The commissioned officer of the Public Health Service was relieved from active service in January 1943, at which time he reverted to the status of a civilian; and if his release from active service was under conditions other than dishonorable, it meets the requirements of section 1503 of Public Law 346, Seventy-eighth Congress. In opinion dated September 12, 1932, 5 Sol. 588, the Solicitor held that a lighthouse keeper who served concurrently with the Navy during World War I pursuant to the Executive order of April 11, 1917, and who was subsequently transferred to the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, was an honorably discharged ex-serviceman within the meaning of the disability allowance provisions of section 200, World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended, if his services while under the jurisdiction of the Navy Department were considered by that department to have been honorable. In Administrator's Decision No. 653, dated June 19, 1945, it was held that the release of a reserve officer from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable meets the requirements of section 1503 of Public Law 346, Seventy-eighth Congress.

HELD: The Commissioned officer of the Public Health Service under consideration in this case is eligible for the benefits provided for under Public Law 346, Seventy-eighth Congress, as amended, by virtue of his release from active naval service in January 1943, if otherwise qualified therefor. (Opinion of the Solicitor, Veterans' Administration, dated Apr. 21, 1947, approved Apr. 24, 1947.)

ADMINISTRATOR'S DECISION, VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION, NO. 748

MAY 27, 1947.

Subject: Payment of accrued disability compensation under Public Law 622, Seventy-ninth Congress.

QUESTION PRESENTED: May payment be made under Public Law 622, Seventy-ninth Congress, of disability compensation accrued prior to the effective dates of any of the laws mentioned therein?

FACTS: Veteran entered service June 4, 1917, and was honorably discharged October 22, 1919. He died December 28, 1940, in Paris, France.

It was determined by the proper authorities of the Veterans' Administration on March 18, 1939, that the veteran in this case was permanently and totally disabled due to a mental condition aggravated by his service in World War I; and a request was made for the appointment of a guardian for him in order that benefits due could be

paid. However, no guardian had been appointed at the veteran's death on December 28, 1940, and no benefits were ever awarded.

COMMENT: Public Law 622, Seventy-ninth Congress, entitled, "An Act to provide for the payment of pension or other benefits withheld from persons for the period they were residing in countries occupied by the enemy forces during World War II," approved August 7, 1946, is, omitting its enacting clause, as follows:

That notwithstanding the provisions of section 5 of Public Law Numbered 144, Seventy-eighth Congress (the act of July 13, 1943), or Public Law Numbered 828, Seventy-sixth Congress (act of October 9, 1940, as amended), or Public Law Numbered 783, Seventy-seventh Congress (act of December 2, 1942), any person who, but for such provisions, was entitled to benefits under any law administered by the Veterans' Administration, and who was not guilty of any of the offenses stated in section 4 of said Public Law Numbered 144, shall be paid out of currently available appropriations of the Veterans' Administration the full amount of any benefits not paid because of the provisions of section 5 of Public Law 144, or withheld, including the amount of any checks covered on his account into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts together with any amount to his credit in the special-deposit account pursuant to the provisions of said Public Law Numbered 828, as amended, or, in the event of the death of such person prior to receipt of the amount herein authorized, payment shall be made under the provisions, except one-year limitation, of section 12 of said Public Law Numbered 144, if claim therefor, together with satisfactory evidence that neither the claimant nor the person deceased was guilty of any of the offenses stated in said section 4, shall have been filed with the Veterans' Administration within one year after the effective date of this act: Provided, That the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the amounts of payments which, except for the provisions of this act, would have been made from the special-deposit account, and the Secretary of the Treasury, as directed by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, shall reimburse from the special-deposit account the appropriations of the Veterans' Administration, or cover into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts, the amounts so certified: Provided further, That no payments shall be made to German or Japanese citizens or subjects residing in Germany or Japan.

It is safe to say that beginning at least as early as the fall of France in June 1940, the Veterans' Administration would not have paid a guardian if appointed, in view of the uncertainty of the veteran's existence.

