mend to the Congress, it will already have cleared the Bureau of the Budget? Mr. BARTIMO. It would mean that, Mr. Price, yes. Mr. PRICE. It would not have to go back down here and lie there for a couple more months? Mr. BARTIMO. No, sir. I am hopeful that by tomorrow night or sometime this week we would have an executive branch position, which means unanimity in the Department of Defense, the blessings of the Bureau of the Budget, and we hope the approval of the President. Mr. PRICE. Well, I hope that the Pentagon would recognize the urgency of the legislation. We recognize it due to the experience we have had in the last couple of years, because if we do not get some kind of legislation there is a possibility of several thousand more Reserve officers sometime within the next year being inequitably dealt with, as they were previously. Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Price, I may say this, that I went to the chairman and asked the chairman if he could postpone this meeting tomorrow until Wednesday. The chairman felt like it was time to close up. He said he did not feel justified in postponing the meeting to Wednesday. Mr. PRICE. I am not so much disturbed about that because we have another month to operate, and I think the full committee can meet at any time. We do not have final cutoff dates on full committee meetings. Mr. FISHER. (Aside.) Mr. BROOKS. It has been announced as the final meeting. Mr. PRICE. I think this matter is urgent enough that we could prevail upon the chairman to call another full committee meeting. Of course, the urgency is such that the Pentagon should also recognize it and get the legislation up here. Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Burns? Do you have any questions? Mr. BURNS. No, sir. Mr. BROOKS. Well, any further questions? Mr. DUCANDER. I have some questions on cost, but I will take them up with Mr. Bartimo after the meeting and not detain the committee. Mr. BROOKS. All right. If there are no further questions-and no further witnesses? Mr. BROOKS. The committee will go in executive session. 4 AUG [No. 96] SUBCOMMITTEE NO. 1 CONSIDERATION OF H. R. 6295, H. R. 9721, AND H. R. 13226 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE No. 1, Washington, D. C., Monday, June 23, 1958. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a. m., Hon. Overton Brooks (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. BROOKS. There is one more bill. What is the pleasure of the subcommittee? Mr. DUCANDER. We have two bills that I think perhaps we could finish in 10 minutes if you would like to continue, Mr. Chairman. Mr. BROOKS. All right, if it is the pleasure of the committee, if they will stay with me. Mr. PRICE. I have to go to the floor. Mr. BROOKS. All right, give us your proxy. Mr. DUCANDER. H. R. 6295. Mr. BROOKS. This is a bill which I presented to provide for the transfer between components of exempt or deferred persons without loss of such exemption or deferment. (H. R. 6295 is as follows:) [H. R. 6295, 85th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide for the transfer between components of exempt or deferred persons without loss of such exemption or deferment Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of section 6 of the Universal Military Training and Service Act, as amended (62 Stat. 604; 50 U. S. C. 456), be further amended by adding a new clause to be lettered clause (d) to read as follows: "Under regulations prescribed by the President, a person who is, under any provision of law, exempt or deferred from training and service by virtue of membership in a reserve component or the National Guard, Army or Air, may, upon his request and the approval of the Secretary of the military department concerned, transfer from one reserve component to another reserve component in the same or another armed force without loss of his exempt or deferred status." Mr. BRAY. (Aside.) Mr. BROOKS. We have Col. Richard E. Eggleton, Jr., of the Army. Could you have a seat, Colonel, and give us just a short statement of what this bill will do? I don't think I don't think you need to read your statement, in the interest of saving time. Colonel EGGLETON. Yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. But your statement will be placed in full in the record. (The full statement of Colonel Eggleton is as follows:) STATEMENT OF LT. COL. RICHARD E. EGGLETON, JR., UNITED STATES ARMY Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am Lieutenant Colonel Eggleton, Personnel Division, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Reserve Components, Department of the Army. The Department of the Army has been designated as the representative of the Department of Defense for this legislation. I represent the Department of the Army for that purpose. I have with me today representatives of the other services for the purpose of answering any questions that you may have with particular reference to their services. I have a brief prepared statement which I would like to present to the committee. The purpose of the bill is to provide for the transfer between components of exempt or deferred persons without loss of such exemption or deferment. A person who enlists in the Army or Air National Guard before attaining age 18 under provisions of section 6 (c) (2) (A) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act is deferred from induction so long as he continues to serve satisfactorily in the Reserve component in which he enlisted. If, however, the person after reaching age 18% ceases to be a member of that Reserve component and becomes a member of another Reserve component, he would no longer be exempt because he would not be serving in the enlistment which provides such deferment. This situation would exist even though he was serving satisfactorily in the other component. The same situation would exist in the case of a person who enlists in a Reserve component under the provisions of section 262, Armed Forces Reserve Act (17-181⁄2 age group) and after attaining age 181⁄2 must cease to be a member of such a component and enlists in a unit of the Army or Air National Guard. The legislation would prevent these situations from arising by providing that such persons could be transferred to another Reserve component without loss of exempt or deferred status. There is currently in effect Executive Order 10714 of June 13, 1957, which accomplishes the objective of the bill by providing that any registrant who is serving satisfactorily as a member of a unit of the Ready Reserve will be placed in class I-D (member of a Reserve component) category and deferred from induction. The Executive order is however administrative in nature and it is considered desirable to give statutory permanence to an exemption or deferment based on an enlistment and satisfactory service in a Reserve component so that such an exemption or deferment is not affected solely by a transfer to another Reserve component. H. R. 6295, would provide such statutory permanence. The Department of Defense has submitted for your consideration a substitute bill. This bill corrects minor technical errors and for clarification purposes. specifies that when a person transfers from one component to another, he must continue to serve satisfactorily in order to maintain a deferred status and that service in the first component counts toward qualifying for an exemption from service and training. The Department of Defense endorses this bill. Enactment of this legislation will cause no increase in the budgetary requirements of the Department of Defense. