STATEMENT OF HON. LEE METCALF, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MONTANA Mr. METCALF. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate this opportunity to appear in support of the Veterans Readjustment Act. I favor the readjustment assistance which S. 1138 makes available to persons who entered active military duty in the Armed Forces between January 31, 1955, and July 1, 1963. This involves education or vocational training assistance, vocational rehabilitation training for veterans with service-connected disabilities, guarantee and direct loan assistance for the purchase of homes, including homes on farms, farmlands, livestock, machinery, et cetera, to be used in farming operations conducted by the veteran, and mustering-out payments. I believe that the readjustment assistance we can give our veterans is a vital part of our national defense. As a strong supporter of education, it is my hope that S. 1138 will be brought to the floor. It is time we did something for the veterans who served in this cold war period. I will appreciate it if the petition and other correspondence I have with me in support of this legislation can be made a part of the hearing record. Mr. HALEY. Thank you, Mr. Metcalf. Without objection, it is so ordered. (The material referred to is as follows:) We, the undersigned persons, hereby respectfully petition you to bring your best offices to bear in order to bring about the passage of the Veterans Readjustment Act (S. 1138) : WILLIAM B. COGSWELL, (And 60 others). SIGMA CHI FRATERNITY, BETA RHO CHAPTER, Bozeman, Mont., February 9, 1960. Hon. LEE METCALF, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR SIR: It has been brought to my attention that act S. 1138, a revision to extend the GI bill of rights, is to be discussed before the House sometime this coming week. I wish at this time to express my desire and deep concern for the progression of this bill to becoming a law. Having served in the U.S. Marine Corps from August 1956 to August 1958, I now find myself enrolled at Montana State College. The challenge that I have found here in school has put considerable meaning into my life. My deep-down hopes amount to more in the way of schooling than a 4-year degree. But I have a major problem, as I know many students have. And that problem is a financial one. To start in at a job upon my release from the service was a very tempting idea. But this would have been throwing away one of my biggest ambitions, that of a college education. My finances upon graduation from high school were next to nil. I chose the Marines for 2 years to serve my obligation to my country, to grow mature physically and, if possible, to continue my savings program toward an education. But I realize that it was more the thought than the material gain that was to be realized from this savings program of mine. Attaining the maximum rank for 2 years, E-3, I ended the latter part of my service being paid at the rate of $99 per month. Yet I am proud to say that my savings for these 2 years amounted to nearly one-half of my pay. I must admit this was very trying at times, to say the least. So here I am in my second year at college, already worried about completing the school year for lack of funds. But I am willing to borrow to finish the term. Where does this leave me? In a position of paying off this debt from my sum mer's work. Then there is next fall. Am I going to have to stay out of school and work? I certainly don't want to but I have given the idea serious consideration. Leaving school at this stage would be disastrous as far as I am concerned. Getting into the swing of student life, I find my grades are on a constant upswing. Last quarter I earned a B- average. I'm pointing still higher this quarter. I have been initiated into a fraternity and several extracurricular activities have gained my attention. I also hold down a part-time job. Last quarter I worked 3 afternoons a week, this quarter I worked 2 due to a heavy load in credit hours. One of the most valuable things I have learned from all this is the budgeting of time. I don't mean to bring out a complaining attitude. This is not my purpose nor is it the way I feel. But I wonder how many other students across the United States are in the same predicament? Presently we have the National Defense Act but this pertains only to students studying science, mathematics, or languages who are pointing to a teaching career. The stipulation amounts to paying less back for longer teaching service. But I can't agree with the selected fields of study and I know there are others who feel the same way. My personal ambition is to enter some part of the Foreign Service. Here the challenge is demanding but the need is even greater. Our world situation as it is today will verify this and the future promises exemplification of such matters. Bettering the economic conditions of friendly foreign countries is the way to world peace. I sincerely believe this. Realizing that my comprehension of the situation and circumstances surrounding Act S. 1138 is limited. I would appreciate any correspondence or