Prior to the veteran's death and while the request for the appointment of a guardian was pending, the Congress enacted Public Law 828, Seventy-sixth Congress, entitled, "An Act To restrict or regulate the delivery of checks drawn against funds of the United States, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, to addresses outside the United States, its Territories, and possessions, and for other purposes," which was approved October 9, 1940. This act provided in part:

That hereafter no check or warrant drawn against funds of the United States, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be sent from the United States (including its Territories and possessions and the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands) for delivery in a foreign country in any case in which the Secretary of the Treasury determines that postal, transportation, or banking facilities in general, or local conditions in the country to which such check or warrant is to be delivered, are such that there is not a reasonable assurance that the payee will actually receive such check or warrant and be able to negotiate the same for full value.

SEC. 2. Any check or warrant, the sending of which is prohibited under the

provisions of section 1 hereof, shall be held by the drawer until the close of the calendar quarter next following its date, during which period such check or warrant may be released for delivery if the Secretary of the Treasury determines that conditions have so changed as to provide a reasonable assurance that the payee will actually receive the check or warrant and be able to negotiate it for full value. At the end of such quarter, unless the Secretary of the Treasury shall otherwise direct, the drawer shall transmit all checks and warrants withheld in accordance with the provisions of this act to the drawee thereof, and forward a report stating fully the name and address of the payee; the date, number, and amount of the check or warrant; and the account against which it was drawn, to the Bureau of Accounts of the Treasury Department. The amounts of such undelivered checks and warrants so transmitted shall thereupon be transferred by the drawee from the account of the drawer to a special-deposit account with the Treasurer of the United States entitled "Secretary of the Treasury, Proceeds of Withheld Foreign Checks," at which time such checks and warrants shall be marked "Paid into Withheld Foreign Check Account." Thereafter the drawee shall deliver such checks and warrants, together with other paid checks and warrants, to the Comptroller General of the United States, who shall allow credit therefor in the accounts of the drawer and the drawee.

In the case of checks representing payments under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, when the amount transferred to the special-deposit account on behalf of any individual payee equals $1,000, the amounts of any further checks, except checks under contracts of insurance, payable to such payee under such laws shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. The deposit in the special-deposit account or the covering into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts, pursuant to the provisions of this section, of the amount of any check issued under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, shall be considered for all purposes, including determinations of rights under section 305 of the World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended, as payment to the person entitled thereto.

In view of the provisions of Public Law 828, Seventy-sixth Congress, no payments of benefits due the veteran could have been made in this case subsequent to the approval of said act on October 9, 1940, even though a guardian had been appointed. The money due the veteran should have been deposited subsequent to October 9, 1940, as directed by the said act. Under these circumstances it is believed that the failure to make payments prior to the veteran's death was due, in part at least, to the provisions of Public Law 828, Seventy-sixth Congress, one of the acts enumerated in Public Law 622, Seventy-ninth Congress.

HELD: The accrued disability compensation due the veteran in this case at his death in enemy occupied territory on December 28, 1940, may be paid under the provisions of Public Law 622, Seventy-ninth Congress. (Opinion of the Solicitor dated Apr. 18, 1947, approved Apr. 28, 1947, XC-2,743,589.)

ADMINISTRATOR'S DECISION, VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION, NO. 749

MAY 28, 1947.

Subject: Benefits under Public Law 663, Seventy-ninth Congress, to Philippine

veterans.

QUESTION PRESENTED: Are the restrictions contained in Public Law 301, Seventy-ninth Congress, under the heading "Army of the Philippines" applicable to that part of Public Law 663, Seventy-ninth Con

gress, which enables the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to provide automobiles or other conveyances for certain disabled veterans?

