An Act to provide for the appointment, promotion, separation, and retirement of commissioned officers of the Environmental Science Services Administration, and for other purposes
PL 91-621 (H.R.212), enacted 12/31/1970

84 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 91-621-DEC. 31, 1970 
1863 
Public Law 91-621 
AN ACT 
To clarify the status and benefits of commissioned oflBcers of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 
December 31, 1970 
[H. R. 212] 
National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric 
Administration. 
Commissioned 
officers. 
70A Stat. 3. 
Definitions. 
76 Stat. 451; 
80 Stat. 1121. 
Retirement. 
Be it enacted hy tlie Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. 
SECTION 1. Definitions listed in section 101 of title 10, United States 
Code, apply to this Act, except as noted below: 
(1) "active duty" means full-time duty in the active service 
of a uniformed service; 
(2) "Administration" means the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration; 
(3) "grade" means a step or degree, in a graduated scale of 
office or rank, that is established and designated as a gi-ade by law 
or regulation; 
(4) "officer" means a commissioned officer; 
(5) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce; 
(6) "Secretary concerned" is defined in section 101 of title 37, 
United States Code; 
(7) "uniformed services" is defined in section 101 of title 37, 
United States Code. 
SEC. 2. Each officer retired pursuant to any provision of law shall 
be placed on the retired list with the highest grade satisfactorily held 
by him while on active duty including active duty pursuant to recall, 
under permanent or temporary appointment, and he shall receive 
retired pay based on such highest grade: Provided, That his perform-
ance of duty in such highest grade has been satisfactory, as determined 
by the Secretary of the department or departments under whose juris-
diction the officer served, and, unless retired for disability, his length 
of service in such highest grade is no less than that required by the 
Secretary of officers retiring under permanent appointment in that 
grade. 
SEC. 3. Active service of officers of the Administration shall be 
deemed to be active military service in the armed forces of the United 
States for the purposes of all rights, privileges, immunities, and 
benefits now or hereafter provided by— 
(1) laws administered by the Veterans' Administration; 
(2) laws administered by the Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion; and 
(3) the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Eelief Act of 1940, as 
amended. 
In the administration of these laws and regxilations, with respect to 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the authority 
vested in the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, the 
Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force and their 
respective departments shall be exercised by the Secretary of 
Commerce. 
SEC, 4. (a) Commissioned officers, ships' officers, and members of 
commissary 
crews of vessels of the Administration shall be permitted to purchase P"^^i^g«^' 
commissary and quartermaster supplies as far as available from the 
armed forces at the prices charged officers and enlisted men of those 
services. 
54 Stat. 1178.. 
50 u s e app.501. 
Secretary of 
Commerce, author-
ity. 
1864 
PUBLIC LAW 91-621-DEC. 31, 1970 
[84 STAT. 
(b) The Secretary may purchase ration supplies for messes, stores, 
uniforms, accouterments, and related equipment for sale aboard ship 
and shore stations of the Administration to members of the uniformed 
services and to personnel assigned to such ships or shore stations. 
Sales shall be in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secre-
tary, and proceeds therefrom shall, as far as is practicable, fuU^ reim-
burse the appropriations charged without regard to fiscal year. 
Widows, rights. 
^^^ Rights extended to members of the uniformed services in this 
section are extended to their widows and to such others as are desig-
nated by the Secretary concerned. 
SEC. 5. (a) All statutes that applied to commissioned officers of 
the Coast and Geodetic Survey on July 12,1965, shall apply to officers 
of the Environmental Science Services Administration on that date 
and subsequent thereto, unless amended or repealed, and service as 
a commissioned officer in the Coast and Geodetic Survey shall consti-
tute service as a commissioned officer in the Environmental Science 
Services Administration. 
(b) All statutes that applied to commissioned officers of the Coast 
and Geodetic Survey on July 12, 1965, and to commissioned officers 
of the Environmental Science Services Administration subsequent to 
that date shall apply to officers of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration on October 3, 1970, and subsequent thereto, 
unless amended or repealed, and service as a commissioned officer in the 
Coast and Geodetic Survey or the Environmental Science Services 
Administration shall constitute service as a commissioned officer in 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
(c) The enactment of this Act does not increase or decrease the pay 
or allowances of any person. 
(d) A reference to a law replaced by this Act, including a reference 
in a regulation, order, or other law, is deemed to refer to the corres-
ponding provisions enacted by this Act. 
(e) An order, rule, or regulation in effect under a law replaced by 
this Act continues in effect under the corresponding provisions enacted 
by this Act until repealed, amended, or superseded. 
(f) An inference of a legislative construction is not to be drawn 
by reason of the location in the United States Code of a provision 
enacted by this Act or by reason of the caption or catchline tnereof. 
Separability. 
