the policy: Provided further, That where within one year of this amendatory Act all of the requirements for reinstatement of yearly renewable term insurance under this section are complied with, except the payment of unpaid premiums with interest, and proof satisfactory to the director is furnished showing the applicant is unable to pay such premiums with interest or some part thereof, the application may be approved, and the amount of unpaid premiums with interest as provided in this section shall be placed as an interest-bearing indebtedness against the insurance, such indebtedness to bear interest at the rate of 5 per centum per annum, compounded annually, to be deducted in any settlement thereunder: And provided further, That, except as provided in section 301 of the World War Veterans' Act, as amended, no yearly renewable term insurance shall be reinstated after July 2, 1927." The language of the proviso in the above section, establishing a lien for unpaid premiums, has been variously interpreted administratively as creating (1) an absolute indebtedness to the United States, (2) an indebtedness against any war risk term insurance or United States Government life insurance of the veteran, and (3) a contingent indebtedness against the reinstated insurance only, to be collected in the event of settlement under such reinstated insurance. According to your letter of May 27, 1932, and its enclosures, the lien for unpaid premiums has not, in practice, been treated as an absolute indebtedness to the United States, but since the enactment of the above amendment has been applied as an indebtedness against any Government insurance the veteran might have, except upon specific authorization from the veteran to deduct same from benefits payable under other titles of the Act. * Authority for the collection of an indebtedness to the United States from the benefits payable under the World War Veterans' Act is found in section 22, 43 Stat. 613, 38 U. S. C. 454, which provides in part as follows: "* Provided, That such compensation, insurance, and maintenance and support allowance shall be subject to any claims which the United States may have, under titles II, III, IV, and V, against the person on whose account the compensation, insurance, or maintenance and support allowance is payable." Insurance is under title III. If it was the purpose of Congress to constitute of the unpaid premiums an absolute indebtedness to the United States so as to be collectible under the provisions of section 22, then the provision in the proviso of section 304 for the deduction of the unpaid premiums from "the insurance * ** in any settlement thereunder" is surplusage and meaningless in view of the general provision in section 22. The War Risk Insurance Act of October 6, 1917, 40 Stat. 398, provided for the issuance of policies of war risk term insurance in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, in multiples of $500. Section 400, 40 Stat. 409. There was a restriction placed upon the amount of insurance which could be issued, but there was no limitation upon the number of separate contracts. The World War Veterans' Act provides for the conversion of term insurance into various policies of United States Government life insurance, and these policy forms differ in their terms from the provisions of the war risk term insurance contract. Two or more separate and distinct contracts of Government insurance, the total of which does not exceed $10,000, may be held by the same veteran, and each one of such contracts is governed and controlled by the provisions of that particular contract. Section 304 is a part of any contract reinstated thereunder. White v. United States, 270 U. S. 175, 180. See Prior to the amendment of section 304 by the act of July 2, 1926, supra, in order to reinstate insurance it was necessary to pay all back premiums, and at which time the general provisions as to collection of indebtedness, in section 22, supra, were in force. In the amendment of July 2, 1926, Congress provided for the reinstatement of insurance without payment of back premiums but requiring that a lien be established in the amount of unpaid premiums with interest, which should be placed as an interest-bearing indebtedness against "the insurance" and such indebtedness "to be deducted in any settlement thereunder." These provisions clearly show that the lien was to be treated as an indebtedness against any in surance which was reinstated under section 304 and the language precludes placing the indebtedness against any insurance other than that reinstated under that section. While Congress has made a general provision in section 22 for deduction of any indebtedness due the United States, such provision has been limited in contracts of insurance reinstated under section 304 by the qualifying provisions in that section restricting the application of the lien for unpaid premiums to the policy reinstated thereunder. The legislative history of section 304 shows no intent to the contrary. My opinion is that a lien, representing back premiums, established in the reinstatement of a policy of insurance under section 304 is a contingent indebtedness against such reinstated insurance only, to be deducted solely from any settlement under such reinstated policy. Respectfully, WILLIAM D. MITCHELL. INDEX-DIGEST ABANDONMENT. Ship abandoned to foreign insurer. *Shipping. 342. ACCOUNTS. General Accounting Office, jurisdiction. The Tennessee Valley Authority is not subject to the provisions of Title III of the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (42 Stat. 20-23) and related statutes and is not required to account to the General Accounting Office in accordance with the provisions of those statutes. 84. Settlement warrants may properly be used to make available to the Tennessee Valley Authority funds appropriated to it by the Congress. Contract Settlement Act. 84. *Contracts. 328, 357. Relocation of families on lands acquired for defense. *Emergency Withheld pay, disposition. *Attorney General. 324. AIR COMMERCE ACT. Permits, foreign aircraft. *Civil Aeronautics Act. 136. AIR FORCE. Appropriations available until expended. There is no legal objection to a request to the Congress to appropriate funds to the Air Force for the procurement of aircraft and aeronautical equipment to remain available until until expended. 555. AIRCRAFT. Application of antitrust laws to air carriers. Agreements between United States air carriers, or between United States air carriers and foreign air carriers, that are designed to control or to prevent competition in air transportation between the United States and foreign countries, are subject to the antitrust laws unless they fall within exceptions expressly provided by Congress. 335. Agreements of foreign air carriers, in which no United States air carrier is involved, are subject to the antitrust laws if they affect the foreign commerce of the United States. 335. NOTE. The asterisk (*) means See, indicating where the opinion is digested, e.g.- Ship abandoned to foreign insurer. *Shipping. 342. This means that the opinion is digested herein under "Shipping" and that the text of the opinion appears at page 342. 798037-4938 567 AIRCRAFT-Continued. Air Force appropriations. *Air Force. 555. *Civil Aeronautics Act. 112. 95. 395. *Civil Aeronautics Act. 136. *Lend-Lease Act. 58. 71. Use of airports. *Civil Aeronautics Act. ALASKA. Trap fishing, authority to limit. *Fisheries. 175. Air Force appropriations. *Air Force. 555. 289. *Officers. 168, 187, Officer, participation in profits of law firm. *Officers. 183. Political activity. *Hatch Act. 103. *Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act. 97. Spy. Jurisdiction to try. *Courts-Martial. 561. Training British airmen. *Lend-Lease Act. 58. War. All opinions relating to War indexed under that heading. Claims against Government. ATTORNEY GENERAL. *Claims. 269. Constitutional questions, administrative officers. There are grave objections to the rendition of opinions by |