AMENDING THE ACT OF FEBRUARY 19, 1941, AS AMENDED, SO AS TO ESTABLISH A WOMEN'S RESERVE AS A BRANCH OF THE COAST GUARD RESERVE MAY 12, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. BONNER, from the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, submitted the following REPORT To accompany H. R. 44701 The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4470) to amend the Act of February 19, 1941, as amended, so as to establish a Women's Reserve as a branch of the Coast Guard Reserve, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is to establish a Women's Reserve as a permanent branch of the Coast Guard Reserve, which was provided by the act of February 19, 1941, as amended (Ú. S. C., title 14, secs. 301-354). A Women's Reserve of the Coast Guard was established for the wartime period by the act of November 23, 1942 (56 Stat. 1020). That act provided that the authority establishing the wartime Women's Reserve component of the Coast Guard should be effective only during the war and for 6 months thereafter, or until such earlier date as the Congress, by concurrent resolution, or the President by proclamation, might designate. The act of July 25, 1947 (Public Law 239, 80th Cong.), which terminated many of the emergency and war powers, expressly repealed the act of November 2, 1942. Experience gained during the recent war clearly proved the value of placing women on active duty in a military organization during an extended period of national emergency. In order to provide for expeditiously calling large numbers of women to active duty at such time it is believed highly desirable to provide for retaining women on inactive duty in the Reserve on the same basis as men are retained. These women members of the Reserve, with a limited amount of training, will be of great value in organizing women for active duty whenever they may be needed again. The enactment of this bill will immediately provide a basis upon which qualified women may be inducted into the Coast Guard Reserve and form a nucleus for a SPAR organization similar to that which functioned so efficiently during the recent war. It is anticipated that many of those who apply for membership in the new Women's Reserve will be ex-Spars. Thus in case of any future national emergency the experience and training of these women will have been retained and developed to meet any urgent expansion of the active forces of the Coast Guard. Inasmuch as any expense involved in administering the Women's Reserve will be absorbed in the administration of the Coast Guard Reserve, the enactment of this legislation will have a negligible effect on the annual budget of the United States. The Treasury Department has informed your committee that it considers the proposed legislation to be meritorious. The Bureau of the Budget has no objection to this legislation. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW In compliance with paragraph 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, as introduced, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): SEC. 215. Members of the regular Coast Guard called to active duty in the Reserve, as provided by section 214 of this Act, shall not thereby suffer any reduction in pay and allowances: Provided, That if while so serving on active duty such members contract sickness or disease or sustain injury, or die as a result of such sickness, disease, or injury, they or their beneficiaries shall be entitled to all the benefits provided for commissioned, chief warrant, or warrant officers of the Reserve of the same rank, or to the benefits to which they would have been entitled had such active service been performed in their prior status as chief warrant or warrant officers or enlisted men of the regular Coast Guard, whichever may be the greater. SEC. 216. A Women's Reserve is hereby established which shall be a branch of the Coast Guard Reserve and which shall be administered in the same manner as provided for the Coast Guard Reserve in all respects, except as may be necessary to adapt said provisions to the Women's Reserve, or as may be otherwise provided by statute. SEC. 217. Members of the Women's Reserve may be commissioned, appointed, or enlisted in ranks and ratings as prescribed by the Secretary, but not above the rank of captain. SEC. 218. Military authority of members of the Women's Reserve may be exercised over other members of the Women's Reserve only. SEC. 219. Members of the Women's Reserve shall not be assigned duty on board combat vessles or in combat aircraft, nor shall they be otherwise assigned to combat duty. Members of the Women's Reserve shall not be assigned to duty other than in the United States, its Territories, and possessions, nor shall they be assigned to duty outside the continental limits of the United States unless they have requested such duty. 1st Session No. 579 RESTORING CERTAIN LAND IN ALASKA TO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND TO AUTHORIZE ITS SALE TO FORD J. DALE, OF FAIRBANKS, ALASKA MAY 12, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. PETERSON, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 1790] The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1790) to restore certain land in Alaska to the public domain and