literature that can be sent to me in reference to this act. I hope to hear that you find my reasoning valid for supporting this measure. I am aware of no detrimental effects that could be brought about by Act S. 1138. Respectfully yours, DUANE A. BOE. HEADQUARTERS BATTERY, Hon. LEE METCALF, 2D HOWITZER BATTALION, 37TH ARTILLERY, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. METCALF: I read with extreme pleasure in the Army Times of your positive vote for the enactment of the cold war GI bill. I am a resident of Columbia Falls, Mont., and would benefit greatly from this legislation. I plan to further my education after separation from the armed service in May of this year. I speak for other servicemen from Montana, as well as myself as I express my appreciation for your support of this bill. Sincerely yours, DUANE D. KIEL, Pfc., U.S. Army. BUTTE, MONT. Hon. LEE METCALF, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. METCALF: We are very much interested in the early passage of S. 1138-Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1959. This bill was referred to the House in July of 1959. We will appreciate anything you may be able to do to insure its enactment into law. Sincerely yours, H. E. TOWNSEND. FEBRUARY 4, 1960. Representative LEE METCALF, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. THE HONORABLE MR. METCALF: As a fellow Montanan, qualifying veterans, and full-time student of Montana State College, I respectfully and urgently request that action be taken on Act S. 1138 pointing toward passage as soon as possible. This bill which concerns the extension of the GI bill of rights to veterans who entered the service of the United States after January 1955 is vital to the continuance of my college career, as well as those of many other veterans here. In the interest of a better educated America, I wish to reiterate my plea requesting the passage and effectment of Act S. 1138. Most respectfully, ROBERT D. BOYD, USMCR 1631773. Mr. HALEY. Next is the Honorable Carl D. Perkins, from Kentucky. STATEMENT OF HON. CARL D. PERKINS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF KENTUCKY Mr. PERKINS. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I want to thank you for the opportunity to appear here today in support of the legislation before you. Every young man who is called into the armed services is forced to interrupt his education. It is only equity to compensate these youngsters in part at least for the intangible loss caused by this interruption of their educational opportunities. Much attention has been given by the newspapers and other news media to the weaknesses in our educational program. There is a serious shortage of technical workers and engineers in particular. This shortage is quite noticeable in a labor market where unemployment is now approaching the 5 million mark, the highest since 1938. When a young man drops out of school for a 2-year period, and in many cases this 24 months actually covers or interrupts 3 school years, it is extremely difficult for these students to make a successful return to school even if they face no financial problems. They should be encouraged at least to the point of where the Government takes over a portion of their financial problem by providing adequate payments based on their resumption of school work. These payments should be based on their term of service in the Armed Forces and considered as supplemental payments to those students who have potential aptitudes which may be developed by additional training. It is clear that if we have almost 5 million unemployed in this period of prosperity and at the same time a scarcity of technical workers the development of these technical skills has to all men in the armed services so long as we continue to draft these youths into the service. Mr. HALEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Perkins. The next witnesses are from the Department of Defense, represented by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower, Personnel, and Reserve, Stephen S. Jackson. Mr. Secretary, if you would care to bring some of your colleagues along with you, you may come right up. STATEMENT OF STEPHEN S. JACKSON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR MANPOWER, PERSONNEL AND RESERVE; ACCOMPANIED BY REAR ADM. B. A. CLAREY, USN, DIRECTOR OF MILITARY PERSONNEL POLICY DIVISION, OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (M.P. & R.); HAROLD WOOL, STAFF DIRECTOR OF PLANS AND ANALYSIS DIVISION, OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (M.P. & R.); COL. ARTHUR C. RUSH, USAF, CHIEF OF PERSONNEL RETENTION DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR PERSONNEL, DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE; LT. COL. LEWIS H. STREHLOW, USA, OFFICE OF ADJUTANT GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY; AND COMDR. SYBIL A. GRANT, USN, OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (M.P. & R.), WHO SERVED AS DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COORDINATOR FOR HEARINGS AND LIAISON WITH VETERANS' AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Mr. JACKSON. I would like to bring with me Admiral Clarey, Director of the Military Personnel Policy Division; Mr. Wool, Director of the Plans and Analysis Division, both of my office, and Colonel Rush, of the Air Force. My name is Stephen S. Jackson. Mr. HALEY. Mr. Secretary, we are glad to have you and your colleagues before the committee. You have a prepared statement, I believe, Mr. Secretary. Mr. JACKSON. Yes, I do, sir. Mr. HALEY. You may proceed in any manner that you care to, sir. Mr. JACKSON. Thank you, sir. