To amend the Acts of February 28, 1903, and March 3, 1927, relating to the payment of the cost and expense of constructing railway-highway grade elimination structures in the District of Columbia.

structure.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in l'ongress assembled, That the second D. C. railwaysentence of the second paragraph of section 10 of the Act of February highway grade 28, 1903 (32 Stat. 918), as amended (sec. 7-1214, D. C. Code, 1951 elimination edition), is amended to read as follows: "The cost and expense of any project for opening any such street or highway within the limits of such railroad company's right-of-way, including the cost of constructing the portion of any viaduct bridge, within said limits, shall be borne and paid as follows:

"(1) The District of Columbia shall apply to the payment of such Payments. cost and expense all Federal aid highway-railway grade separation funds available for use by the District of Columbia at the time any such project is programed and all such funds which become available for use on such projects by the District of Columbia during the construction of such project;

"(2) If such Federal aid highway-railway grade separation funds are insufficient to pay the cost and expense of any such project, the portion not so covered shall be paid one-l e-half by the railroad company,

its successors and assigns, whose tracks are crossed and one-half by 70 Stat. 638. the District of Columbia: Provided, That in no case shall the obliga- 70 Stat. 639. tion of the railroad company affected exceed 10 per centum of the

total cost and expense of such project;

"(3) After construction, the cost of maintenance shall be wholly borne and paid in the case of highway overpasses by the District of Columbia, and in the case of highway underpasses by the railroad company, its successors and assigns, whose tracks are crossed; and

(4) The portions of such streets planned or projected as above which lie within a right-of-way belonging to such railroad company shall be dedicated by such company as a public thoroughfare when the portions of such street adjoining such right-of-way have been similarly dedicated or otherwise acquired."

SEC. 2. (a) That section 3 of the Act of March 3, 1927 (44 Stat. 1353; sec. 7-1215, D. C. Code, 1951 edition) is amended by striking therefrom the word "steam".

Cost.

(b) So much of section 3 of such Act approved March 3, 1927, as Viaducts and reads: "Provided, That one-half of the total cost of constructing any subways. viaduct or subway and approaches thereto shall in such case be paid by the railroad company, its successors or assigns, whose tracks are so crossed; and in the event the rights-of-way of two or more railroad companies are so crossed said half cost as herein provided shall be paid by the said railroad companies, their successors or assigns, in proportion to the widths of their respective land holdings, and all" is amended to read as follows: "Provided, That the total cost of constructing any project for such viaduct or subway and approaches thereto shall be borne and paid as follows:

"(1) The District of Columbia shall apply to the payment of the Payments. cost of such project all Federal aid highway-railway grade separation funds available for use by the District of Columbia at the time any such project is programed and all such funds which become available for use on such project by the District of Columbia during the construction of such projects; and

"(2) If such Federal-aid highway-railway grade separation funds are insufficient to pay the cost of any such project, the portion not so

All 70 Stat. 639.

covered shall be paid one-half by the railroad company, its successors and assigns, whose tracks are crossed and one-half by the District of Columbia: Provided further, That in no case shall the obligation of the railroad company affected exceed 10 per centum of the total cost of such project: Provided further, That in the event the rights-of-way of two or more railroad companies are so crossed said half cost as herein provided shall be paid by the said railroad companies, their successors and assigns, in proportion to the widths of their respective landholdings, but the obligations of such companies shall not, in the aggregate, exceed 10 per centum of the cost of such project: Provided further, That after construction the cost of maintenance shall be wholly borne and paid in the case of highway overpasses by the District of Columbia, and in the case of highway underpasses by the railroad company, its successors and assigns, whose tracks are crossed: Provided further, That in the event the rights-of-way of two or more railroad companies are so crossed, the cost of maintenance shall be borne and paid in the case of highway underpasses by the said railroad companies, their successors and assigns, in proportion to the widths of their respective land holdings. All".

Approved July 25, 1956..

50 Stat.

All 70 Stat, 702.

49 USC 22.

Public Law 825 84th Congress

Chapter 759 - 2d Session

S. 1777

AN ACT

To amend the Interstate Commerce Act in order to authorize common carriers to carry a disabled person requiring an attendant and such attendant at the usual fare charged for one person.

Be it enacted by the Senate und House of Representatives. of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 22 of the Interstate Commerce Act is amended by inserting after "or other guide dog specially trained and educated for that purpose" a comma and "or from carrying a disabled person accompanied by an attendant if such person is disabled to the extent of requiring such attendant,”.

Approved July 27, 1956.

To establish an Alaska International Rail and Highway Commission.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) there is Alaska Interhereby established an Alaska International Rail and Highway Com- national Rail mission (hereinafter referred to as the "Commission") which shall and Highway be composed of twelve members, to be appointed by the President, as Establishment.

follows:

(1) five of the members of the Commission shall be Members of the Congress of the United States, not more than three of whom shall be members of the same political party;

(2) four of the members shall be selected from the executive branch of the Government, of whom, if practicable, one shall be from the Department of the Army, to be designated by the Secretary of the Army, one from the Department of the Interior, one from the Department of State, and one from the Department of Commerce; and

(3) three of the members shall be selected from the general public, one of whom shall be a resident of Alaska and one of whom shall be a resident of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

(b) The Commission shall select a chairman and a vice chairman from among its members.

(c) A quorum of the Commission shall consist of seven members. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect its powers and shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.

(d) The appointment of an officer of the Army on the active list as a member of the Commission is authorized as an exception to section 1222, Revised Statutes (10 U. S. C. 576), and does not vacate his appointment as a commissioned officer of the Army. SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of the Commission

(a) to make a thorough and complete study of the economic and military advantages of additional highway and rail transportation facilities connecting continental United States with central Alaska;

(b) to make a thorough and complete study of the most feasible and direct routes of rail and highway transportation between the United States and Alaska, in relation to the economic benefits to be derived therefrom by the United States, Canada, and Alaska; and

(c) to make a thorough and complete study of the most feasible feeder rail and highway routes connecting coastal ports and cities with the rail and highway facilities between the United States and Alaska, determined most feasible and beneficial by the Commission. In making such studies, the Commission shall give particular attention to the feasibility of rail and highway facilities between the Pacific Northwest region and Alaska. In determining the most feasible and beneficial routes for rail and highway facilities, the Commission shall take into consideration the proximity to such routes of suitable sites for airfields.

Commission.

Duties.

SEC. 3. The Commission is authorized to cooperate with the officials Cooperation of the Dominion of Canada and of the Province of British Columbia with Canada. and with any commission or similar body appointed for such purpose by the Dominion of Canada or the Province of British Columbia. The Secretary of State shall, at the request of the Commission,

Powers.

All 70 Stat. 889.

63 Stat. 954. 5 USC 1071 note.

63 Stat. 908.

Delegation of powers.

Reimbursement for expenses.

Reports to
Congress.

arrange for meetings with such officials and with such commissions or similar bodies of the Dominion of Canada or of the Province of British Columbia.

SEC. 4. (a) The Commission may, in carrying out its duties under this Act, hold such hearings, take such testimony, sit and act at such places and times, and incur such expenditures as the Commission deems necessary. Any member of the Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before the Commission. The Commission may, without regard to the civil-service laws and the Classification Act of 1949, employ and fix the compensation of such experts, consultants, and other employees, as it deems necessary to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act.

(b) The Commission is authorized to utilize the facilities, information, and personnel of the departments, agencies, and establishments of the executive branch of the Government which it deems necessary to carry out its duties under this Act; and each such department, agency, and instrumentality is authorized to furnish such facilities, information, and personnel to the Commission upon request made by the chairman or vice chairman. The Commission shall reimburse each such department, agency, and instrumentality for the services of any personnel utilized. The furnishing of information by any such department, agency, or instrumentality shall be subject to such restrictions as the head of the department, agency, or instrumentality deems necessary for the security of the United States.

(c) In performing its duties under this Act the Commission shall utilize all information available by reason of any surveys and plans made under authority of the Act entitled "An Act providing for a location survey for a railroad connecting the existing railroad system serving the United States and Canada and terminating at Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, with the railroad system serving Alaska and terminating at Fairbanks, Alaska", approved October 26, 1949.

SEC. 5. The Commission may delegate to any member of the Commission or to any committee composed of members of the Commission any of the duties and powers conferred upon it by this Act, other than the duty of submitting reports and recommendations to the Congress pursuant to section 7.

SEC. 6. Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties. SEC. 7. The Commission shall report the results of its studies and submit its recommendations to the Congress from time to time, and shall make a final report and submit its final recommendations to the Congress not later than two years after the date of enactment of this Act. The final report shall include estimates of the cost of construction of rail and highway facilities along the routes determined most feasible and beneficial by the Commission, together with estimates of Termination. the economic benefits to the United States, Canada, and Alaska. The Commission shall cease to exist, and all authority conferred by this Act shall terminate, thirty days after the date of submission of the final report.

Appropriation.

SEC. 8. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums, not in excess of $75,000, as may be necessary to enable the Commission to perform its duties under this Act. Until such time as funds may be appropriated pursuant to this authorization, the President is authorized to make available to the Commission, from any emergency fund available to him, such sums as may be necessary.

Approved August 1, 1956.

Chapter 890 - 2d Session

H. R. 11969

AN ACT

To require certain safety devices on household refrigerators shipped in interstate commerce.

frigerators.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be Household reunlawful for any person to introduce or deliver for introduction into Interstate interstate commerce any household refrigerator manufactured on or shipment. after the date this section takes effect unless it is equipped with a device, enabling the door thereof to be opened from the inside, which conforms with standards prescribed pursuant to section 3.

SEC. 2. Any person who violates the first section of this Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.

SEC. 3. The Secretary of Commerce shall prescribe and publish in Publication the Federal Register commercial standards for devices which, when in FR of safety used in or on household refrigerators, will enable the doors thereof standards. to be opened easily from the inside; and the standards first established under this section shall be so prescribed and published not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. As used in this Act, the term "interstate commerce" includes commerce between one State, Territory, possession, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and another State, Territory, possession, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

SEC. 5. This Act shall take effect on the date of its enactment, Effective date. except that the first section of this Act shall take effect one year and

90 days after the date of publication of commercial standards first

established under section 3 of this Act. In the event of a change in 70 Stat. 953. said commercial standards first established, a like period shall be 70 Stat. 954. allowed for compliance with said change in commercial standards. Approved August 2, 1956.