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to this legislation. I have appreciated this opportunity of appearing before the committee and shall be happy to answer any questions you may have on this bill. Mr. BROOKS. What does this bill do? Colonel EGGLETON. This bill, sir, would provide for the transfer and continuing draft deferment or exemption of young men who would transfer from one Reserve component to another. Mr. BROOKS. In other words, a man in the National Guard, if he goes to New York State, could serve in the Reserve, Army Reserve, there? Colonel EGGLETON. Yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. And if he was deferred in Oklahoma, he would still be deferred in New York? Colonel EGGLETON. Right, sir. Mr. BRAY. Mr. Chairman, I think that is a very fine bill. There would be nothing in the world against it. Mrs. ST. GEORGE. That is causing a hardship to a lot of these men. Mr. WINSTEAD. This gives them the privilege to serve. Colonel EGGLETON. With the exemption or deferment, sir, that he gained by his original enlistment. Mr. BRAY. It is just commonsense. Colonel EGGLETON. Yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. The exemption you say, or the deferment? Colonel EGGLETON. The deferment, sir. Mr. BROOKS. The deferment. But it wouldn't cover exemptions? Mr. BROOKS. Is the Bureau of the Budget in favor of the bill? Mr. BROOKS. What about the Department of Defense? Colonel EGGLETON. The Department of Defense favors the bill, too, sir. Mr. BROOKS. How about the Army, Navy, and Air Force? Mr. BROOKS. All favor it. Mr. DUCANDER. We have an amendment. Colonel EGGLETON. We have a substitute bill, however, sir. Mr. DUCANDER. We have a representative of the National Guard here, Mr. Chairman. Colonel EGGLETON. The National Guard did approve the bill. We do have a substitute bill, however, to correct minor technical deficiencies and to clarify 1 or 2 points. Mr. BROOKS. What about the Coast Guard? Mr. BRAY. They are not affected. Mr. BROOKS. Yes, they are, the Coast Guard Reserves. Mr. BROOKS. You don't know about the Coast Guard? Colonel EGGLETON. I don't know about them. Mr. BROOKS. You know of no objection from them? Mr. BROOKS. Now, would you read your suggested amendment? The Department of Defense has submitted for your consideration a substitute bill, which Mr. Ducander has, sir. This bill corrects minor technical errors and for clarification purposes specifies that when a person transfers from one component to another he must continue to serve satisfactorily in order to maintain a deferred status, and that service in the first component counts toward qualifying toward an exemption from service and training. That is the sum and substance, sir, of the substitute bill. Mr. BROOKS. You better read the amendment there, and see how it sounds. Colonel EGGLETON (reading): Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled this is my substitute that I am reading That section 6 (c) (2) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act (62 Stat. 610), as amended (50 U. S. C. App. 456 (c) (2)), is amended by adding the following new subparagraph after subparagraph (E): "(F) Under such regulations as the President may prescribe, a person who, under any provision of law, is exempt or deferred from training and service under this title because of membership in a Reserve component or the National Guard may, upon his request and with the approval of the Secretaries of the military departments concerned or their designees, be transferred to any other Reserve component in the same or another armed force. Any person so transferred shall be deferred from training and service so long as he continues to serve satisfactorily in the Reserve component to which transferred; and, for the purpose of qualifying for an exemption from training and service, service in the Reserve component to which a person is so transferred is considered service under his prior enlistment or appointment." Mr. BROOKS. Now, why shouldn't that reference to the National Guard be changed so as to read, "In a Reserve component including the National Guard"? Because the National Guard is a Reserve component? Colonel EGGLETON. Yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. And strike out the word "or." General STRAUSs. Mr. Brooks, the National Guard as such is not a Reserve component. The National Guard of the United States is. We are speaking of the National Guard and we are speaking of it in its State character. Mr. BROOKS. That is right. General STRAUSS. That is why we put in Mr. BROOKS. All right, I am wrong, then. under such regulations as the President may prescribe, a person who under any provision of law is exempt or deferred from training and service under this title because of membership in a Reserve component or the National Guard may, upon his request and with the approval of the Secretaries of the military departments concerned is that a man transferring from the National Guard to a Reserve component without the approval of the Governor? Colonel EGGLETON. No, sir; the man must first be discharged by the State governor, if he is a National Guard member. Mr. BRAY. No. His question was: If the man was in the Reserve, then could he transfer into the National Guard without the governor's approval? Mr. WINSTEAD. Could my reservist in Mississippi be released there and go over to Indiana and go into the National Guard with the approval of the Secretary of the service under the President's regulations or would he have to meet the approval of the governor of Indiana before he would get in the National Guard? Colonel EGGLETON. He would have to meet the approval of the State governor, too, sir. Mr. DUCANDER. Does this say so, though? Mr. BROOKS. Let's hear from General Strauss on that. I would like to hear it. Mr. WINSTEAD. Yes. I don't read that here. General STRAUSS. Mr. Chairman, I just had a chance to take a brief look at the proposed substitute bill. We would like to buy most of the language, but in view of what the present discussion is I have some suggested changes, if you would like to hear them. |