sentatives designated and authorized by the maritime employer or employers and by its or their employees, respectively. It shall be the duty of the designated representatives of maritime employers, within five days after the receipt of notice of a desire on the part of either party to confer in regard to such matters and disputes, to specify a time and place at which such conference shall be held, and the Board shall notify the representatives of the employees thereof. The place so specified shall be reasonably accessible to both parties; and the time so specified shall allow the designated conferees reasonable opportunity to reach such place of conference, but shall not exceed ten days from the receipt of such notice. Nothing in this title shall be construed to supersede the provisions of any agreement as to conferences in effect between the parties.

"MARITIME LABOR BOARD

"SEC. 1007. (a) There is hereby established as an independent agency in the executive branch of the Government a board to be known as the 'Maritime Labor Board' (hereinafter referred to as the 'Board') to be composed of three members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall name one of the members of the Board as Chairman. The terms of office of the members of the Board shall extend to the date of expiration of this title. Vacancies in the Board shall not impair the powers nor affect the duties of the Board nor of the remaining members of the Board. Two of the members in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the Board. Each member of the Board shall receive a salary at the rate of $10,000 per annum, together with necessary traveling and subsistence expenses, or per diem allowance in lieu thereof, subject to the provisions of law applicable thereto, while away from the principal office of the Board on business required by this title. No person in the employment of, or who is pecuniarily or otherwise interested in, any organization of maritime employees or any maritime employer shall enter upon the duties of, or continue to be, a member of the Board. A member of the Board may be removed by the President for inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, or ineligibility, but for no other cause.

"(b) The Board shall maintain its principal office in the District of Columbia, but it may meet at any other place whenever it deems it necessary to do so. The Board is hereby authorized to adopt all necessary rules and regulations to carry out the powers, duties, and functions vested in it by this title. The Board shall have a seal which shall be judicially noticed.

"(c) The Board may (1) appoint such experts and assistants to act in a confidential capacity and, subject to the provisions of the civilservice laws, appoint such other officers and employees, as are essential to the effective transaction of the work of the Board; (2) in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, fix the salaries of such experts, assistants, officers, and employees; and (3) make such expenditures (including expenditures for rent and personal services at the seat of government and elsewhere, for law books, periodicals, and books of reference, and for printing and binding, and including expenditures for salaries and compensation, necessary traveling

necessary expenses of the Board) as may be necessary for the execution of the functions vested in the Board, and as may be provided for by the Congress from time to time. All expenditures of the Board shall be allowed and paid on the presentation of itemized vouchers therefor approved by the chairman or by any employee of the Board designated by the chairman for that purpose.

"(d) The Board is hereby authorized by its order to assign, or refer, any portion of its work, business, or functions to an individual member of the Board, or an employee or employees of the Board, to be designated by such order, for action thereon; and by its order at any time to amend, modify, supplement, or rescind any such assignment or reference. All such orders shall take effect forthwith and remain in effect until otherwise ordered by the Board. In conformity with and subject to the order or orders of the Board in the premises, any such individual member of the Board or employee designated shall have power and authority to act as to any of said work, business, or functions so assigned or referred to him for action by the Board.

"MEDIATION

"SEC. 1008. (a) It shall be the duty of the Board, upon request of either the duly selected representatives of a maritime employer or employers or its or their employees who are parties to the making of a labor agreement, to encourage and assist in the making of such agreement, or, upon the request of both parties at interest, to assist in the interpretation of the provisions of an agreement already in existence.

"(b) The parties to a dispute between an employee or a group of employees and a maritime employer or group of maritime employers, may request the Board to act as mediator in such disagreements. The Board may proffer its services in case any maritime labor dispute is found by it to exist at any time. When a request for mediation is granted by the Board, or when the Board on its own initiative proffers such mediation, the Board shall promptly put itself in communication with the parties to such dispute and shall use its best efforts by mediation to bring them to agreement.

