PERCENT OF VETERAN POPULATION BY COMPARABLE PERIOD OF SERVICE RECEIVING COMPENSATION

PERCENT OF VETERAN POPULATION BY COMPARABLE PERIOD OF SERVICE RECEIVING COMPENSATION FOR

ACTIVE COMPENSATION CASES BY DEGREE OF IMPAIRMENT AND TYPE OF MAJOR DISABILITY-VIETNAM ERA

ANATOMICAL LOSS OF LOWER EXTREMITIES AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL VETERANS ON COMPENSATION ROLLS

LOSS OF USE OF LOWER EXTREMITIES AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL VETERANS ON COMPENSATION ROLLS

Senator TALMADGE. Veterans rated 50 percent or more are entitled to additional compensation for their dependents. A wife can receive an additional $28 a month or $336 a year. Could you tell the committee what sort of assistance this amount is designed to provided?

Mr. OWEN. Mr. Chairman, there is no limitation provided by law as to the use the money is paid, the additional amount to the veteran and there is no provision under the law that directs the veteran to use this in any particular way, so I would assume that it goes to the usual needs of the family, household goods, shelter, perhaps clothing, what would be needed by a family.

Senator TALMADGE. How many of those receiving disability compensation payments are women veterans?

Mr. OWEN. It is less than 1 percent, Mr. Chairman.

Senator TALMADGE. Can women be granted dependency allowances for their husbands and children if they are more than 50-percent disabled?

Mr. OWEN. As to a husband, under current law they cannot be granted additional benefits unless that husband is incapable of selfmaintenance and is permanently incapable of self-support due to disability. If the male veteran is recovering 50 percent or more, it is assumed that the wife is a dependent. There is a provision in an administration bill now present before your committee that would change the law or amend the law whereby the husband of a female veteran would be entitled as a dependent, on the same basis as the wife of a male veteran.

Senator TALMADGE. What is the Veterans' Administration's position on that? Mr. OWEN. We favor this. In fact, it is an administration proposal. Senator TALMADGE. I am most concerned that disabled World War II veterans, as they grow older, are suffering increased impairments in their disabilities. What information do you have or projections of the number of veterans who are seeking or receiving increased disability ratings?

Mr. OWEN. I do not have the precise information available today, but we will supply this. But you are correct, Mr. Chairman. As a veteran does age, some veterans have a service-connected disability that is increasing in severity. A large number of the disabilities are static disabilities. In addition, though, as the Congress has provided, there are pension benefits based on disabilities not necessarily due to service and if a veteran does become so disabled that he is not employable there is a benefit provided this way.

(The Veterans' Administration subsequently furnished the following information:)

We do not have available figures as to the number of disabled World War II veterans who are seeking or receiving increased disability compensation. The nature of disabilities are such that not all are static and some will increase in severity as the veteran grows older.

There has been a slow, but perceptible increase in the average percentage of disability of veterans on the rolls over the past 10 years.

Senator TALMADGE. How many veterans would be affected by the clothing allowance provided in S. 3338?

Mr. OwEN. Approximately 61,700 veterans that are drawing the statutory award and we estimate that about 42,000 would be potentially entitled to the clothing allowance. I will state it this way, Mr. Chairman. It is rather difficult to estimate and this is based on the fact that there are approximately 42,000 of the 62,000 that have a prosthetic appliance of such nature that it could possibly cause some extra wear on clothing.

Senator TALMADGE. In your statement you noted that the Veterans' Administration does furnish some repairs for those veterans who tear their clothing. Would you tell us for each of the past 3 fiscal years how many veterans have been aided and the average amount of money per case expended by the Veterans' Administration?

Mr. OWEN. In the year 1971, 220 received this special assistance, such as reweaving and lining and so on. I will have to supply the record as to the cost and for the prior 2 years.

(The Veterans' Administration subsequently furnished the following table:)

SPECIAL ASSISTANCE OF REWEAVING, LINING, ETC., SUPPLIED BY
VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION

Senator TALMADGE. With regard to your request for legislation authorizing the Administrator to review forfeiture cases, would you please break down by category the nature of the 4,100 fraud cases involved?

