548 c o n ^ c t i ^ ^**"*
PUBLIC LAW 268-AUG. 9, 1955
[69 S T A T.
"SEC. 207. (a) The Administration is empowered to make loans to enable small-business concerns to finance plant construction, conversion, or expansion, including the acquisition of land; or to finance the acquisition of equipment, facilities, machinery, supplies, or materials; or to supply such concerns with working capital to be used in the manufacture of articles, equipment, supplies, or materials for war, defense, or essential civilian production or as may be necessary to insure a well-balanced national economy; and such loans may be made or effected either directly or in cooperation with banks or other lending institutions through agreements to participate on an immelimitetion"!'"* ""'^ diate or deferred basis: Provided, however, That the foregoing powers shall be subject to the following restrictions and limitations: "(1) No financial assistance shall be extended pursuant to (a) above unless the financial assistance applied for is not otherwise available on reasonable terms and all loans made shall be of such sound value or so secured as reasonably to assure repayment; no immediate participation may be purchased unless it is shown that a deferred participation is not available; and no loan may be made unless it is shown that a participation is not available. "(2) No loan shall be extended pursuant to (a) above if the total amount outstanding and committed (by participation or otherwise) to the borrow-er from the revolving fund established by this title would exceed $250,000, and no loan, including renewals or extensions thereof, may be made for a period or periods exceeding ten years, except that any loan made for the purpose of constructing industrial facilities may have a maturity of ten years plus such additional period as is estimated may be required to complete such construction, and any such loan shall bear interest at the rate prevailing in the area where the money loaned is to be used but shall not exceed 6 per centum per annum: Provided, That the foregoing limitation of $250,000 shall not apply to any loan extended to any corporation formed and capitalized by a group of small business concerns with resources provided by them for the purpose of establishing facilities in and through such corporation to produce or secure raw materials or supplies: Provided further, That for any such corporation the limit of any loan extended or made as provided for in this section shall be $250,000 multiplied by the number of separate small businesses which have formed and capitalized a corporation as hereinbefore provided for in this section, and if a loan to such corporation is for the purpose of constructing facilities, then the loan may have a maturity not to exceed twenty years plus such additional time as is required to complete such construction and at an interest rate of not less than 3 nor more than 5 per centum per annum: And provided further, That no act or omission to act pursuant to this section, if found and approved by the Small Business Administration as contributing to the needs of small business, shall be construed to be within the prohibitions of the antitrust IS u^^'sV.^" \si\ys or the Federal Trade Commission Act of the United States. A copy of the statement of any such finding and approval intended to be within the coverage of this section, and any modification or withdrawal thereof, shall be furnished to the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission when made, ^pubiic auon in ^^^ ^^ shall be published in the Federal Register. The authority granted in the last preceding proviso shall be delegated only (1) to an official w4io shall for the purpose of such delegation be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, unless otherwise required to be appointed, (2) upon the condition that such official consult with the Attorney General
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