this day and age to safeguard the security of this country. There is something wrong somewhere.

Thank you very much.

Mr. HAFEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. HALEY. Mr. James C. Oliver.

We are glad to have our colleague here this morning. He is a distinguished member of course of the Congress.

We are always glad to have you before us.

STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES C. OLIVER, REPRESENTATIVE IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM THE FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF MAINE

Mr. OLIVER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

First, may I say that I appreciate very much the opportunity to come in here at probably what is the 11th hour and 59th second in the hearings that are being held on this most important subject. My interest has extended over a long time, however, in support of not only what has been done previously, but what might be done in the future with regard to making available to the military personnel of our Nation an opportunity for any educational benefits that we, through the Congress, can make available to them.

I might say aside, Mr. Chairman, without taking too much of your time, because I am going to file a brief prepared statement, that coming here in this committee room brings back some rather fond recollections. I can recall back some 22 years ago, more years than I like to refer to, may I say, having been a member of this committee, and with the chairman at that time, the Honorable John Rankin, who has always evidenced his great interest in veterans' affairs, veterans' benefits. It was a real bit of satisfaction that I got from serving on the committee.

Based on my previous service, I can well appreciate the problems which the members of this committee have to face up to. I know that most members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee over the years have been dedicated to what they consider to be the best interests of the veterans.

I certainly want to pay tribute to you, Mr. Chairman, and to the members of this committee for the time and effort that you are putting into this particular subject.

I guess I am probably something of a retread in other respects. Having served in World War I and World War II, I think I have a pretty good appreciation of what this type of legislation means. If we had had it after World War I, for those of us who were in that conflict, I feel sure that perhaps the educational progress of the Nation might have progressed perhaps more than it actually has, because many people getting out of the service at that time had no opportunity to go into colleges or universities.

I think after World War II that this experience which we had, with veterans being given the benefits of the GI education bill of rights, proved beyond any shadow of successful contradiction that this program is the type of program that perhaps isn't to be considered as a cost. Although it is an immediate outlay; I think it has to be considered from the standpoint of a self-liquidating proj

ect, whereby it pays for itself in developing to the greatest extent possible the human resources of the Nation. That is my feeling with regard to the pending legislation which you are now considering. Last year I was one member who introduced a bill tagged as H.R. 6061, which followed the lines, of similar legislation introduced during this session. I want to put myself on record, Mr. Chairman, not in support of any specific bill, but rather on record as being in support of the program in general. Whatever you gentlemen come out with, when you have absorbed all the available information, is going to be satisfactory to me. I only hope that something will come from the committee and that we will have an opportunity to act upon it in the House.

I shall certainly support it with any capacity that I have. I can assure you of that.

Thank you very much for any consideration that you may give to it. Mr. HALEY. I might say to the gentleman that if he supports it wth his full capacity, that will be considerable.

Mr. OLIVER. Thank you very much, sir.

Mr. HALEY. I might make an observation to my colleague.

I think that money spent in educational projects is money well spent. I recall that while I was not a retread in World War II, I was a veteran of World War I, having served better than 3 years in that war, and the greatest part of it was overseas. I was one of the few men who participated in every major engagement that the American forces participated in in World War I, and later of course was a member of the army of occupation.

I agree with the gentleman that out of the treatment, so to speak, that we received after that war, I think many of the benefits that the World War II and the Korean veterans enjoy today are a direct result of the activities, as the gentleman well knows. Because after those 3 years of service and a great deal of it in the battle zone of the AEF, when I returned home I received $60 in money and a day-coach ticket home and a pat on the back and "God bless you," and that is about what we got out of that.

I sometimes wonder if some of the younger men, so to speak, of World War II realize the terrific struggle that we had in order to set up some of these benefits, not only educational but others. We saw the necessity of that, and of course started it. It was a difficult struggle, as the gentleman well knows.

Mr. OLIVER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for those observations. I find that I can agree almost completely with what you have said.

