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Coates, Daniel. (See Citizens' Committee for Hoover Report.)
Devereux, Hon. James P. S.

2074,

2078, 2083-2086, 2089, 2135, 2145-2146, 2148, 2153, 2155, 2157-
2158, 2160-2161, 2171-2175, 2178-2179, 2182, 2187, 2191-2193,
2200, 2211, 2285, 2293-2297, 2304, 2308-2309, 2317, 2320, 2329,
2333-2347, 2370-2378, 2388-2390, 2396-2397, 2399, 2424-2428,
2431-2432.

Disabled American Veterans: Foster, Charles E.
Economy Act, history of..

Evins, Hon. Joe L

Financial statements:

American Legion.

AMVETS.

Citizens Committee..

Disabled American Veterans

Veterans of Foreign Wars_

Foster, Charles E.

(See Disabled American Veterans.)

2189-2197

2287-2290

2360-2365

2214-2230

2283-2285

2211-2214

2271-2282

2230-2271

Gossett, William Adair. (See United States Junior Chamber of Com-
merce.)

Gray, Carl R., Jr. (See Veterans' Administration.)
Griffith, Col. Paul. (See American Legion.)
Harris, Donald.

(See Citizens Committee for Hoover Report.)

Hunter, Hon. Allan O.

2378, 2390-2391, 2424, 2426, 2435, 2443, 2450 Ijams, George A. (See Veterans of Foreign Wars.) Insurance, comparison of private firms with Veterans' Administration 2165–2166 Johnson, Dr. Robert L. (See Citizens' Committee for Hoover Report.) Jones, Hon. Hamilton C.. 2210, 2311, 2322, 2325–2330, 2332-2333, 2365, 2369-2370, 2376–2379, 2392, 2395, 2397, 2424, 2442 22012203, 2210, 2287, 2292-2299, 2300-2311, 2315-2317, 2349, 23552356, 2362-2364, 2369, 2373, 2376-2377, 2385-2388, 2392-2398, 2424, 2426, 2430-2432, 2440-2442, 2450-2451.

Kearney, Hon. Bernard W_

Kee, Hon. Elizabeth_

2082

2072-2074

2107-2119

Ketchum, Omar B. (See Veterans of Foreign Wars.) Kraabel, T. O. (See American Legion.) Letter from President on Citizens Committee work. Letters, private, urging action on this subject McCormick, Robert L. L. (See Citizens Committee for Hoover Report.) Patterson, Edwin B., committee staff. 2087-2088, 2090, 2148, 2356, 2443 Prouty, Hon. Winston L.. 2355, 2365 Rankin, Hon. John E., chairman_ 2017,

2031, 2036, 2038, 2040, 2072, 2074, 2076-2079, 2093, 2120-2121, 2131, 2133-2138, 2149, 2152-2154, 2160, 2162-2163, 2169, 2189, 2194, 2197, 2199, 2200-2202, 2205, 2210-2211, 2285-2287, 22912296, 2300, 2303, 2305-2312, 2315-2317, 2319, 2321-2322, 23252326, 2333, 2336-2337, 2342-2343, 2347, 2349, 2355–2356, 2364– 2365, 2372-2373, 2377-2385, 2387-2388, 2390, 2392, 2394, 2397– 2399, 2400, 2424-2435, 2440-2444, 2451.

Rogers, Hon. Edith Nourse..
Rogers, Hon. Walter..

2037, 2039-2041, 2074-2076, 2083, 2365-2370, 2396, 2398-2400, 2424, 2426-2432, 2443, 2450 21452146, 2148-2149, 2162-2163, 2199-2201, 2210, 2305, 2322, 2324, 2331-2332, 2335-2336, 2347, 2356, 2364-2365, 2368, 2374, 2376– 2377, 2384-2385, 2390-2392, 2443, 2451. 2138

Rowan, Ida, committee clerk...
Secrest, Hon. Robert T..

2193, 2196-2197, 2200-2201, 2210, 22902292, 2302-2303, 2360, 2365, 2369, 2372-2373, 2377-2378

Sittler, Hon. Edward L

Page 2041,

2077-2078, 2085, 2088-2090, 2143-2144, 2146-2147, 2149, 2152, 2169, 2170-2173, 2176–2178, 2182-2183, 2211, 2290-2299, 23032306, 2310-2311, 2361, 2379-2381, 2435-2444, 2451.

Springer, Hon. William L.

2199-2200, 2293,

2295-2299, 2300-2303, 2305, 2434-2435, 2438, 2442-2443 Stevens, Charles. (See American Legion.) Taylor, Gen. John Thomas. Teague, Hon. Olin E_

(See American Legion.) 2034, 2036-2039, 2077-2082, 2085, 2087, 2090–2091, 2132–2133, 21362138, 2141, 2145-2150, 2152, 2174-2176, 2179-2183, 2186-2187. 2017-2031

Text of bills. _
United States Junior Chamber of Commerce: Gossett, William Adair. 2149-2152
Veterans' Administration:

Birdsall, Guy H..

Examples of action taken resulting in economies.

Gray, Carl R., Jr., Administrator__

Offices, saving from consolidation of.

Organization charts.

Postwar activities of

Veterans of Foreign Wars:

Ijams, George A.

Ketchum, Omar B.

Warner, Milo J. (See American Legion.)
Wilson, Donald R. (See American Legion.)
Wilsor, Rufus H.

