includes any material, part, com-
ponent, assembly, machinery, equipment, or other personal 
property; 
Durable produc-
tive equipment. 
5 0 
1213, 
5 0 
1216. 
u s e 
a p p , 
u s e 
a p ]
p , 
S t a n d a r d com-
mercial articles., 
Excessive prof-
its. 
5 0 
1215. 
u s e 
a p p , 
1118 
PUBLIC LAW 764-SEPT. 1, 1954 
[68 S 
T A T . 
5 0 u s e 
a p p . 
1216. 
Common carriers 
by water. 
5 0 
1213. 
u s e 
a p p , 
5 0 u s e 
a p p . 
1215. 
Voiding of agree-
ment. 
66 Stat. 7 53. 
5 0 u s e 
a p p , 
1231. 
Savings p r o v i -
sion. 
"(B) the term 'standard commercial article' means an 
j ^ , , 
article— 
"(1) which, in the normal course of business, is cus-
r. 
tomarily manufactured for stock, and is customarily 
V 
maintained ^in stock by the manufacturer or any dealer, 
•, 
distributor, or other commercial agency for the market-
ing of such article; or 
;
; 
(2) which is manufactured and sold by more than 
'Hi 
two persons for general civilian industrial or commer-
cial use, or which is identical in every material respect 
; ho)- 
with an article so manufactured and sold; 
"(C) the term 'identical in every material respect' means 
of the same kind, manufactured of the same or substitute 
materials, and having the same industrial or commercial use 
} 
or uses, without necessarily being of identical specifications; 
... 
. 
and 
"(D) the term 'persons' does not include any person under 
f 
control of, or controlling, or under common control with 
i 
any other person considered for the purposes of subpara-
graph (B) (2) of this paragraph." 
(b) The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply to con-
tracts with the Departments and subcontracts only to the extent of the 
amounts received or accrued by a contractor or subcontractor after 
December 31, 1953. 
SEO. 6. (a) Section 106 (a) (4) of such Act is hereby amended 
by striking out "; or" at the end thereof and inserting the following: 
"and to such furnishing or sale in any case in which the Board finds 
that the regulatory aspects of rates for such furnishing or sale, or 
the type and nature of the contract for such furnishing or sale, are 
such as to indicate, in the opinion of the Board, that excessive profits 
are improbable; or". 
(b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply only with 
respect to fiscal years (as defined in section 103 (h) of the Renegotia-
tion Act of 1951) ending on or after December 31, 1953. 
SEO. 7. (a) Section 105 (d) of such Act is hereby amended by 
striking out the period at the end of the last sentence thereof and 
inserting the following: ", and shall also have the power to set aside 
and declare null and void any such agreement it, upon a request 
made to the Board within three years from the date of such agree-
ment, the Board finds as a fact that the aggregate of the amounts 
leceived or accrued by the other party to such agreement during the 
fiscal year covered by such agreement was not more than the minimum 
amounts subject to renegotiation specified in section 105 (f) for such 
fiscal year." 
(b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be effective as 
if it were a part of the Renegotiation Act of 1951 on the date of its 
enactment. 
SEC. 8. Section 201 (h) of such Act is hereby amended by striking 
out "two years" and inserting in lieu thereof "four years", and by 
adding at the end thereof the follow^ing new sentence: "If any such 
case has been dismissed by any court for failure to substitute for 
the War Contracts Price Adjustment Board prior to the effective date 
of this sentence, such case is hereby revived and reinstated in such 
court as if it had not been dismissed." 
. 
.. 
Approved September 1, 1954. 
.,