REFERRAL PROCESS Senator ALLOTT. I want to ask one question before we close on the record. I want to be sure that you do supply me with the percentage of workload that the poverty activities are now consuming. General HERSHEY. We will get the last 2 months involved because there was none before that. (The information referred to follows:) COST OF REFERRAL FOR 2 MONTHS The referral process is quite simple and the requirements closely parallel the normal handling of rejectees. When the local board clerk is preparing to mail the "Notice of Acceptability" statement to registrants, she adds to the mailing sent to those rejected who failed to pass the mental examination, a letter prepared by the Department of Labor. On this she fills in the name and address of the rejected man and in some cases the address of the office to which referred, making one copy for the registrant's file. She also puts the man's name on a list to be sent to a referral point. Normally the several papers from the examining station will be received in the local board about once or twice a month. It is estimated that it takes between 3 and 5 minutes to accomplish this, per referral. During the 2 months this has been operating, there have been 154,000 rejectees, of which 77,000 were for mental test failure. At the maximum estimate of 5 minutes, the cost would be $10,361 or less than three-tenths of 1 percent of the payroll for local board clerks for the 2 months. COMMITTEE RECESS Senator MAGNUSON. All right. Now it is understood after the House passes the bill, which they hope to do by the middle of this month, or at least by the end, that we will come on back here and we may want to discuss some specific items, and hoping we can get this bill done this time before the 1st of July and not be around here until the middle of December like we were last year. We will place in the record at this point a statement issued by the Department of the Army pertaining to the rejection of Cassius Clay by the Army, discussed generally in an earlier portion of the hearing. (The information follows:) FACT SHEET PERTAINING TO CASSIUS CLAY'S REJECTION BY THE ARMY In view of the recent publicity and anticipated public reaction to the rejection of Cassius Clay for induction into the Army, the following is the sequence of events and the careful consideration given prior to reaching a decision not to accept him for induction. Mental standards are used by all services to insure that individuals, enlisted or inducted, are trainable and can perform satisfactorily on the job. The minimum mental standards for the Army fall into two categories, those for enlistment and those for induction, and are based on tests which have proven to be effective predictors of performance in training and on the job. These tests are similar in nature to those administered for personnel placement purposes in industry and commerce, and are the best available indicators of the individual's probable mental and physical capacities and, consequently, his capacity to meet the demands of a modern military organization. Followup of individuals during many years has shown the test scores to be valid indicators of later performance. Public Law 51, 82d Congress, first established the minimum mental standards for induction at an AFQT score of 10. This was later revised by Pub lic Law 564, 84th Congress, to provide that during peacetime, standards may be modified by the President to permit the induction of higher quality personnel in order to promote efficiency, reduce costs, and in recognition of the fact that a peacetime Army forms the foundation for a mobilization Army and thus must be of high quality. Authority was later delegated to the Secretary of Defense. In May of 1963, the peacetime induction standards were raised because the quality of inductees was decreasing at an alarming rate to the extent that during fiscal year 1963, 42,9 percent of the entire draft were in the lowest acceptable mental category (category IV). On the other hand, the need for quality personnel was increasing because of the complexity of equipment being introduced into the Army and that planned for the future. In addition, much evidence is available that shows that these low mental category personnel are the greatest disciplinary risks. In 1963, the percentage of low mental category military personnel among prisoners in disciplinary barracks and Federal institutions was 34.2 percent, as compared to only 15.9 percent among all Army enlisted men. This approximately 2:1 ratio of low mental category prisoners to low mental category soldiers is similar to the ratio experienced over the last several years. Cassius Clay was ordered by his selective service local board in Louisville, Ky., to report to the Armed Forces Examining and Induction Station, Coral Gables, Fla., on January 24, 1964, for his preinduction examination. Clay reported as ordered and met all the requirements for induction except the mental standards. In accordance with routine procedures, Clay was given additional testing and psychological evaluations to determine if he was a true or deliberate failure. This evaluation included comparison of his responses to the patterns of true failures and of malingerers, and evaluation of his supplementary test scores in the light of his school and work history. Men who purposely fail the test and who are adjudged as capable of passing it are administratively accepted if otherwise qualified. However, it was determined by the personnel psychologist that Clay was a true test failure and gave no evidence of malingering. After a careful review of Clay's records, to elminiate any element of doubt as to his true mental ability and the possibility that anxiety about the forthcoming title fight might have influenced his test scores, the Secretary of the Army decided to have him reexamined. With the cooperation of General Hershey, Clay was ordered to report for reexamination in Louisville, Ky. The Department of the Army sent a representative to Louisville, Ky., to observe and report to the Secretary of the Army on the adequacy of the testing and their results. This representative was the senior psychologist responsible for conducting the Army's research program on ways to screen and classify enlisted personnel. He has held such a position for over 10 years, and had