12 U.S.C. § 1723a - General powers of Government National Mortgage Association and Federal National Mortgage Association

• Cite as: 12 U.S.C. § 1723a

(a) Seal, and other matters incident to operation

Each of the bodies corporate named in section 1717(a)(2) of this title shall have power to adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal, which shall be judicially noticed; to enter into and perform contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions, on such terms as it may deem appropriate, with any agency or instrumentality of the United States, or with any State, Territory, or possession, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or with any political subdivision thereof, or with any person, firm, association, or corporation; to execute, in accordance with its bylaws, all instruments necessary or appropriate in the exercise of any of its powers; in its corporate name, to sue and to be sued, and to complain and to defend, in any court of competent jurisdiction, State or Federal, but no attachment, injunction, or other similar process, mesne or final, shall be issued against the property of the Association or against the Association with respect to its property; to conduct its business without regard to any qualification or similar statute in any State of the United States, including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Territories and possessions of the United States; to lease, purchase, or acquire any property, real, personal, or mixed, or any interest therein, to hold, rent, maintain, modernize, renovate, improve, use, and operate such property, and to sell, for cash or credit, lease, or otherwise dispose of the same, at such time and in such manner as and to the extent that it may deem necessary or appropriate; to prescribe, repeal, and amend or modify, rules, regulations, or requirements governing the manner in which its general business may be conducted; to accept gifts or donations of services, or of property, real, personal, or mixed, tangible, or intangible, in aid of any of its purposes; and to do all things as are necessary or incidental to the proper management of its affairs and the proper conduct of its business.

(b) Determination with respect to obligations and expenditures

Except as may be otherwise provided in this subchapter, in chapter 91 of title 31, or in other laws specifically applicable to Government corporations, the Association shall determine the necessity for and the character and amount of its obligations and expenditures and the manner in which they shall be incurred, allowed, paid, and accounted for.

(c) Exemption from taxation

(1) The Association, including its franchise, capital, reserves, surplus, mortgages or other security holdings, and income shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by the United States, by any territory, dependency, or possession thereof, or by any State, county, municipality, or local taxing authority, except that any real property of the Association shall be subject to State, territorial, county, municipal, or local taxation to the same extent according to its value as other real property is taxed.

(2) The corporation, including its franchise, capital, reserves, surplus, mortgages or other security holdings, and income, shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by any State, territory, possession, Commonwealth, or dependency of the United States, or by the District of Columbia, or by any county, municipality, or local taxing authority, except that any real property of the corporation shall be subject to State, territorial, county, municipal, or local taxation to the same extent as other real property is taxed.

(d) Appointment and compensation of personnel; use of services of other agencies

(1) Subject to the provisions of section 1723(a) of this title, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall have power to select and appoint or employ such officers, attorneys, employees, and agents of the Association, to vest them with such powers and duties, and to fix and to cause the Association to pay such compensation to them for their services, as he may determine, subject to the civil service and classification laws. With the consent of any Government corporation or Federal Reserve bank, or of any board, commission, independent establishment, or executive department of the Government, the Association may avail itself on a reimbursable basis of the use of information, services, facilities, officers, and employees thereof, including any field service thereof, in carrying out the provisions of the subchapter.

(2) The board of directors of the corporation shall have the power to select and appoint or employ such officers, attorneys, employees, and agents, to vest them with such powers and duties, and to fix and to cause the corporation to pay such compensation to them for their services, as the board of directors determines reasonable and comparable with compensation for employment in other similar businesses (including other publicly held financial institutions or major financial services companies) involving similar duties and responsibilities, except that a significant portion of potential compensation of all executive officers (as such term is defined in paragraph (3)(C)) of the corporation shall be based on the performance of the corporation; and any such action shall be without regard to the Federal civil service and classification laws. Appointments, promotions, and separations so made shall be based on merit and efficiency, and no political tests or qualifications shall be permitted or given consideration. Each officer and employee of the corporation who is employed by the corporation prior to January 31, 1972, and who on the day previous to the beginning of such employment will have been subject to the civil service retirement law (subch. III of ch. 83 of title 5) shall, so long as the employment of such officer or employee by the corporation continues without a break in continuity of service, continue to be subject to such law; and for the purpose of such law the employment of such officer or employee by the corporation without a break in continuity of service shall be deemed to be employment by the Government of the United States. The corporation shall contribute to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund a sum as provided by section 8334(a) of title 5, except that such sum shall be determined by applying to the total basic pay (as defined in section 8331(3) of title 5 and except as hereinafter provided) paid to the employees of the corporation who are covered by the civil service retirement law, the per centum rate determined annually by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to be the excess of the total normal cost per centum rate of the civil service retirement system over the employee deduction rate specified in section 8334(a) of title 5. The corporation shall also pay into the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund such portion of the cost of administration of the fund as is determined by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to be attributable to its employees. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, there shall not be considered for the purposes of the civil service retirement law that portion of the basic pay in any one year of any officer or employee of the corporation which exceeds the basic pay provided for positions listed in section 5312 of title 5 on the last day of such year: Provided, That with respect to any person whose employment is made subject to the civil service retirement law by section 806 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, there shall not be considered for the purposes of such law that portion of the basic pay of such person in any one year which exceeds the basic pay provided for positions listed in section 5316 of such title 5 on the last day of such year. Except as provided in this subsection, the corporation shall not be subject to the provisions of title 5.