provisions of this Act was not counted in arriving at their total service, and who are otherwise eligible by having made the necessary contributions to the retirement and disability funds as herein provided, shall, from the effective date of this Act, be paid annuities in accordance wth the provisions of this Act.

BOARD OF ACTUARIES

SEC. 14. The board of actuaries selected by the Commissioner of Pensions under the provisions of section 16 of the Act of July 3, 1926, shall make a valuation of the Canal Zone retirement and disability fund at intervals of five years, or oftener, if deemed necessary by the Commissioner of Pensions.

ADMINISTRATION

SEC. 15. For the purpose of administration, except as otherwise provided herein, the Commissioner of Pensions, under the direction. of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, is hereby authorized and directed to perform, or cause to be performed, any and all acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this Act into full force and effect. An appeal to the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs shall lie from the final action or order of the Commissioner of Pensions affecting the rights or interests of any person or of the United States under this Act, the procedure on appeal to be as prescribed by the Commissioner of Pensions, with the approval of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.

The Commissioner of Pensions shall make a detailed comparative report annually, showing all receipts and disbursements on account of annuities, refunds, and allowances under this Act, together with the total number of persons receiving annuities and the total amounts paid them; and he shall transmit to Congress, through the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, the reports and recommendations of the board of actuaries.

The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs shall submit annually to the Bureau of the Budget estimates of the appropriations necessary to finance the Canal Zone retirement and disability fund, and to continue this Act in full force and effect.

EXEMPTION FROM EXECUTION, AND SO FORTH

SEC. 16. None of the moneys mentioned in this Act shall be assignable, either in law or equity, or be subject to execution, levy, or attachment, garnishment, or other legal process.

EFFECTIVE DATE

SEC. 17. This Act shall take effect July 1, 1931, and from and after that date the provisions of the Civil Service Retirement Act of May 22, 1920, as amended, shall not apply to employees of the Panama Canal on the Isthmus of Panama or to any other employees coming within the provisions of this Act: Provided, however, That any employee of the Panama Canal who shall attain the age of eligibility

for retirement without having rendered sufficient service on the Isthmus of Panama to entitle him to be retired on an annuity as provided by section 2 hereof, but whose aggregate employment under the United States would be sufficient in character and duration to entitle him to receive an annuity under the provisions of the Civil Service Retirement Act of May 22, 1920, as amended, will be eligible to retire and receive an annuity under the provisions of that Act and payable from the civil service retirement and disability fund; and in such event the employee shall be entitled, upon separation from the service, to the refund, under such regulations as the Commissioner of Pensions may prescribe, of any excess in the deductions made from his salary, pay, or compensation under the provisions of this Act, with interest, over those which would have been made at the rate fixed by the Civil Service Retirement Act as amended; and the Commissioner of Pensions shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the amount remaining to the credit of such employee in the Canal Zone retirement and disability fund, and said amount shall be transferred on the books of the Treasury Department to the civil service retirement and disability fund.

Approved, March 2, 1931.

(EXTRACT FROM)

[PUBLIC-No. 2-72D CONGRESS]

Within the foregoing limitations of this section, the corporation may also, upon the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission, make loans to aid in the temporary financing of railroads and railways engaged in interstate commerce, to railroads and railways in process of construction, and to receivers of such railroads and railways, when in the opinion of the board of directors of the corporation such railroads or railways are unable to obtain funds upon reasonable terms through banking channels or from the general public and the corporation will be adequately secured: Provided, That no fee or commission shall be paid by any applicant for a loan under the provisions hereof in connection with any such application or any loan made or to be made hereunder, and the agreement to pay or payment of any such fee or commission shall be unlawful. Any such railroad may obligate itself in such form as shall be prescribed and otherwise comply with the requirements of the Interstate Commerce Commission and the corporation with respect to the deposit or assignment of security hereunder, without the authorization or approval of any authority, State or Federal, and without compliance with any requirement, State or Federal, as to notification, other than such as may be imposed by the Interstate Commerce Commission and the corporation under the provisions of this section. Approved, January 22, 1932.

(156)

[H. J. Res. 252]

JOINT RESOLUTION

To authorize the Interstate Commerce Commission to make an investigation as to the possibility of establishing a six-hour day for railway employees.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Interstate Commerce Commission be, and is hereby, directed to investigate what would be the effect upon operation, service, and expenses of applying the principle of a six-hour day in the employment of all classes and each particular class of railway employees because of such application.

SEC. 2. The commission is further directed to report its findings to the Congress on or before December 15, 1932. Approved, March 15, 1932.

[PUBLIC RESOLUTION-No. 65-72D CONGRESS]

[H. J. Res. 572]

JOINT RESOLUTION

To provide for further investigation of certain public-utility corporations engaged in interstate commerce.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That for the purpose of obtaining information necessary as a basis for legislation, those members of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the Seventy-second Congress who are Members elect to the Seventy-third Congress, or a majority of them, after March 4, 1933, and until the organization of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of the Seventy-third Congress, are authorized, as a committee, by subcommittee or otherwise, to continue the investigation begun under authority of H. Res. 59 of the Seventy-second Congress.

SEC. 2. For such purposes the committee is authorized to select a chairman, and the committee, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized to sit and act at such times and places in the District of Columbia or elsewhere, to hold such hearings, to employ such experts and such clerical, stenographic, and other assistants, to require the attendance of such witnesses and the productions of such books, papers, and documents, to take such testimony, to have such printing and binding done, and to make such expenditures as it deems necessary, and oaths or affirmations may be administered by any member of the committee.

SEC. 3. Subpoenas shall be issued under the signature of the chairman and shall be served by any person designated by him. The provisions of sections 102, 103, and 104 of the Revised Statutes (U. S. C., title 2, secs. 192, 193, and 194) shall be applicable with respect to any person summoned as a witness under the authority of this resolution in the same manner as such provisions are applicable with respect to any person summoned as a witness in the case of an inquiry before a committee of the House of Representatives. SEC. 4. The expenses of the committee, not to exceed $50,000, shall be paid out of the contingent fund of the House upon vouchers signed by the chairman and approved by the Committee on

Accounts.

Approved, March 3, 1933.