198 PUBLIC LAWS-CH. 218 -JUNE 16, 1949 [63 STAT. ten minutes east, a distance of eight hundred and sixty and six-tenths feet; thence south twenty degrees seventeen minutes west, a distance of two hundred and seventy-eight and eight-tenths feet; thence north eighty-five degrees twelve minutes west, a distance of exactly seventy- three feet; thence north eighty-three degrees ten minutes west, a dis- tance of two hundred and eighty-four and five-tenths feet; thence north sixty-eight degrees twenty-three minutes west, a distance of sixty-one and five-tenths feet; thence north eighty-three degress ten minutes west, a distance of four hundred and fifty-one and nine-tenths feet to the point of beginning. TITLE III-IMPROVEMENT OF EXISTING BUILDINGS Federally owned SEC. 301. The Commissioner of Public Buildings is authorized to bildingsoutsideD.C. formulate, undertake and prosecute a program for the renovation and improvement of federally owned buildings outside the District of Columbia for which funds are not otherwise available, including appurtenances and approaches thereto, that are under the control of the Public Buildings Administration for repair and preservation: Acquisition of addi- Provided,That where necessary or desirable in carrying out the pro- tional land. gram herein authorized, additional land may be acquired to accommo- date equipment or special appliances and devices proposed to be installed or to provide working areas to accomplish the objectives sought in this title: Provided further, That no project, the estimated cost of which is less than $25,000, shall be deemed to be eligible for the program authorized by this title. thApropration a u - SEC. 302. For carrying out the purposes of this title, including ad- Post, p. 976. ministrative, supervisory, traveling, and other expenses in connection therewith, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated the sum of $30,000,000 to remain available until expended. TITLE IV-MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS Technical or profes- sional services. 42 Stat. 1488 . 5U.S .C.§ 661-674; Supp. II, § 662 et seq. Post, p. 972. 41 U.S.O. §5. Post, p.403. Competition and awards for design. SEC. 401. (a) In addition to the authority conferred upon him by any other law the Commissioner of Public Buildings, whenever he deems it desirable or advantageous, is authorized to employ, by con- tract or otherwise and without regard to the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, or to the civil-service laws, rules, and regulations or to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, the services of established archi- tectural or other professional or technical corporations, firms, or individuals, to such extent as he may require for any public building project which the Public Buildings Administration is authorized by Conglress to construct, or for any such project, funds for which are transferred by another agency to the Public Buildings Administration for construction of the project, regardless of specific legislation gov- erning such other agency: Provided, That this authorization shall not apply to the employment of such corporations, firms, or individuals on a permanent basis, but their services shall be limited to the individ- ual project for which employed: Provided further, That nothing con- tained in this section shall relieve the Commissioner of Public Build- ings or any other duly authorized contracting officer of the Public Buildings Administration who shall execute a construction contract from the responsibility of interpreting such contract, of passing on the acceptability of materials and workmanship supplied pursuant to such contract, of approving changes in such contract during the con- struction period, of certifying vouchers for payments becoming due the contractor, or of effecting final settlement of the contract. (b) The Commissioner of Public Buildings is hereby authorized, whenever he deems it to be in the public interest, to hold a competition for the design of any project, to stipulate the terms, scope, and the
�
