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APPROVED EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT BUREAU OF THE budget WASHINGTON, 25, D.C. HARAY JUL ? 4 1946 JUL 24 1946 My dear Mr. Latta: The Congress has enacted H. R. 6515, "To amend the Act entitled 1 An Act authorizing the Nebraska-Towa Bridge Corporation, a Delaware corporation, its successors and assigns, to construct, maintain, and operate a bridge across the Missouri River between Washington County, Nebraska, and Harrison County, Iowa', approved March 6, 1928.' It is the purpose of the bill to amend the Act approved March 6, 1928 (45 Stat. 194), which authorized the Nebraska-Towa Bridge Corpo- ration to construct, maintain, and operate a toll bridge across the Missouri River between Washington County, Nebraska, and Harrison County, Iowa, near Blair, Nebraska. The existing law under which the bridge was constructed and has since been operated would be changed by the bill to allow the bridge corporation 30 instead of 20 years in which to operate the bridge before the states or their subdivisions could take it over by condemnation, with certain elements of value to be excluded from the compensation to be paid, and would provide that after establishment of a sinking fund sufficient to pay the cost of acquiring the bridge and its approaches by the states or their subdivisions, the bridge thereafter would be operated free of tolls. The bill would further amend the existing law by adding four new sections thereto, the purpose of these sections being to grant the ap- proval of the Congress, insofar as such approval is required, of an agreement entered into May 9, 1946, by and between the bridge corpora- tion and the states whereby the corporation agrees to transfer the bridge to the states upon the basis set forth therein, namely, upon the liqui- dation of all indebtedness outstanding against said corporation on account of said bridge on the date that said agreement was entered into and upon the payment of the corporation's equity in the bridge over and above such outstanding indebtedness. The bill does not contain any objectionable provisions with respect to the indefinite continuance of tolls or with respect to tax exemptions. Facsimiles of the enrolled enactment have been referred to the Federal Works Agency and the War Department, and their replies, interposing no ob- jection to the approval of the bill, are attached.