^g^ jf Q^^J provisiou of this Act or the application thereof to any 
person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of this Act and 
the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances 
shall not be affected thereby. 
SEC. 6. (a) Title 38, United States Code, is amended as follows: 
(1) Section 101(21) (C) of such title 38 is amended by insert-
ing the words "the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion or its predecessor organization" after "officer of" in the first 
line; 
(2) Section 101 (25) (F) of such title 38 is amended hj inserting 
"the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or its 
predecessor organization" after "concerning"; and 
(3) Section 3105 of such title 38 is amended by striking "Coast 
and Geodetic Survey" and substituting "National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration". 
Effective date. 
(jj) ^he cffectivc date of an award by the Veterans' Administration 
of disability compensation or dependency and indemnity compensa-
tion arising from an injury or death occurring prior to enactment of 
this Act and based on a claim filed by an individual who first became 
72 Stat. 1106. 
72 Stat. 1231. 
84 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 91-621-DEC. 31, 1970 
1865 
eligible for veterans' benefits by reason of the amendments made by the 
foregoing subsections shall be the date following the date of his dis-
charge or release, or the first day of the month in which death 
occurred: Provided^ That application therefor is filed within six 
months after the effective date of this Act. 
SEC. 7. (a) Section 216 of title I I of the National Housing Act, as 
es stat. MS^. 
amended, is amended to read as follows: 
^' 
"WAIVER OF OCCUPANCY REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICEMEN 
"SEC. 216. The Secretary is hereby authorized to insure anjr mort-
gage otherwise eligible for insurance under any of the provisions of 
this Act without regard to any requirement that the mortgagor be the 
occupant of the property at the time of insurance, where the Secretary 
is satisfied that the inability of the mortgagor to occupy the property 
is by reason of his entry on active duty in a uniformed service subse-
quent to the filing of an application for insurance and the mortgagor 
expresses an intent to occupy the property upon his release from active 
duty." 
(b) Section 222 of title I I of the National Housing Act, as amended, 
J\^^^^'J^^' 
is amended to read as follows: 
83 Stat. 384. 
12 u s e 1715m. 
'MORTGAGE INSURANCE FOR SERVICEMEN 
"SEC. 222. (a) The purpose of this section is to aid in the provision 
of housing accommodations for servicemen in the armed forces of the 
United States Coast Guard and their families, and servicemen in the 
United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 
their families by supplementing the insurance of mortgages under 
section 203 of this title with a system of mortgage insurance specially 
^^ ^^'^ ^^248. 
designed to assist the financing required for the construction or pur-
chase of dwellings by those persons. As used in this section, a 'service- 
"serviceman." 
man' means a person to whom the Secretary of Defense (or any officer 
or employee designated by him), the Secretary of Transportation (or 
any officer or employee designated by him), or the Secretary of Com-
merce (or any officer or employee designated by him), as the case may 
be, has issued a certificate hereunder indicating that such person 
requires housing, is serving on active duty in the armed forces of the 
United States, in the United States Coast Guard, or in the United 
States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and has 
served on active duty for more than two years, but a certificate shall 
not be issued hereunder to any person ordered to active duty for 
training purposes only. The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 
Rules and reKU-
Transiwrtation, and the Secretary of Commerce, respectively, are ^^*^'°"^-
authorized to prescribe rules and regulations governing the issuance 
of such certificates and may withhold issuance of more than one such 
certificate to a serviceman whenever in his discretion issuance is not 
justified due to circumstances resulting from military assignment, or, 
in the case of the United States Coast Guard or the United States 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, other assignment. 
"(b) To be eligible for insurance under this section a mortgage 
shall— 
"(1) meet the requirements of section 203(b), 203 (i), 221(d) 
(2), or 234(c), except as such requirements are modified by this 
12 use 1715Z, 
section; 
i7i5y. 
1866 
PUBLIC LAW 91-621-DEC. 31, 1970 
[84 STAT. 
" (2) involve a principal obligation (including such initial serv-
ice charges, appraisal, inspection, and other fees as the Secretary 
shall approve) in an amount not to exceed $33,000, except that in 
71 Stat. 295; 
^^Q Q^QQ Q
-
f ^ mortgage meeting the requirements of section 203 (i) 
^^2*usc iVo9. 
or section 221(d)(2) such principal obligation shall not exceed 
73 Stat. 659. 
the maximum limits jjrescribed for such section; 
12 use 1715 . 
i4^g^ have a principal obligation not in excess of the sum of 
(i) 97 per centum of $15,000 of the appraised value of the prop-
erty as of the date the mortgage is accepted for insurance, (ii) 
90 per centum of such value in excess of $15,000 but not in excess 
of $25,000, and (iii) 85 per centum of such value in excess of 
$25,000; and 
"(4) be executed by a mortgagor who at the time of applica-
tion for insurance is certified as a 'serviceman' and who at the time 
of insurance is the owner of the property and either occupies the 
property or certifies that his failure to do so is the result of his 
military assignment, or, in the case of the United States Coast 
Guard or the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, other assignment. 
