1959—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 86–308 made permanent the Secretary’s authority to grant deferments in payment of installments of construction charges under repayment contracts.

1958—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 85–611 substituted “section 485b” for “sections 485b and 485c”.

1945—Subsec. (a). Act Apr. 24, 1945, extended authority for modification of existing repayment contracts or other forms of obligations to pay construction charges through Dec. 31, 1950, or Dec. 31 of the fifth full calendar year after the cessation of hostilities of World War II, as determined by proclamation of the President or concurrent resolution of Congress, whichever period was the longer.

Subsec. (b). Act Apr. 24, 1945, authorized Secretary, subject to provisions of this subsection, to defer the time for the payment of such part of any installments of construction charges under any repayment contract or other form of obligation that are due and unpaid as of Apr. 24, 1945, or which would become due prior to the expiration of authority under subsec. (a).

Pub. L. 86–308, § 3, Sept. 21, 1959, 73 Stat. 585, provided that: “The provisions of section 17, subsection (b), of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 [subsec. (b) of this section], as amended by section 1 of this Act, shall apply to any project within the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation to which, if it had been constructed as a project under the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 383) and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto [see Short Title note set out under section 371 of this title]), these provisions would be applicable.”