to authorize its sale to Ford J. Dale, of Fairbanks, Alaska, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. The amendments are as follows: Page 2, line 12, strike out the period and insert in lieu thereof a colon and add the following words: Provided, That the cost of any survey necessary to the issuance of patent shall be paid by Ford J. Dale prior to the commencement of such survey. Page 2, line 22, following the word "under" insert the words "applicable laws, and". EXPLANATION OF THE BILL This proposed legislation would restore to the public domain in Alaska a 5-acre tract of land and authorize its sale, upon application, to Ford J. Dale, of Fairbanks, for trade and manufacturing purposes. No expenditure of Federal funds is involved. H. R. 1790 was amended by the committee to conform to the recommendations of the Department of the Interior. Pertinent comments from the Department's favorable report are set forth below and fully explain the purpose of the bill: I have no objection to the enactment of this bill provided it is amended as hereinafter suggested. In 1942 the C. F. Lytle Co. & Green Construction Co. erected certain improvements on the unsurveyed land in question. On April 21, 1944, the land, with others, was withdrawn for classification pursuant to Public Land Order 225. On October 6, 1947, Dale purchased these improvements, consisting of a cabin, woodshed and outhouse, and made additional improvements on the land for the accommodation of the traveling public. On January 2, 1948, Dale filed an application (Anchorage 011962) for the tract involved, as a trade and manufacturing site, under section 10 of the Act of May 14, 1898 (30 Stat. 413; 48 U. S. C. sec. 461). The tract having been withdrawn for classification prior to the assignment of the improvements to Dale, his right to purchase the tract is subject to the existing withdrawal. Before the tract which is unsurveyed, may be sold under existing law and regulations, the tract would have to be surveyed, then the withdrawal order would have to be revoked to the extent necessary, and the land would be restored and opened to entry. Such restoration, however, would be subject to the preference right of application granted to vetearns of World War subject to the preference right of application granted to veterans of World War II under section 4 of the act of September 27, 1944 (58 Stat. 748, 43 U. S. C. sec. 282). This procedure might well endanger Dale's equities and improvements. The legislation contemplated by H. R. 1790, if enacted, would obviate this hazard to Dale's equities by authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to restore the tract in question to the public domain and, upon application, to sell it directly to Ford J. Dale for trade and manufacturing purposes. In keeping with the trade and manufacturing site law, the expense of making any survey necessary to identify the tract on the ground should be borne by Dale. It is suggested, therefore, that the period at the end of the first section, line 12, page 2, be deleted and the following added: Provided That the cost of any survey necessary to the issuance of patent shall be paid by Ford J. Dale prior to the commencement of such survey." In section 2, line 22, after the word "under" insert the words "applicable laws, and". The Committee on Public Lands unanimously recommend the enactment of H. R. 1790, as amended. O LIBERALIZING THE REQUIREMENT FOR PAYMENT OF PENSION IN CERTAIN CASES TO VETERANS AND THEIR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN MAY 12, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. RANKIN, from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 4617) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4617) to liberalize the requirement for payment of pension in certain cases to veterans and their widows and children, having considered it at length, report favorably thereon with amendments, and recommend that the bill, as amended do pass. The amendments are as follows: Amend the title of the bill to read: A bill to liberalize the requirement for payment of pension in certain cases to veterans and thetr widows and children, and for other purposes Page 2, line 9, after the words "or over" strike the remainder of line 9 and all of line 10 and insert in lieu thereof the following: who meet the requirement of unemployability. For purposes of this part, marginal employment, including but not limited to, on own farm, in own business, or at odd jobs, at less than half the usual hours of work or less than half the usual remuneration will not be considered incompatible with a determination of unemployment, and unemployability, if the restriction, as to securing or retaining better employment, is due to the disabilities Page 4, line 10, after the word "guilty", insert the word "of". GENERAL STATEMENT The committee has conducted extensive hearings on the subject of pension bills; testimony has been received from Members of Congress, Administrator of Veterans' Affairs and his representatives, officials of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Veterans of World War II, and American Veterans' Committee. Representatives of the Bureau of the Budget testified in support of certain cost H. Repts., 81-1, vol. 3-58 |