COMMENT: Public Law 301, Seventy-ninth Congress, provides, material to the issue here:

* That service in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while such forces were in the service of the armed forces of the United States pursuant to the military order of the President of the United States dated July 26, 1941, shall not be deemed to be or to have been in service in the military or naval forces of the United States or any component thereof for the purposes of any law of the United States conferring rights, privileges, or benefits upon any person by reason of the service of such person or the service of any other person in the military or naval forces of the United States or any component thereof, except benefits under (1) the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, as amended, under contracts heretofore entered into, and (2) laws administered by the Veterans' Administration providing for the payment of pensions on account of service-connected disability or death:

*

Public Law 663, Seventy-ninth Congress, provides, in part:

Automobiles and other conveyances for disabled veterans: To enable the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to provide an automobile or other conveyance

* for each veteran of World War II who is entitled to compensation for the loss, or loss of use, of one or both legs at or above the ankle under the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, $30,000,000:

By the quoted provisions of Public Law 301, Seventy-ninth Congress, service in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while such forces were in the service of the armed forces of the United States pursuant to the military order of the President of the United States of July 26, 1941, is service for the purpose of the laws granting pension (compensation) on account of service-connected disability.

However, the legislative history the bill enacted as Public Law 301, Seventy-ninth Congress, clearly indicates that it was the intent of the Congress in the enactment of this legislation that under its provisions there would be entitlement only to the benefits specifically enumerated, i. e., (1) the benefits under the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, as amended, on contracts theretofore entered into, and (2) pensions for or on account of service-connected disability or death, under the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration. An automobile or other conveyance for a disabled veteran does not, either per se or by any rule of statutory construction, come within either (1) or (2) above.

HELD: The benefits of Public Law 663, Seventy-ninth Congress. are not available to those persons whose service consisted of service in the organized military forces of the Commonwealth of the Philippines who were ordered into the service of the armed forces of the United States pursuant to the military order of the President of the United States dated July 26, 1941, even though there may be entitlement to compensation, under the laws administered by the Veterans'

Administration, for the loss or loss of use of one or both legs, at or above the ankle, incurred in services in World War II. (Opinion of the Solicitor dated May 1, 1947, approved May 5, 1947.)

ADMINISTRATOR'S DECISION, VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION, NO. 750 JUNE 20, 1947.

Subject: Physical examinations under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

QUESTION PRESENTED: May physical examinations be performed by Veterans' Administration medical personnel in cases arising under the Federal Tort Claims Act (a) at the instance of other Government agencies; and (b) in cases involving negligence of Veterans' Administration employees?

COMMENT: The "Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1941," Public Law 459, Seventy-sixth Congress, which provided funds for the Veterans' Administration for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941, contained the following restriction:

Total, Veterans' Administration * Provided further, That no part of this appropriation can be used for hospitalization or examination of persons other than veterans unless a reciprocal schedule of pay is in effect with the agency or department involved.

The stated purpose of the above-mentioned restriction was to remedy a situation wherein employees of the various departments of the Government were receiving medical services and examinations which were "charged against the veterans." In this connection, Representative Van Zandt of Pennsylvania, the sponsor of the prohibition, said: "My amendment would make it mandatory that the Veterans' Administration be reimbursed for every person not a veteran.'

In a subsequent deficiency appropriation act, Public Law, 668, Seventy-sixth Congress, the restriction contained in Public Law 459, supra, was amended for the purpose of clarifying its intent and permitting the performance of medical services on a reimbursement basis regardless of the existence of "a reciprocal schedule of pay." The amended proscription, which has appeared in each annual appropriation act relating to the Veterans' Administration since 1940, reads:

Provided further, That no part of this appropriation shall be available for hospitalization or examination of any persons except beneficiaries entitled under the laws bestowing such benefits to veterans, unless reimbursement of cost is made to the appropriation at such rates as may be fixed by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.

In view of the foregoing restriction and the evident intent of Congress in enacting it, it is clear that physical examinations may not be performed pursuant to the request of other agencies of the Government except on a reimbursement basis. As to the query "what agency will