Title 40Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-73

§1310 Sale of war supplies, land, and buildings

Title 40 › Subtitle SUBTITLE I— - FEDERAL PROPERTY AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES › Chapter CHAPTER 13— - PUBLIC PROPERTY › § 1310

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The President can have a department head sell war items to people, other federal departments, or to a foreign government that is fighting an enemy of the United States. The things that can be sold include war supplies, materials and equipment, their by-products, and any building, plant, or factory (and the land) that the government acquired since April 6, 1917 to make war supplies and that the government owned or made during the emergency on July 9, 1918. Sales of guns and ammunition that other laws allow are limited to other federal departments, to foreign governments fighting an enemy of the United States, and to members of the National Rifle Association or other recognized U.S. groups that promote small-arms target practice.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §1310

Public Buildings, Property, and Works — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The President, through the head of any executive department and on terms the head of the department considers expedient, may sell to a person, another department of the Federal Government, or the government of a foreign country engaged in war against a country with which the United States is at war—
(1)war supplies, material, and equipment;
(2)by-products of the war supplies, material, and equipment; and
(3)any building, plant, or factory, including the land on which the plant or factory may be situated, acquired since April 6, 1917, for the production of war supplies, materials, and equipment that, during the emergency existing on July 9, 1918, may have been purchased, acquired, or manufactured by the Government.
(b)Sales of guns and ammunition authorized under any law shall be limited to—
(1)other departments of the Government;
(2)governments of foreign countries engaged in war against a country with which the United States is at war; and
(3)members of the National Rifle Association and of other recognized associations organized in the United States for the encouragement of small-arms target practice.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 131040:314.July 9, 1918, ch. 143 (last par. on p. 850), 40 Stat. 850; Feb. 25, 1919, ch. 39, § 3, 40 Stat. 1173; May 29, 1928, ch. 901, § 1(8), 45 Stat. 986; Aug. 7, 1946, ch. 770, (55), 60 Stat. 870. In this section, the words “government of a foreign country” are substituted for “foreign State or Government”, and the words “against a country” are substituted for “against any Government”, for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. In subsection (a), before clause (1), the words “partnership, association” are omitted because of the definition of person in 1:1. In subsection (b), before clause (1), the words “in this section or . . . other” are omitted as unnecessary.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 1310

Title 40Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73