prior research experience in this field for the Army, as well as previous work with civil service examinations. He is a qualified psychologist, a diplomat in industrial psychology of the American Board of Examiners in Professional Psychology (ABEPP). Clay reported to the induction station as ordered on March 13, 1964. He was administered the tests and again failed to achieve qualifying scores. Accordingly, the induction station personnel psychologist evaluated Clay's pattern of responses to the test questions and carefully interviewed him to elicit appropriate background information. The original finding of being a true test failure with no evidence of malingering was confirmed by the personnel psychologist. The Department of the Army representative closely observed Clay's testing and interview. He found the processing was properly and carefully performed. He agreed with the personnel psychologist's finding. In addition, the pattern of gains and losses from first test scores as compared to retest scores, review of the pattern of answers, and careful interviewing all supported a conclusion of true failure rather than malingering. Clay's records were again reviewed and it was concluded that Clay should be rejected for induction-as are all other true test failures-based on his failure on the aptitude test plus the evaluated opinions of three psychologists that he was a true failure. Consequently, Clay's records were mailed to the Kentucky State Director of Selective Service for forwarding to Clay's local board with instructions that Clay be given a written notification, in the normal manner, of his rejection for induction. The requirements of today's Army do not allow for acceptance of those personnel not offering a reasonable value to the defense effort. As was stated in the congressional hearings on August 16, 1957, “* * * new weapons systems have greatly increased the requirements for fully trained, and fully trainable manpower, both in a wide range of technical jobs and in our combat units." The induction standards must be such that the new members of the Army are capable of learning new skills and applying them. The men inducted by the Army must be those who clearly show that by aptitude and intelligence, they can contribute to the national defense by filling an Army need. COMMITTEE RECESS Senator MAGNUSON. For the record, the committee will recess until tomorrow when we hear the Veterans' Administration. (Whereupon, at 10 a.m., Thursday, May 7, 1964, the committee recessed, to reconvene at 8:30 a.m., Friday, May 8, 1964.) INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1965 FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1964 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess at 8:35 a.m., in room S-128, U.S. Capitol Building, Hon. Warren G. Magnuson (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Magnuson, Monroney, Allott, Young of North Dakota, and Saltonstall. VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION STATEMENT OF J. S. GLEASON, JR., ADMINISTRATOR; ACCOMPANIED BY W. J. DRIVER, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR; A. H. MONK, ASSOCIATE DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR; A. T. McANSH, ASSISTANT DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR; L. J. HOOK, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE ADMINISTRATOR; R. C. FABLE, JR., GENERAL COUNSEL; J. D. SHYTLE, CONTROLLER; V. P. MILLER, DIRECTOR, BUDGET SERVICE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR CONSTRUCTION W. ASHBRIDGE, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR; L. G. SCHWEICKART, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT; C. F. HEGNER, MANAGER OF OPERATIONS; J. C. GARVER, CHIEF, PROGRAM CONTROL DIVISION DEPARTMENT OF DATA MANAGEMENT P. J. BUDD, CHIEF DATA MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR; C. B. DRINKARD, DIRECTOR, RESOURCES SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY DR. J. H. McNINCH, CHIEF MEDICAL DIRECTOR; DR. L. A. ZINK, ASSISTANT CHIEF MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR PLANS AND COORDINATION; DR. M. J. MUSSER, ASSISTANT CHIEF MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN MEDICINE; W. M. MCCOY, DIRECTOR FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES; DR. A. J. KLIPPEN, CONTROLLER, D.M. & S.; R. W. WISE, DIRECTOR, BUDGET SERVICE, D.M. & S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' BENEFITS C. F. BRICKFIELD, CHIEF BENEFITS DIRECTOR; A. W. FARMER, DIRECTOR, COMPENSATION, PENSION, AND EDUCATION SERVICE; J. M. DERVAN, DIRECTOR, LOAN GUARANTY SERVICE; T. KIERNAN, ACTING DIRECTOR, INSURANCE SERVICE; AND E. R. SILBERMAN, CONTROLLER, DVB APPROPRIATIONS, FISCAL YEAR 1964 AND ESTIMATE, FISCAL YEAR 1965 Senator MAGNUSON. The committee will come to order. Today we have the Veterans' Administration. The Administrator is here and most of his staff. We will proceed. We have several items of breakdown of this appropriation; last year your total-I am adding them all up-was $5,384,784,000, and this year the budget estimates are $5,442,871,000, or a plus of $58,187,000, is that correct? But that is adjusted by a supplemental estimate received of $11,957,000, and then you adjusted down $1,030,000. COMPENSATION AND PENSIONS Mr. MONк. Then there is another $30 million for compensation and pensions. Senator MAGNUSON. Is that in now. Mr. MONK. It just came up. Senator MAGNUSON. It just came up? Mr. MONK. Yes. Senator MAGNUSON. That is a supplemental in the House now? It will be over here next week. Mr. MONK. I believe they are handling it with the regular bill. Mr. MONK. I believe so. TOTAL FIGURES Senator MAGNUSON. Well, you put in then the total figures. Anyway your budget estimate for this year is $5,552,971,000. You have to add your supplementals. Mr. GLEASON. $5,446,941,000 is our amended estimate for fiscal year 1965. This is $21,700,000 over fiscal year 1964 including anticipated supplementals. Senator MAGNUSON. We have got it wrong here then. Put in the correct figures. The changes are in the first page of your statement. Mr. GLEASON. May I read the statement, Mr. Chairman? Senator MAGNUSON. Yes, the Administrator will go ahead with his statement. I just want to get those figures in the record along with your summaries which will be placed in the record at this point. |