The purpose of the bill is to provide pension to the dependent unremarried widow of a Civil War veteran who is at least 60 years of age, and who is barred from the receipt of pension because her marriage to the veteran occurred subsequent to June 26, 1905, but who is otherwise entitled to pension under either the act of May 1, 1920, or the act of June 9, 1930, provided she married the veteran 10 years prior to his death and lived with him continuously from the date of marriage to the date of death, except where there was a separation which was due to misconduct of or procured by the veteran without the fault of the widow. The rates of pension and conditions of entitlement not inconsistent with those prescribed by the bill, as contained in the acts of May 1, 1920, and June 9, 1930, would be for application. Both of these acts require that the veteran shall have served 90 days or more in the Civil War, or if less than 90 days, that he shall have been discharged for disability incurred in line of duty. The rates payable are $30 a month, if the widow is under 70 years of age; $40 a month from and after age 70. Pension is not payable if a widow is found to be living in open, notorious, and adulterous cohabitation.

With regard to the merits of this proposal, attention is invited to the following table which shows the beginning and ending dates of wars in which the United States has been engaged, which are of current importance in connection with pension grants; the delimiting date for marriage to veterans of such wars governing eligibility of the widow to pension; and the number of years between the ending date of the war and the delimiting marriage date:

NOTE. The beginning and ending dates set forth above as to the Spanish-American War. Boxer Rebellion, and Philippine Insurrection are for application to the laws reenacted by Public, No. 269, 74th Cong., Aug. 13, 1935.

It will thus be apparent that existing laws are more liberal with respect to the marriage date of Civil War widows than for widows of any of the other wars listed above. The bill would further extend the marriage date for widows of Civil War veterans so as to include persons who married such veterans over 65 years after the termination of that war.

There is enclosed, as part of this report, a chart showing certain prerequisites to the establishment of entitlement to pension under the several laws granting pensions to widows of Civil War veterans.

It may be conceded that the principle set forth in the bill, that is, that the widow must have been the wife of the veteran 10 years prior to his death, is superior to the policy of fixing delimiting dates of marriage. The table given in this report clearly indicates the wide divergence of delimiting dates which alone establishes a precedent for legislative demands to change such dates.

The demand for this type of legislation again emphasizes the necessity for careful consideration as to what the Government's obligation to the widow who marries a veteran many years after his service really is insofar as a pension is concerned. It is definitely assumed that the Government's first obligation is to the widow who was the wife of the veteran when he served.

To what extent the Government should go in granting benefits in the way of pensions to those widows who married veterans years after their service, is a matter which has been given much consideration in connection with pension legislation. There has been no uniformity regarding it and in the establishment of delimiting dates of marriage much variation will be found.

There can be no doubt that this bill, if enacted, would break the precedent of setting arbitrary delimiting dates of marriage for widows, and open the way for the adoption of the policy of fixing the time retrospectively from the date of the veteran's death. This principle finds support from the fact that experience has shown that in the majority of cases widow claimants were not married to the veterans of a war until after the period of war service, and it would seem that the

proximity of the date of marriage to the veteran's war service should not be considered of greater moment in formulating the definition of widow than the period of marriage which existed between the claimant and the veteran, prior to the date of the veteran's death.

Consideration of the proposed legislation outlined in this bill requires that the Congress give thought to the possible effect such legislation would have upon widows of other groups of veterans such as the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, and later on the World War. If the 10-year standard could be adopted with assurance that no attempt would be made to change the number of years from 10 to 5 or even less, such legislation might well be worth while because of its underlying sound principle. A study of the past history of pension legislation, however, indicates that the reason we find a great variation in the number of years between the war and the last marriage date of the several groups of veterans' widows, is due to the fact that the Congress has been importuned from time to time to make changes in such delimiting dates. No doubt such requests would be made in the future to effect such changes in the standard proposed by this bill. It may be said that the subject matter of this bill and the principles involved are of great importance, particularly at this time. There can be no doubt that it is the desire of the administration and the Congress to deal most liberally with those who have served their country in time of great emergency and to their dependents after they are gone. Every step taken in the direction of uniformity is desirable. It should be borne in mind, however, that changes in pension legislation have a direct bearing upon any new standards being established under the Social Security laws and should be coordinated with them. Likewise it has a direct relationship to existing conditions connected with national defense.

It is difficult to make an accurate estimate of the cost of this bill. However, based on the records that are available, it is believed that approximately 3,450 widows would be entitled to pension at a cost of approximately $1,565,000 the first year. In addition, it is estimated that approximately 700 widows who are now receiving pension under special acts would be entitled to increased pensions at an additional cost of approximately $79,000 the first year.

Based on the experience of this administration it is believed that not more than one-half of the new cases would come on the rolls the first year which would reduce the actual expenditure to approximately $861,000, affecting approximately 2,400 widows.