I believe that the veterans of World War II-and my son is one who benefited from this type of legislation-have appreciated the efforts which have been made by the taxpayers of the Nation through the congressional action that made it possible for them to get the benefits of higher education, which under normal circumstances they would not have been able to participate in.

I don't want to belabor the question because I know that you have listened to a lot of evidence and testimony along this same line. I feel, however, that I would like to stress what I consider to be the fact, that we can never go wrong in this country in developing to the utmost capacity possible the human resources we have.

This is a trite statement, of course, but I think we should state it and restate it as many times as we have the opportunity to do so. This is the only way we are going to develop the capacity to meet the challenges of the outside world, the kind of world we are living in. On the basis of those generalizations, Mr. Chairman, I would ask permission to insert in the record this brief prepared statement which I have made along similar lines.

Thank you very much for the courtesy that you have extended to me.

Mr. HALEY. Without objection, the statement submitted by the distinguished gentleman will be inserted in the record at this point in the proceedings.

Are there any questions?

If not, thank you very much, my colleague, for appearing here this morning.

(The statement of Mr. Oliver follows:)

Mr. Chairman, I enthusiastically and completely support pending legislation to provide G.I. bill educational benefits for post-Korean war veterans. Legislation which I have introduced to accomplish this objective, H.R. 6061, is one of many bills now under consideration.

Every recognized educational authority has warned that the next decade will be one of soaring tuition costs. This development will force many competent students to abandon their plans for pursuing a college or vocational education. Since the United States is engaged in a worldwide power struggle with the Soviet Union, we can ill afford to abandon a program which has helped literally millions of veterans to obtain an education. How can we afford the elimination of the educational plan which has been of such substantial value not only to our veterans, but to countless institutions of higher learning in America, and consequently to the general welfare of the Nation? Most of us feel that the United States is already engaged in World War III, the cold war. Many of the men now in our armed services are frequently required to meet dangers not faced by World War II and Korean G.I.'s; for example, those airmen attached to the Strategic Air Command, Navy personnel assigned to nuclear submarine duty, and those who are participating in the current Antarctic polar expedition. It is not facing the facts of life to state arbitrarily that one group of personnel after fulfilling their mission is entitled to benefits while another is not deserving, particularly when these benefits not only increase our Nation's real wealth, but strengthen our country's critical defense position in the cold war, as well.

We continually hear from every walk of life statements of support for programs to accelerate our country's educational development. But for the most part, we have been long on words and short on action. In this instance, the Bureau of the Budget has stated that this legislation would not be in accord with the President's program. Obviously, administration officials are taking the short sighted view, thinking only in terms of the immediate outlay and disregarding the investment in the future which such a program envisions. For example, the Veterans' Administration, according to my understanding, has estimated that by 1970 participants in the World War II GI educational bill will have paid back the entire $14.5 billion cost of the program in extra income taxes resulting from increased incomes because of their educational advantage. This proposal, Mr. Chairman, is a self-liquidating project.

Here we have an investment-a worthwhile and necessary investment in the human resources of America. This is an investment which will pay off not only through higher income tax receipts, but also in terms of more engineers, lawyers, college professors, doctors, mechanics, and other professions urgently needed now in our complex technical society and more urgently needed for the future.

For the basic interest of our Nation's development, I respectfully urge favorable action on this legislation. Our country will not progress sufficiently to meet the challenges which confront us unless we act now to invest in this wealth-producing and self-liquidating program to strengthen our country not only for our selfish internal welfare, but also to meet our responsibility as the leader of the free world.

Mr. HALEY. We will now hear from the gentleman from West Virginia.

STATEMENT OF HON. CLEVELAND M. BAILEY, REPRESENTATIVE IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM THE THIRD DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

Mr. BAILEY. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I appreciate the opportunity to submit this statement in support of the legislation to extend readjustment assistance to veterans of postKorean service. Permit me, first of all, to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, for your excellent leadership and work in legislation to provide education and training assistance to veterans.

The major benefits, as I see them, that would accrue from the prompt passage of the legislation here under consideration would be the following:

(a) Discharge of the debt on the part of the Government owing to ex-servicemen by reason of their service in defense of the Nation. (b) Gainful occupations for thousands upon thousands of American ex-servicemen, presently unable to find profitable employment. (c) Restoring the confidence of ex-servicemen in their Government's wish to see them have an opportunity to live as normal Americans, given a chance to better their basic background to meet the demands of this cold war period of uncertainty.

Since the individuals who will benefit from this legislation are our first line of reserve, their improved training would be an added asset in the overall defense of our country.

As a former educator and as chairman of the Subcommittee on General Education in the House of Representatives, I cannot overemphasize the importance of legislative measures which will increase the educational level of our Nation. The National Defense Education Act of 1958 was a step in the right direction, but it is far from broad enough to provide adequate opportunities for the educational advancement of our young people.

The importance of the GI bill to our country can easily be appreciated when we realize that this education program produced 440,000 engineers, 238,000 teachers, 168,000 doctors and dentists, 112,000 scientists, 105,000 lawyers, and 93,000 social scientists and economists. In my own State of West Virginia, the GI program in the past 15 years has provided education or training to 98,275 veterans. Thousands of West Virginia veterans, who otherwise might not have had the opportunity, have been enabled to enter State colleges or to complete specialized training in various fields of education or training. Their capabilities have been increased, their ambitions heightened, and their potential as productive, constructive citizens has been expanded. Under the GI program, education and training in West Virginia has produced 7,000 engineers; 5,000 liberal arts graduates; 4,000 teachers: 1,700 doctors, dentists, and nurses; 1,250 scientists; 1,350 metal workers: 1,200 lawyers; 650 clergymen.

It is well recognized that the cost of GI benefits has proven one of the most profitable investments our Government has ever made. As a matter of fact, the enhanced skills and increased earning capacity of the 7,800,000 World War II veterans who took advantage of the

GI bill will result in our Government's receiving back in taxes, in the not too distant future, more money than the training has cost.

As one of the authors of the National Defense Education Act, I would like to call to your attention that, as an inducement in meeting the situation you are trying to meet in this legislation, we included under the loan program a provision freezing the loan of a student who is attending college under a loan and interrupts his education by entering the service. In this connection, the act provides that the 3 percent interest rate on the loan shall not accrue for a period, not to exceed 3 years, during which the borrower is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States.

Mr. Chairman, so long as our overall effort in providing educational opportunities for young people is lacking, I do not see how we can conscionably abandon the GI bill which has proven so very important to our national defense.

Thank you.

Mr. HALEY. Thank you, Mr. Bailey.

Our next witness is the Honorable Ken Hechler, Representative from West Virginia.

Mr. HECHLER. Thank you, Mr. Haley.

STATEMENT OF HON. KEN HECHLER, REPRESENTATIVE IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM THE FOURTH DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

Mr. HECHLER. As a veteran and former college teacher, I respectfully urge this committee to act favorably on S. 1138, the Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1959, which already has been approved by our colleagues in the Senate.

This act, in addition to providing vocational rehabilitation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and loans for the purchase of homes and farms, would extend GI education and training benefits to cold war veterans. Sputnik dramatized the tremendous needs of our educational system. Extending the GI bill to our post-Korean veterans would make a significant contribution to these needs in at least two ways:

By enabling thousands of veterans to obtain a college education and graduate training which they otherwise couldn't afford.

By raising the academic standards of our universities and colleges as did the influx of the mature, hard-working World War II and Korean veterans.

A Veterans' Administration survey of post-Korean veterans revealed the tremendous need for the extension of education and training benefits. An astounding 45 percent of these veterans hadn't even completed high school. Only 12 percent had completed 4 or more years of college.

And studies at several universities reveal that veterans make better scholastic records than do nonveterans-apparently because of their greater maturity and the seriousness with which they approach their studies.

Let's look at the significant contribution GI education programs have made to my State of West Virginia. Since 1945, more than