2148, 2372-2374 2356-2360

2349-2381, 2432-2444

2093-2094

2044, 2051, 2056, 2058, 2060

2094-2107

2311-2317, 2319-2347 2308-2311, 2315

(See American Veterans of World War II.)

REORGANIZATION OF VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION

TUESDAY, MAY 27, 1952

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS,

Washington, D. C.

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a. m., Hon. John E. Rankin (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order.

We are meeting this morning to begin the hearings on the bills which were introduced in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, the so-called Hoover Commission.

There are four bills to accomplish these recommendations pending before the committee: H. R. 3316 and H. R. 3686, both of which seek to effect an internal reorganization of the Veterans' Administration, and H. R. 3317 and H. R. 3677 which seek to create a Veterans' Insurance Corporation and to transfer the insurance activities of the Veterans' Administration to such corporation. Without objection there will be inserted at this point in the record the texts of these four bills. In addition, if the printing rules of the Congress permitted, I would insert at this point the reports from the Veterans' Administration and other Government agencies on the bills introduced in the Eighty-first Congress. The basic documents involved in this question are House Document 92 of the Eighty-first Congress and Committee Prints 13, 14, and 114 of this committee of the Eighty-first Congress.

(The bills referred to are as follows:)

[H. R. 5171, 81st Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To create the Veterans Insurance Corporation and place the administration of United States Gov. ernment life insurance and national service life insurance programs under its jurisdiction, and for other

purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That for the purpose of carrying out the functions now vested in the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs with respect to Government life insurance and national service life insurance, there is hereby created, subject to the general direction of the President of the United States, a body corporate to be known as the "Veterans Insurance Corporation".

SEC. 2. (a) The functions, power, and responsibilities now vested in the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs pertaining to United States Government life insurance under title III of the World War Veterans Act of 1924, as amended (38 U. S. C.

2017

511), and to national service life insurance under the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, as amended (38 U. S. C. 801), are hereby vested in and shall be exercised by the Corporation.

(b) There are transferred to the Corporation the United States Government life-insurance fund, the national service life-insurance fund, and related lifeinsurance appropriations, together with all the assets, unliquidated obligations and liabilities of the two insurance programs and so much of the personnel, records, and equipment of the Veterans' Administration as the Bureau of the Budget shall determine to be essential to the performance of the functions transferred. Also, there is transferred to the Corporation so much of the funds appropriated to the Veterans' Administration for administrative expenses as the Bureau of the Budget determines are allocable to the functions transferred: Provided, That the Veterans' Administration shall assume and liquidate all outstanding administrative expense obligations existing at date of transfer.

(c) No suit, action, or other proceeding lawfully commenced by or against the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, or other officer of the United States, in his official capacity or in relation to the discharge of his official duties, shall abate by reason of the taking effect of the transfer of functions under the provisions of this Act, but the court may, on motion or supplemental petition filed at any time within twelve months after such transfer takes effect, showing the necessity for a survival of such suit, action, or other proceeding to obtain a settlement of the questions involved, allow the same to be maintained by or against the Corporation.

(d) Any regulation or any other action made, prescribed, issued, or performed,. in connection with the programs and functions transferred to and vested in the Corporation under the provisions of this Act, before the effective date thereof, shall, except to the extent rescinded, modified, superseded, or made inapplicable under the authority of law, or by the provisions of this Act, have the same effect as if such transfer had not been made; but the Administrator's authority to take any action under any such regulation shall, insofar as it is to be exercised after this Act becomes effective, be considered as vested in the Corporation.

(d) (2) As used in paragraph (1) of this subsection the term "regulation or other action" means any regulation, rule, order, policy, determination, directive, authorization, permit, privilege, requirement, designation, or other action.

SEC. 3. The Corporation shall have succession until dissolved by Act of Congress.

SEC. 4. The Corporation shall have its principal office in the District of Columbia and may establish offices in such other places as it may determine to be necessary or appropriate for the conduct of its business.

SEC. 5. Subject to the provisions of title III of the World War Veterans' Act, 1924, the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, the Government Corporation Control Act, the other provisions of this Act, and other laws applicable to Government corporations, the Corporation shall have power—

(a) to adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal;

(b) by its Board of Directors to adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws, rules, and regulations governing the conduct of its business and the performance, of the powers and duties granted to or imposed upon it by law;

(c) to acquire in any lawful manner any property, real, personal, or mixed tangible, or intangible, or any interest therein; to hold, maintain, use, and operate the same; and to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the same at such time, in such manner, and to the extent deemed necessary or appropriate to carry out the purpose of the Corporation;

(d) to accept gifts or donations of services or of property, real, personal or mixed, tangible or intangible, in aid of any of the purposes here authorized; (e) to enter into and perform such contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions as may be necessary in the conduct of its business, and on such terms as may be deemed appropriate, with any agency or instrumentality of the United States or with any State, Territory, or possession, or with any political subdivision thereof, or with any person, firm, association, or corporation;

(f) without regard to any other laws, rules or regulations relating to the employment of employees of the United States, except the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944 to the extent that otherwise it is applicable, and except to the extent that these laws may be extended to the Corporation by the President of the United States, to employ and fix the compensation in substantial accord with the standards fixed by the Classification Act of 1923 of such officers, agents, attorneys, and employees as may be necessary for the conduct of its business; to delegate to them such powers and to prescribe for

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