(a)
Authority of agencies
In carrying on activities which further the purposes of this chapter, subject to approval of such activities by the Secretary, the Department and the other Government agencies are authorized—
(1)
to place orders and make purchases and rentals of materials and equipment;
(2)
to make contracts, including contracts with governmental agencies, foreign or domestic, including subdivisions thereof, and intergovernmental organizations of which the United States is a member, and, with respect to contracts entered into in foreign countries, without regard to section
22 of title
41;
(3)
under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, to pay the transportation expenses, and not to exceed $10 per diem in lieu of subsistence and other expenses, of citizens or subjects of other countries, without regard to the Standardized Government Travel Regulations and the Subsistence Expense Act of 1926, as amended; and
(4)
to make grants for, and to pay expenses incident to, training and study.