"ARBITRATION

"SEO. 1009. If the Board should be unable through mediation to bring the parties to a dispute to agreement in whole or in part, it shall, as its last required action, use its best efforts to secure the assent of both parties to arbitration of the matter or matters in dispute.

"PERMANENT LABOR POLICY

"SEO. 1010. On or before March 1, 1940, the Board shall submit to the President and to Congress a comprehensive plan for the establishment of a permanent Federal policy for the amicable adjustment of all disputes between maritime employers and employees and for the stabilization of maritime labor relations. As far as may be, the Board shall seek to secure through its mediatory efforts agreement between maritime employers and employees upon the plan it

"AUTHORIZATION

"SEC. 1011. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for expenditure by the Board in carrying out the provisions of this title.

"SEC. 1012. This title shall expire at the end of three years from the date of its enactment."

SEC. 46. The Merchant Marine Act, 1936, is amended by adding at the end thereof a new title to read as follows:

"TITLE XI-FEDERAL SHIP MORTGAGE INSURANCE

"SEC. 1101. As used in this title

"(a) The term 'mortgage' means a preferred mortgage as defined in the Ship Mortgage Act, 1920, as amended;

"(b) The term "vessels' includes all types of passenger, cargo, and combination passenger-cargo carrying vessels, tugs, towboats, barges, and dredges documented under the laws of the United States, and fishing vessels owned by citizens of the United States;

"(c) The term 'mortgagee' includes the original lender under a mortgage and his successors and assigns approved by the Commission;

"(d) The term 'mortgagor' includes the original borrower under a mortgage and his successors and assigns approved by the Commission; and

"(e) The term 'maturity date' means the date on which the mortgage indebtedness would be extinguished if paid in accordance with periodic payments provided for in the mortgage.

"SEC. 1102. There is hereby created a Federal ship mortgage insur. ance fund (hereinafter referred to as the 'fund') which shall be used by the Commission as a revolving fund for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this title, and there shall be allocated to such fund the sum of $1,000,000 out of funds made available to the Commission under the appropriation authorized by section 1109. Moneys in the fund shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the fund or invested in bonds or other obligations of, or guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the United States. The Commission may, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, purchase debentures issued under the provisions of section 1105. Such purchases shall be made at a price which, on a yield basis, would provide an investment yield of not less than the yield obtainable from other investments (having comparable maturity dates) authorized by this section. Debentures so purchased shall be canceled and not reissued.

"SEC. 1103. The Commission is authorized, upon application by the mortgagee, to insure as hereinafter provided any mortgage offered to it which is eligible for insurance as hereinafter provided and, upon such terms as the Commission may prescribe, to make commitments for the insuring of any such mortgage prior to the date of execution or disbursement thereon. The aggregate amount of principal obligations of all mortgages insured under this title and outstanding at any one time shall not exceed $200,000,000.

"SEC. 1104. (a) To be eligible for insurance under this title a

"(1) have a mortgagee approved by the Commission as responsible and able to service the mortgage properly; and a mortgagor approved by the Commission as possessing the ability, experience, financial resources, and other qualifications necessary to the adequate operation and maintenance of the mortgaged property; "(2) involve an obligation in a principal amount which does not exceed 75 per centum of the cost (as estimated by the Commission) of the construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning financed by the loan or advance, but in no event to exceed 75 per centum of the amount which the Commission estimates will be the value of the property when the construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning is completed;

"(3) secure an obligation having a maturity date satisfactory to the Commission but not to exceed twenty years from the date of its execution;

"(4) contain amortization provisions satisfactory to the Commission requiring periodic payments by the mortgagor;

"(5) secure an obligation bearing interest (exclusive of premium charges for insurance) at a rate not to exceed 5 per centum per annum on the amount of the principal obligation outstanding at any time or not to exceed 6 per centum per annum if the Commission finds that in certain areas or under special circumstances the mortgage market demands it;

