(a) Powers and responsibilities. The business, property and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed and controlled by the Board of Directors, and all powers specified in the Act are vested in them. The Board may, at its discretion and as hereinafter provided, delegate authority necessary to carry on the ordinary operations of the Corporation to officers and staff of the Corporation.
(b) Composition; number; selection; terms of office. The Board of Directors shall be comprised of fifteen voting members and eight nonvoting members. The powers and management of the Corporation shall reside with the fifteen voting members, and the procedures of the Board shall be determined by them.
(1) The fifteen voting members shall include the seven government agency representatives specified in subsection 3(c) of the Act (or, their designees), and eight individuals meeting the qualifications of that subsection, appointed by the President of the United States from private life, at least four of whom shall be residents and registered voters of the District of Columbia.
(2) The Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be designated by the President of the United States from among those members appointed from private life.
(3) Upon his appointment, the Chairman shall invite the eight representatives designated in subsection 3(g) of the Act to serve as non-voting members of the Board of Directors.
(4) Each member of the Board of Directors appointed from private life shall serve a term of six years from the expiration of his predecessor's term; except that the terms of the Directors first taking office shall begin on October 27, 1972 and shall expire as designated at the time of appointment. A Director may continue to serve until his successor has qualified.
(5) A Director appointed from private life wishing to resign shall submit a letter of resignation to the President of the United States, and his resignation shall become effective upon the date of the President's acceptance thereof.
(6) A Director, appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed, shall serve for the remainder of such term.
(c) Meetings.
(1) The Board of Directors shall meet and keep its records at the office of the Corporation.
(2) Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at the call of the Chairman, but not less often than once every three months. The Chairman shall also call a meeting at the written request of any five voting members.
(3) The Chairman shall direct the Secretary to give the members of the Board notice of each meeting, either personally, or by mail, or by telegram, stating the time, the place and the agenda for the meeting. Notice by telephone shall be personal notice. Any Director may waive, in writing, notice as to himself, whether before or after the time of the meeting, and the presence of a Director at any meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of that meeting. Notice, in whatever form, shall be given so that a Director will have received it five working days prior to the time of the meeting.
(4) Unless otherwise limited by the notice thereof, any and all Corporation business may be transacted at any meeting.
(5) The Chairman shall preside at meetings of the Board of Directors, or the Vice Chairman in the absence of the Chairman. In the event of the absence of both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman, the Directors present at the meeting shall designate a Presiding Officer.
(d) Quorum. The presence of a majority of the number of voting Directors serving at the time of a meeting of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at such meeting of the Board. The act of a majority of the voting Directors at any meeting at which there is a quorum shall be an act of the Board of Directors. If there shall be less than a quorum at any meeting, a majority of the voting Directors present may adjourn the meeting until such time as a quorum can practically and reasonably be obtained.
(e) Directors serving in stead. Each member of the Board of Directors specified in paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection 3(c) of the Act, if unable to serve in person, may designate up to two officials from his agency or department to serve on the Board in his stead. Such designation shall be effected by a letter of appointment, from the Director specified in the Act, received by the Chairman prior to or at a meeting of the Board of Directors. If two officials are so designated, then the Director specified in the Act shall identify one as the First Designee and the other as the Second Designee. The Second Designee may only serve as a Director if the First Designee is not in attendance at a meeting of the Board of Directors. An official designated to serve in stead shall serve as the voting Director of the represented agency until the Chairman receives written notice from the Director specified in the Act, or his successor, that the designation is rescinded.
(f) Vote by proxy. Voting members of the Board of Directors unable to attend a meeting may vote by proxy on resolutions which have been printed in the agenda in advance for the meeting.
(1) A Director unable to attend a meeting of the Board may submit a vote to be cast by the Presiding Officer by means of a written signed statement of his vote and the resolution to which it pertains together with any statement bearing on the matter the Director wishes to have read. The proxy vote shall be submitted to the Chairman with a separate signed copy to the Secretary, to be received not later than the close of business of the day prior to the date fixed for the meeting.
(2) The Presiding Officer shall cast proxy votes received by the Chairman in the following manner:
(i) Upon the close of discussion on a resolution for which there has been submitted one or more valid proxy votes, the Presiding Officer shall announce that he holds proxy vote(s) from named Director(s), and shall read any explanatory statements submitted by the Director(s) voting by proxy;
(ii) The Presiding Officer shall take the vote of the Directors present and then declare the proxy votes in hand;
(iii) The Secretary shall orally verify the validity of the votes submitted to be cast by proxy, and shall record them with the votes cast by the Directors present on the resolution.
(3) Proxy votes shall not be utilized to effect the presence of a quorum.
(g) Compensation of Directors. Members of the Board of Directors shall be compensated in the manner provided in section 3 of the Act.
(h) Approval of annual budget. Upon completion by the staff of a draft annual budget request, the Chairman shall call a meeting of the Board of Directors for its review and consideration. Upon approval by the Board of the draft budget request, it may be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget.
[40 FR 41524, Sept. 8, 1975, as amended at 48 FR 20903, May 10, 1983]