The conclusions of the Veterans' Administration with reference to the proposed legislation may be briefly stated as follows:

1. The principle involved in the proposed legislation is sound and believed preferable to existing delimiting dates.

2. The cost insofar as it affects the Civil War widows group is relatively small. The precedent established by the legislation will undoubtedly be adopted by all other groups of veterans, and when adopted the cost will be of considerable magnitude.

3. The Congress should give careful consideration to what may be the extent of the Government's obligation to the widow who marries a veteran many years after his service.

It is believed the committee will be able to determine for itself, from the above report, the merits of the bill and the propriety of its passage.

Advice has been received from the Bureau of the Budget that the enactment of the proposed legislation would not be in accord with the program of the President. Very truly yours,

FRANK T. HINES, Administrator.

Factors in determining entitlement to pension of widows of Civil War veterans

1 Depending upon rank of veteran.

Widow must have been wife of veteran during the period of his Civil War service.

CONCLUSION

The principle involved in this proposed legislation, i. e., a 10-year rule governing marriage, is sound and believed preferable to existing delimiting dates. The cost insofar as it affects Civil War widows is relatively small, and your committee is of the opinion that the enactment of this bill into law will materially reduce request for introduction and consideration of private bills pertaining to Civil War widows.

There can be no doubt that it is the desire of the administration and the Congress to deal most liberally with those who served their country in time of great emergency and their dependents after they are gone. Your committee has considered as one of the important factors supporting this legislation the advanced age of the group to be benefited, as evidenced by the age limitation of 60 years under this bill. Your committee is also of the opinion that every step taken in the direction of uniformity is desirable.

The bill does not in any way disturb the rights, privileges, and benefits of any dependents otherwise entitled under existing laws.

Your committee is of the opinion that this proposed legislation is equitable in character and recommends its passage.

77TH CONGRESS 1st Session

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SENATE

REPORT No. 679

PENSIONS AND INCREASES OF PENSIONS TO VETERANS AND DEPENDENTS OF DECEASED VETERANS OF THE INDIAN WARS

SEPTEMBER 17, 1941.--Ordered to be printed

Mr. SCHWARTZ, from the Committee on Pensions, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 1095]

The Committee on Pensions, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1095) to amend the act of March 3, 1927, entitled "An act granting pensions to certain soldiers who served in the Indian wars from 1817 to 1898, and for other purposes," having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass.

Section 1 of this bill would increase the rates of service pension of veterans of the Indian wars to correspond with those payable to veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Philippine Insurrection.

The rates of service pension payable under existing law and as proposed by this bill are as follows:

The existing law provides a service pension to unremarried and remarried Indian war widows who were married to the veteran at any time prior to March 4, 1917, regardless of age or income. This bill would provide a service pension to unremarried dependent widows of Indian war veterans who were married to the veteran subsequent to March 3, 1917. However, as to those who married subsequent to March 3, 1917, the following conditions must be met:

(a) Marriage to the veteran 10 or more years prior to his death and continuous cohabitation from the date of marriage to the date of his death, except where there was a separation without fault on the part of the widow.

(b) The widow must be 60 years of age or over.

(c) The widow must be in dependent circumstances.

(d) The widow must not have remarried.

Indian war widows now receive a service pension of $30 per month. Section 3 of this bill would increase such pension to correspond with the rates payable to Civil War widows, as follows:

(a) If under 70 years of age, $30 per month.

(b) If 70 years of age or over, $40 per month.

(c) If the claimant was the wife of the veteran during the period of his service in an Indian war or campaign, $50 per month.

Other changes made by this bill are

(1) Section 1 of this bill amends section 1 of the act of March 3, 1927, by adding the following:

Or for the duration of one of the campaigns cited in section 1 of the Act of March 4, 1917, even though such campaign was of less than 30 days' duration.

As so amended, the act of March 3, 1927, as the act of March 4, 1917, would provide a pension for less than 30 days' service, if the veteran served during the entire campaign.

(2) Under existing law, determination as to what constitutes the zone of active Indian hostilities is made by the War Department. Section 1 of this bill provides that such determination shall be made by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.

(3) Under existing law, pension is barred if the veteran's disability is the result of his own vicious habits. This bill eliminates the words, "not the result of his own vicious habits," from section 1 of the act of March 3, 1927. As so amended, disability resulting from vicious habits would not be a bar to pension. Such disability is not a bar to pension under the Spanish-American War Service Pension Act of June 2, 1930.

(4) Section 2 of this bill relates to the effective date of awards. A claimant would be required to file an application for the benefits granted under this bill.

(5) Section 5 of the act of March 3, 1927, permits the allowance of an attorney fee of not more than $10 for assisting the claimant in the successful prosecution of his claim. Section 5 of this bill amends section 5 of the act of March 3, 1927, so as to prohibit charging of a fee for assistance in preparing an application for the benefits granted under this bill.