"(6) provide, in a manner satisfactory to the Commission, for the application of the mortgagor's periodic payments to amortization of the principal of the mortgage, exclusive of the amount allocated to interest and to the premium charge which is required for mortgage insurance as hereinafter provided;

"(7) contain such terms and provisions with respect to the construction, reconstruction, reconditioning, maintenance, or operation of the property, repairs, alterations, payment of taxes, insurance, delinquency charges, revisions, foreclosure proceedings, anticipation of maturity, additional and secondary liens, and other matters pertinent to the security as the Commission may prescribe; and'

(8) secure a new loan or advance made to aid in financing the construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning, subsequent to the enactment of this title, of vessels owned by citizens of the United States which are designed principally for commercial use (a) in the coastwise or intercoastal trade; (b) on the Great Lakes, or on bays, sounds, rivers, harbors, or inland lakes of the United States; or (c) in foreign trade between the United States and foreign countries in continental North America, and between the United States and all islands lying between the continent of South America and the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, or the Atlantic Ocean.

"(b) No mortgage shall be accepted for insurance unless the Commission finds that the property or project with respect to which the mortgage is executed is economically sound.

"(c) The Commission is authorized to fix a premium charge for the insurance of mortgages under this title, but in the case of any mortgage such charge shall not be less than an amount equivalent to one-half of 1 per centum per annum nor more than an amount equiva

lent to 1 per centum per annum of the amount of the principal obligation of the mortgage outstanding at any time, without taking into account delinquent payments or prepayments. All such premium charges shall be payable by the mortgagee as prescribed by the Commission. In the event that the principal obligation of any mortgage accepted for insurance under this section is paid in full prior to the maturity date, the Commission is further authorized in its discretion to require the payment by the mortgagee of an adjusted premium charge in such amount as the Commission determines to be equitable, but not in excess of the aggregate amount of the premium charges that the mortgagee would otherwise have been required to pay if the mortgage had continued to be insured under this section until such maturity date.

"(d) The Commission is authorized to charge and collect such amounts as it may deem reasonable for the investigation of applications for insurance, for the appraisal of properties offered for insurance, for the issuance of commitments, and for the inspection of such properties during construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning: Provided, That such charges shall not aggregate more than one-half of 1 per centum of the original principal amount of the mortgage to be insured. All moneys received under the provisions of this title shall be deposited in the fund.

"SEC. 1105. (a) In any case in which the mortgagee under an insured mortgage shall have foreclosed and acquired title and possession of the mortgaged property in accordance with regulations of, and within a period to be determined by, the Commission, or shall, with the consent of the Commission, have otherwise acquired such property from the mortgagor after default, the mortgagee shall be entitled to receive the benefits of the insurance as hereinafter provided, upon (1) the prompt conveyance to the Commission of title to the property which meets the requirements of rules and regulations of the Commission in force at the time the mortgage was insured, and which is evidenced in the manner prescribed by such rules and regulations, and (2) the assignment to the Commission of all claims of the mortgagee against the mortgagor or others, arising out of the mortgage transaction or foreclosure proceedings, except such claims as may have been released with the consent of the Commission. Upon such conveyance and assignment the obligation of the mortgagee to pay the premium charges for insurance shall cease and the Commission shall, subject to the cash adjustment hereinafter provided, issue to the mortgagee debentures having a total face value equal to the balance of the principal obligation of the mortgage which was unpaid on the date of the institution of foreclosure proceedings, or on the date of the acquisition of the property after default other than by foreclosure. In the event that the mortgagee acquires the property other than by purchase at foreclosure sale after foreclosure proceedings have been instituted, debentures having a total face value equal to the balance of the principal obligation of the mortgage which was unpaid on the date of the institution of foreclosure proceedings shall be issued to the mortgagee.

"(b) Debentures issued under this section shall be in such form and denominations in multiples of $50, shall be subject to such terms