1 that provision' which would give a widow in the case of a service-connected flat foot pension of $30 a month if her husband was run over by a streetcar and was killed 10 years afterward? Would you object to throwing that provision out the window in order to take care of more worthy cases where service causes or contributes to the death? Mr. UPDIKE. You can evolve remedial legislation without that. I do not believe there is a Member of Congress or a Member of the Senate who is not in favor of fair play in this connection. If the benefit has already been given to the widows and other dependents of World War veterans, why should it not be given to the widows and other dependents of veterans of the Regular Establishment as well? Why should there be any discrimination? I do not believe there is a single Member of Congress who would not vote for a bill putting all widows and all the other dependents on the same footing. Mr. SCHAFER. As you know, I am a World War veteran and I have actively supported legislation to properly care for our Nation's war veterans, their widows and dependents. On the other hand, I must seriously face the fact that the Government cannot continue to play Santa Claus indefinitely with a rapidly increasing debt which has now passed $42,000,000,000 and yearly continuing annual deficits of several billion dollars. Mr. UPDIKE. I agree with that. Mr. SCHAFER. We have 11,000,000 workers out of employment, and the Congress has found it necessary to cut the appropriation for W. P. A. because of the condition of the National Treasury. That being true, how could we go to the country and defend, in view of those deductions in W. P. A. appropriation and relief measures, expending money to pay a high monthly pension to the widow and other dependents of a man who served a year in the Navy and was discharged with a second-degree flat foot and then was run over and killed by a streetcar 25 years later? I do not believe that the people would approve of such pension legislation. Mr. UPDIKE. I appreciate what you say. Millions are being appropriated now for relief, and much of that money is going to the widows and other dependents of veterans of the Regular Establishment. I believe it is just a question of where and how we use this money that is provided by the Federal Government. Obviously, those people cannot starve. Whether they are kept by relief funds or are given an equal opportunity with widows and other dependents of World War veterans, I think the better way is to put them on an equality to treat the widows and other dependents of the Regular Establishment and the widows and other dependents of World War veterans equally. Mr. BOLLES. Have you any figures to show relatively or approximately how many widows and other dependents of veterans of the Regular Establishment are on relief? Mr. UPDIKE. No; we do not have any figures in regard to that. The CHAIRMAN. Has the Veterans' Administration prepared any schedule that brings into this legislation the number of widows, the cost, and so forth? Major CLARK. They are not ready at this time. Mr. UPDIKE. You asked whether one of the Regular Establishment who had died with a disability of 10 percent due to flat feet, should have his widow receive the same compensation as a World War widow. My answer is in the affirmative, because the World War veteran does not have to have 10-percent disability. All he is required to have before his widow may be a beneficiary, is any degree of disability. I ask that you be fair to all widows, treating them equally. Mr. SCHAFER. In view of existing unemployment and the well-known condition of the Public Treasury, do you think we can go before the people of the country and say here is a man who served a year in the Regular Establishment during peace time. He was 21 years of age when he enlisted, and acquired a hernia in the service, which hernia was operated on and repaired, and he has no residuals or adhesions. He marries 10 or 15 years after discharge, and 10 years later he is run over and killed by a street car, and we propose to pay his widow $30 a month for life because her husband served 1 year in the Army or the Navy in peacetime. Mr. UPDIKE. So long as you have already adopted the policy of paying the widows of World War veterans that much, my answer is in the affirmative. Referring to the amount of the national debt, the Secretary of the Treasury has stated publicly that we can go with safety to $50,000,000,000 as a national debt. Mr. SCHAFER. You have just stated that we have set a policy and should follow it. Mr. UPDIKE. There should be equality of treatment and no discrimination. The discrimination should be corrected. The law discriminates against widows and other dependents of veterans of the Regular Service. That is my confident position. Mr. SCHAFER. You indicated that we had adopted a policy. Mr. SCHAFER. The Government has set a policy with reference to the retired emergency officers; would you bring everybody up to the compensation status of those emergency officers? Mr. UPDIKE. No; as I have said, I voted against the Emergency Officers' Retirement Act and still believe it to be discrimination. The CHAIRMAN. If there is nothing further this morning, the committee will stand adjourned until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. (Thereupon at 12:05 p. m., Thursday, January 25, 1940, the committee adjourned to meet at 10 o'clock, Friday, January 26, 1940.) PENSIONS-REGULAR ESTABLISHMENT FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1940 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INVALID PENSIONS, Washington, D. C. The committee this day met at 10:25 a. m., Hon. John Lesinski, chairman, presiding. STATEMENT OF LEROY P. CHITTENDEN, NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE REGULAR VETERANS ASSOCIATION The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please be in order; and we will hear as the first witness Mr. Leroy P. Chittenden, national educational director of the Regular Veterans Association. Mr. CHITTENDEN. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my name is Leroy P. Chittenden, national educational director of the Regular Veterans Association with offices at 1115 15th Street, NW., Washington, D. C. The Regular Veterans Association is comprised entirely of men who have served at least 1 year honorably in any of the Regular Establishments. I appear here today representing the Regular Veterans Association in behalf of legislation which would increase pensions now paid to widows, children, or dependents of any deceased regular who died as the result of injury or disease incurred in service. It is the sound conviction of our membership that the widows and other dependents of deceased men who were members of the Regular Establishment are entitled to the same consideration by Congress as are the widows and dependents of World War veterans. Under existing law the pensions for widows and dependents of deceased Regulars is approximately 45 percent less than that now accorded to widows and dependents of World War veterans. It is our sincere, well-considered opinion that there should be no difference in benefits paid. It is our understanding that officials of the War and Navy Departments have indicated to your committee that they favor the same payment of benefits to widows and dependents of the Regular Establishments as now paid to widows and dependents of wartime veterans. We are here today asking only fair treatment and simple justice for the men of the Regular Service and their widows and dependents. These men served long years at a very, very small rate of pay. They are not in any way affected by the remedial legislation which has been enacted to aid that class of persons most in need of secur These men die in service, their families are left in a miserable ( dition. To them are denied any of the benefits of social secu and unemployment insurance. It is difficult to arrive at any of determination than that widows and dependents of veterans of Regular Establishments should receive the same pension as be paid to widows of the veterans of the Spanish-American Wai veterans of the World War. These widows face exactly the s problems as those faced by more fortunate beneficiaries. It c them just exactly as much to live as it does anyone else. of fact, in all probability, they face a more difficult problem beca of the small amount of income derived from their husband's A pay upon which they had been forced to live; thus doing away tirely with any possibility of creating an estate upon which the wi can rely. No one can suggest any sound, logical reason for slightest differential in right. During the last 10 days, this committee has listened to a great ¿ of testimony relative to benefits now being paid to the various clas of veterans. Time after time the wish and hope has been expres that there could be some measure of uniformity adopted to cover amount of pension payable to the different groups. Here is an ex lent opportunity for this committee to take a step in the right direct and adopt the principle of similar payment to widows and depende of all classes. During the last regular session of Congress this committee mad substantial contribution to national defense by favorably report: Senate bill 522. The passage of that bill has been a very import factor in the recruiting efforts of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, a Coast Guard. In fact recruiting officials have advised us that if had not been for this remedial legislation, they would unquestional have encountered much more serious quotas. You gentlemen now have another opportunity to make a further si stantial contribution to our national-defense program. The men the Regular Establishments are most apprehensive concerning the i of their dependents should anything happen to them. Nothing cou add more to the morale of the men in active service than passage legislation which is being considered today. I believe that this co mittee is particularly sympathetic to the problems which face t Regular and his family. Members of the committee have listened with a great deal of patien and interest to the various proposals which have been set forth hel You have been fully advised as to probable cost and all other pertine facts in connection with this legislation. I shall not take longer your time and in closing will once again reiterate that it is the po tion of the Regular Veterans' Association that insofar as payment benefits to widows of deceased regulars whose death was caused from service-connected injury, that there be no discrimination between t amount now paid to widows of war veterans dying with service-co nected disabilities and widows and dependents of Regulars who death was also caused from injuries incident to service. In supplementing my statement I would like to point out that v are now considering the fact that pensions being paid to widows ar dependents of Regulars are solely for service-connected disabilitie That is to say, the Regular must have died because of disability incurred in line of duty. The present rates for widows range, on account of service in peacetime, from $22 a month to $30 a month. A widow less than 50 years of age receives $22 a month; a widow between 50 and 65 years of age receives $26 a month; and a widow more than 65 years of age receives $30 a month. The corresponding rates accorded widows of World War veterans would be $38 and $45 a month; so that there would be considerable ncreases in connection with the legislation proposed. We think it only fair and just that these pay rates be the same for both classes of widows. I should like to have the privilege to submit a statement from the Tomen's organization of our organization. The CHAIRMAN. In the absence of objection it will be received for nclusion in the record. STATEMENT OF MRS. MARY A. WILLIAMS, LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REGULAR VETERANS WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee: My name is Mary A. Williams and I am appealing to you as legislative representative of the Regular Veterans Women's Association whose national headquarters are here in Washington, D. C. The bills under consideration this morning are of particular interest to the Regular Veterans Women's Association. The provisions of these bills, which would increase compensation for widows and dependents of deceased Regulars who died because of service incurred disabilities, are a matter of great concern to our association. Among our members are widows and mothers who are forced to exist on a mere pittance because their husbands or sons happened to die in the service of their country. It is estimated that the average income of the dependent of the deceased Regular from Government sources is approximately $24 per month. It needs no elaboration on my part to show the pitiful inadequacy of this small amount to maintain not only one individual but perhaps three or four. Obviously, it is an utter impossibility. We know that the widow, mother, or dependent of a deceased Regular requires the same amount of shelter, food, clothing, heat, and all the other necessaries of life as do the widows, mothers, and dependents of deceased war reterans. It costs all of them the same figure to barely exist. On the same basis there should be no differential in pension paid to either group. At the present time the widows, mothers, and dependents of deceased Regulars are receiving approximately 50 percent less than the amount now being paid to the survivors of deceased line of duty World War veterans. Is there any basis for such discrimination? We realize that the members of this committee are faced with a very serious problem. They are asked to consider and report favorably on a large number of various measures, all of which would entail a considerable outlay of Government funds. However, it is our honest, sincere, and well-considered belief that no group is more worthy of consideration by your committee than the widows, mothers, and dependents of line of duty deceased Regulars. Every member of the committee has indicated his sympathetic desire to do something for this group of beneficiaries. Therefore, in closing may I earnestly request that members of this committee seriously and favorably consider the provisions of the measures under consideration here today and we most respectfully urge that you, gentlemen, do all in your power to enact into law a bill which will provide equal benefits to the widows, mothers, and dependents of deceased Regulars; whose death was due to service incurred disability, with the provisions of the law now effective for widows, mothers, and dependents of line of duty deceased World War veterans. Thank you for the opportunity of presenting the view of the Regular Veterans Women's Association. |