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, the Department of Defense welcomes the opportunity of presenting to this committee its views on S. 1138 which would provide readjustment assistance to veterans who serve in the Armed Forces between January 31, 1955, and July 1, 1963. The type of readjustment assistance would include educational and vocational training, vocational rehabilitation training for service-connected disabilities, and loans for homes, farms, livestock, and farm machinery, and closely parallels the World War II and the Korean GI bills. May I say at the outset that the Department of Defense wholeheartedly subscribes to the idea that Government assistance, and particularly educational benefits, should be extended to veterans called into service in time of war to assist them in the transition to civilian life. Military service in time of war spans a broad range of age from young men in their teens to middle-aged men. It interrupts civilian careers, and in many cases necessitates changing the civilian career. The influx of large numbers of wartime veterans on the civilian economy in rapid demobilization following war offers additional reason for supporting Government assistance to wartime veterans. And a final justification is the hazards of war-more than a million killed or wounded in action in World War II and the Korean conflict. On the other hand, with the exception of those retired for substantial disability the Department of Defense does not believe that such Government assistance is warranted in the transition of the peacetime veteran from military to civilian life. In the decade of the fifties, the military service obligation became an accepted fact of life for young American men approaching adulthood. A post-World War II draft law, initially enacted in 1948, remained continuously on the statute books throughout the fifties and in 1959 was extended again by the Congress until 1963. During this decade, a total of 712 million youth, or up to 70 percent of the young men in the age bracket to which the draft law was applicable, had entered the military service. In sharp contrast with wartime veterans, peacetime veterans can choose 1 of 30 programs by which military service obligations may be met with least interruption of education or civilian careers. The draft is applicable only to young men. And each year since 1954, the median age of men entering the service has consistently been 182 years. Approximately 85 percent have been in the 17-19 year age bracket. The economic adjustment of the peacetime veteran is much less of a problem than that of the wartime veteran by virtue of the smaller, and relatively stable number of peacetime veterans-about 600,000 each year since Korea-as compared to the 10,218,000 demobilized from World War II service in fiscal year 1946. And finally, the contrast of hazards to life during war and peace requires no amplification. Peacetime veterans' benefits of the type contemplated by S. 1138 were a major topic of consideration by the President's Commission on Veterans' Pensions established in 1955, with Gen. Omar N. Bradley as Chairman. This Commission, in its final report to the President dated April 23, 1956, concluded that in view of the changed character of our national military responsibilities for the foreseeable future, peacetime veterans should not be accorded benefits such as were provided to veterans of World War II and the Korean conflict. This position was essentially the one adopted by the Department of Defense in respect to previous bills (S. 6675, S. 714, S. 1095, and S. 1282) introduced in the 85th Congress to extend or amend the Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952. Let me emphasize that the Department of Defense position should in no way be construed as opposition to education. To the contrary, this Department supports the national policy of raising the educational level and strengthening the skill level of the work force of our population. At this time I would like to cover the contribution of the Armed Forces toward raising national educational and skill levels. After this, I will discuss the deleterious effects of S. 1138 on inducing critically needed personnel to leave military service. EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MILITARY All services have programs of full-time schooling of selected individuals, both officers and enlisted personnel, in civilian colleges and universities, to meet military requirements for personnel so trained in specialized fields, primarily mathematics and science, at the graduate or undergraduate levels. |