12 2 STA T .3768PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 3 4 3 —O CT. 3 , 2008 (i)TITLE5.—Sect i on531 5o f tit l e5 ,U nite d St a te sC ode, is a m ended in t h e item r elatin g to A ssistant Secretaries of the Treas u r y , b y stri k ing ‘ ‘( 9 ) ’ ’ and inserting ‘‘(1 0 )’’. (ii) TITLE 31 .—Section 301(e) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘9’’ and inserting ‘‘10’’. (b) C ONSU LT A TION.— I ne x ercising the authority under this sec - tion, the Secretary shall consult w ith the B oard, the Cor p oration, the Comptroller of the Currency, the D irector of the O ffice of Thrift Super v ision, the Chairman of the N ational Credit Union Adminis- tration Board, and the Secretary of H ousing and Urban Develop- ment. (c) NE C ESSA RY ACTIONS.—The Secretary is authori z ed to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation, the following
(1) The Secretary shall have direct hiring authority with respect to the appointment of employees to administer this Act. ( 2 ) E ntering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code. (3) Designating financial institutions as financial agents of the F ederal G overnment, and such institutions shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Federal Government as may be re q uired. ( 4 ) In order to provide the Secretary with the flexibility to manage troubled assets in a manner designed to minimize cost to the taxpayers, establishing vehicles that are authorized, sub j ect to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase, hold, and sell troubled assets and issue obligations. (5) Issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities or purposes of this Act. (d) P RO G RA M GUI D ELINES.—Before the earlier of the end of the 2-business-day period beginning on the date of the first purchase of troubled assets pursuant to the authority under this section or the end of the 45-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish program guidelines, including the following: (1) M echanisms for purchasing troubled assets. (2) Methods for pricing and valuing troubled assets. (3) Procedures for selecting asset managers. (4) Criteria for identifying troubled assets for purchase. (e) PRE V ENTING UN J UST ENRIC H MENT.—In making purchases under the authority of this Act, the Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary to prevent unjust enrichment of financial institutions participating in a program established under this sec- tion, including by preventing the sale of a troubled asset to the Secretary at a higher price than what the seller paid to purchase the asset. This subsection does not apply to troubled assets acquired in a merger or acquisition, or a purchase of assets from a financial institution in conservatorship or receivership, or that has initiated bankruptcy proceedings under title 11, United States Code. SEC.102 . IN S URA NCE OFT ROU BL E D ASSETS. (a) AUTHORITY.— 12USC5 212 .Publicat i on . De a d line. R e g ulation s . F inancial agents. Cont r acts. A d m inistration.
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