Mr. OWEN. Mr. Chairman, of the cases, the fraud cases involved, 23 percent involved an attempt to receive compensation; 6 percent pension; 23 percent disability indemnity compensation or death compensation; 6 percent death pensions; 30 percent readjustment benefits as we commonly refer to educational benefits under the GI bill; 7 percent loan guarantee benefits; and 5 percent hospital and other institutional

care.

Senator TALMADGE. Senator Thurmond, who is the ranking minority member of the committee, has submitted certain questions which he desires that you answer.

First, how many veterans would be affected by the compensation increase contemplated in S. 3338, and S. 3344?

Mr. OWEN. 2,200,000 would be affected.

Senator TALMADGE. In both instances?

Mr. OWEN. Yes, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. You stated that existing law authorizes the administration to furnish special clothing made necessary by the wearing of prosthetic appliances and that Veterans' Administration field stations are authorized to furnish repairs, reweaving and special protective linings. Senator Thurmond wants to know how many people avail themselves of these stations? I believe the previous answer to the question I gave you would cover that.

Also, would you give the committee a specific example of when, in your opinion, forfeiture has been too harsh? This relates to the provisions of S. 3074.

Mr. OWEN. I will ask my deputy, Mr. Peckarsky, to respond to that. Mr. PECKARSKY. One of the typical cases. Mr. Chairman, is a GI bill student, post World War II, who claimed a dependent that didn't in fact exist. Over the course, until the fraud was discovered, he may have reaped the benefit of $100 to $150 but that forfeiture could have cost him all future entitlements of money including pension of $100 a month.

Senator TALMADGE. That would seem to be excessive and severe. Thank you very much, Mr. Owen and your associates. We were honored to have you with us this morning.

Senator Hansen, a very distinguished member of this committee, has arrived and if you care to make a statement at this point, we would be honored.

Senator HANSEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I don't have a statement. I am pleased to be here. An important matter coming up in Wyoming prevented my being here earlier.

Senator TALMADGE. We all have matters of that kind from time to time.

The next witness is Charles L. Huber, National Director of Legislation, Disabled American Veterans. We are glad to have you with us, Mr. Huber. You may introduce your associates and proceed as you see fit.

STATEMENT OF CHARLES L. HUBER, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF LEGISLATION, DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS, ACCOMPANIED BY WILLIAM GARDINER AND WILLIAM FLAHERTY, DAV

Mr. HUBER. On my left is Mr. William Gardiner and on my right is William Flaherty. I would like to proceed with my full statement. It is rather short.

Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee. I am pleased to come before you to present the views of the Disabled American Veterans on legislation relating to the disability compensation program for veterans who are disabled as a result of service in the Armed Forces.

Mr. Chairman, we are grateful to you for your compassionate and understanding remarks which accompanied your introduction of S. 3338 on March 14. This proposal would increase by 10 percent all rates of disability compensation as well as the amounts of additional compensation for dependents payable to veterans rated 50 percent or more disabled. Further, the bill would provide a clothing allowance of $150 per year to each veteran who, because of compensable disability, must wear a prosthetic appliance which tends to wear out or tear the clothing of the veteran.

Mr. Chairman, of the more than 2,150,000 veterans on the compensation rolls, there are approximately 127,723 whose income is limited solely to monthly compensation payments. During the last 18 months, these deserving veterans whose disability resulted directly from their service in our Armed Forces, saw their ability to live by reasonable standards being eroded more rapidly than ever before.

Since their service-connected disabilities preclude them from working, they do not benefit from the rounds of wage increases paid to those who are able to work.

Compared with average earnings, the present monthly rate for the totally disabled war veteran is plainly inadequate. We have cataloged in chart form statistical data which confirms this to be so. The chart, which is set forth below, shows a comparison of disability compensation payments to the spendable annual income of the totally disabled veterans' employed contemporaries: