Pub. L. 83-519, tit. II, sec. 202

Sec. 202. (a) Whenever the Postmaster General determines that (1) there is a substantial need for space for postal purposes in any particular area which cannot lie satisfied by utilization of any existing property suitable for the purpose then owned by the Government, (2) the receipts of the post office serving such area exceed $10,000 per year, and (3) the best interests of the United States will be served by taking action hereunder, he is hereby authorized to obtain and provide space for postal purposes in suitable structures of permanent-type construction in the several States, the District of Columbia, and the Territories and possessions of the United States (including Guam), by negotiating and entering into lease-purchase agreements, the terms of which shall not be less than ten nor more than twenty-five years and which shall provide in each case that title to the property shall vest in the United States at or before the expiration of the leasehold term and upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions stipulated in each of such lease-purchase agreements. Such terms and conditions shall include provision for the application to the purchase price agreed upon therein of rental payments made thereunder. Such payments under any such agreement may include amounts for the amortization of the fair market value on the date of such agreement of the property described therein. The financial transactions of the Post Office Department with respect to such lease-purchase agreements shall be subject to the accounting and auditing requirements of the Post Office Department Financial Control Act of 1950 (Act of August 17, 1950, ch. 735, Eighty-first Congress, second session). (b) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the Postmaster General is authorized to exercise the powers granted in this section with respect to existing properties, including those for which conversions, additions, extensions, or remodeling may be required, and properties upon which construction is to be subsequently effected in pursuance of the terms of applicable lease-purchase agreements. (c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the Postmaster General is authorized to enter into agreements with any person,68 Stat. 522 copartnership, corporation, or other public or private entity, to effectuate any of the purposes of this section; and is further authorized to bring about the development and improvement of any land purchased by the United States for postal purposes, including the demolition of obsolete and outmoded strictures situate thereon, by providing for the construction thereon by others of such structures and facilities as shall be the subject of the applicable lease-purchase agreement. (d) The authority conferred on the Postmaster General by subsections (b) and (c) of this section to enter into lease-purchase agreements with respect to property owned by the Government on the date of the enactment of this Act, is hereby restricted to exclude from such authority any site which has been acquired pursuant to law, prior to the enactment of this Act, on which there has been constructed a building to be used for postal purposes and which is presently being used for such purposes. (e) Each such lease-purchase agreement shall include such provisions as the Postmaster General, in his discretion, shall deem to be in the best interest of the United States and appropriate to secure the performance of the obligations imposed upon the party or parties that shall enter into such agreement with the United States. No such agreement shall provide for any payment to be made by the United States in excess of the amount necessary, as determined by the Postmaster General, to— (1) amortize— (A) the cost of improvements to be constructed plus the fair market value, on the date of the agreement, of the site, if owned or acquired by the contractor, or (B) the fair market value, on the date of the agreement, of completed improvements together with the site thereof, or (C) a combination of the foregoing in the case of existing improvements to be remodeled by the contractor; and (2) provide a reasonable rate of interest on the outstanding principal as determined under (1) above, and (3) reimburse the contractor for the cost of any other obligations assumed by him under the contract, including (but not limited to) payment of taxes, costs of carrying appropriate insurance, and costs of repair and maintenance if so assumed by the contractor. (f) Funds available to the Post Office Department for the payment of rents are authorized to be utilized by the Postmaster General to make any payments becoming due from time to time from the United States in pursuance of lease-purchase agreements entered into under the authority of this title: Provided, That no such funds may be expended for acquisition of title to the property covered by any lease--purchase agreement prior to the expiration of the leasehold term specified therein (whether by exercise of option to purchase or otherwise) in the absence of specific appropriation of funds for such acquisition, which appropriations are hereby authorized. (g) No proposed lease-purchase agreement shall be executed under this section unless such agreement has been approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, as evidenced by a written statement of such officer to the effect that the execution of such agreement is necessary and is in conformity with the policy of the President. No Appropriations shall be made for lease-purchase projects which have not been approved by resolutions adopted by the Committees on Public Works of the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, within three years after the date of enactment of this Act. For the purpose of securing consideration of said approval the Postmaster General68 Stat. 523 shall transmit to each such Committee a prospectus of the proposed project, including (but not limited to)— (1) a brief description of the building located or to be erected at a given location; (2) an estimate of the maximum cost of site and building together with the term of years over which payments would run and the maximum rate of interest that would be acceptable for any deferred part of such cost; (3) a certificate of need for the space signed by the head of the agency or agencies which will use the facility; (4) a statement by the Postmaster General that suitable space owned by the Government is not available and that suitable rental space is not available at a price commensurate with that to be afforded through the contract proposed; (5) a statement of the managerial, custodial, heat and utility services to be provided by the contractor, or an estimate of their probable cost if to be supplied in any part by the Government; (6) a statement of the requirements for tax liability, upkeep and maintenance of the property by either the contractor or the Government during the period of the contract; (7) a statement of rents and other housing costs currently being paid by the Government for any agencies to be housed in the building to be erected; and (8) a statement in writing by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget that the project is necessary and in conformity with the policy of the President. (h) With respect to any interest in real property acquired under the provisions of this section, the same shall be subject to State and local taxes until title to the same shall pass to the Government of the United States. (i) Every lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to this title shall provide for equal annual payments for the amortization of principal with interest thereon and the Postmaster General shall not enter into any such contract unless the amount of the annual payment required by such contract plus the aggregate of the annual payments required by all other lease-purchase agreements entered into during the same fiscal year do not exceed the. specific limitations on such payments which shall be provided in appropriation acts: Provided, That prior to July 1, 1955, a limitation of not to exceed $3,000,000 is hereby established for such purpose.