"(c) The Secretary may prescribe the manner in which a mortgage 
may be accepted for insurance under this section. Premiums fixed by 
the Secretary under section 203 with respect to, or payable during, 
the period of ownership by a servdceman of the property involved 
shall not be payable by the mortgage but shall be paid not less fre-
quently than once each year, upon request of the Secretary to the Secre-
tary of Defense, the Secretary of Transportation,, or the Secretary of 
Commerce, as the case may be, from the respective appropriations 
available for pay and allowances of persons eligible for mortgage 
"The period o
f 
insuauce uuder this section. As used herein, 'the period of ownership 
ownership by a 
. 
. 
, 
• j 
i> 
I ' l 
• 
n 
i 
• 
serviceman." 
by a serviceman' means the period, lor which premiums are fixed, prior 
to the date that the Secretary of Defense (or any officer or employee 
or other person designated by him), the Secretary of Transportation 
(or any officer or employee or other person designated by him), or the 
Secretary of Commei'ce (or any officer or employee or other person 
designated by him), as the case may be, furnishes the Secretary with 
a certification that such ownership (as defined by the Secretary), has 
terminated. 
"(d) Any mortgagee under a mortgage insured under this sec-
tion is entitled to the benefits of the insurance as provided in section 
52 stau u.^ 
204(a) with respect to mortgages insured under section 203. 
"(e) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), 
(h), (j), and (k) of section 204 shall apply to mortgages insured 
under this section, except that as applied to those mortgages (1) all 
references to the Fund, or Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, shall 
refer to the General Insurance Fund, and (2) all references to section 
203 shall refer to this section. 
"(f) The Secretary is authorized to transfer to this section the 
insurance on any mortgage covering a single-family dwelling or a one-
family unit in a condominium project insured under this Act, if the 
mortgage indebtedness thereof has been assumed by a serviceman who 
at the time of assumption is the owner of the property and either 
occupies the property or certifies that his failure to do so is the result 
of his military assignment, or, in the case of the United States Coast 
Guard or the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, other assignment. 
12 u s e 1710. 
84 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 91-622-DEC. 31, 1970 
1867 
"(g) Where a serviceman dies while on active duty in the armed 
forces of the United States or in the United States Coast Guard or in 
the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
leaving a surviving widow as owner of the property, the period of 
ownership by the serviceman (within the meaning of subsection (c) of 
this section) shall extend for two years beyond the date of the service-
man's death or until the date the widow disposes of the property, 
whichever date occurs first. The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary 
of Transportation, or the Secretary of CJommerce, as the case may be, 
shall notify such widow promptly following the serviceman's death of 
the additional costs to be borne by the mortgagor following termina-
tion of the two-year period." 
SEC. 8. All provisions of law inconsistent with this Act are hereby 
Repeal. 
repealed. 
Approved December 31, 1970. 
Public Law 91-622 
J O I N T RESOLUTION 
December 31, 1970 
Authorizing a grant to defray a portion of the cost of expanding the United 
[s.j. Res. 173] 
Nations headquarters in the United States. 
Whereas the Congress authorized the United States to join with other 
governments in the founding of the United Nations; 
Whereas the Congress unanimously, in H. Con. Res. 75 (79th Con-
gress), invited the LTnited Nations to establish its headquarters in 
^^ ^*^'" P** '''-
the United States, which invitation was accepted by the United ^* ^
"
^
^
^ 
Nations; 
Whereas the United States has continued to serve as host to the 
United Nations; 
Whereas the membership of the United Nations has increased substan-
tially and the organization has outgrown its existing facilities; 
Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 
1969 authorized the construction, subject to suitable 
financing 
arrangements, of an additional headquarters building south of and 
adjacent to the present headquarters site on land to be made available 
without charge by the city of New York; 
Whereas the total financial burden of expanding its headquarters in 
New York would severely strain the resources of the United Nations; 
Whereas a special contribution by the United States as the host gov-
ernment would constitute a positive act of reaffirmation of faith 
of the American people in the future of the United Nations: Be it 
Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled^ That there is hereby author- 
umted Nations 
ized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State out of any money 
E^xpansion^grant. 
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum not to exceed 
$20,000,000, to remain available until expended, for a grant to be made 
at the discretion of the Secretary of State, to the United Nations to 
defray a portion of the cost of the expansion and improvement of its 
headquarters in the city of New York on such terms and conditions 
as the Secretary of State may determine. Such grant shall not be con-
sidered a contribution to the United Nations for purpose of any other 
applicable law limiting contributions. 
Approved December 31, 1970.