SEC. 25. A specific claim on the form prescribed by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs must be filed by a veteran, who is not already on the rolls of the Veterans' Administration, with the Veterans' Administration for benefits under this Act, involving disabilities and deaths resulting from injury or disease incurred or aggravated in fact in line of duty in wartime or peacetime service and disabilities and deaths not incurred in service: Provided, That an application for pension or compensation for service-connected disability or death pending adjudication under the laws in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, shall be deemed to be a claim for compensation under this Act.

SEC. 26. No person holding an office or position, appointive or elective, under the United States Government or the municipal government of the District of Columbia or under any corporation, the majority of the stock of which is owned by the United States, shall be paid a pension or emergency officers' retirement pay, so long as he continues to draw a salary from such employment, except (1) those receiving compensation or emergency officers' retirement pay for disabilities incurred in combat with an enemy of the United States; and (2) those persons so employed whose pension is protected by the provisions of the Act: Provided, however, The rate of compensation as to this class shall not exceed $6 per month.

SEC. 27. Whenever the compensation payable to or for the benefit of any person is terminated by the happening of the contingency upon which it is limited, the compensation thereafter for the remaining beneficiary or beneficiaries, if any, shall be the amount which would have been payable to them if they had been the sole original beneficiaries.

SEC. 28. Not more than one award of compensation shall be payable to any one individual, except that the receipt of compensation by a widow, child, or parent on account of the death of any person shall not bar the payment of compensation on account of the death of any other person.

SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES

SEC. 30. The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs is hereby authorized and directed to adopt and apply a schedule of ratings of reductions in earning capacity from specific injuries or combination of injuries. The ratings shall be based, as far as practicable, upon the average impairments of earning capacity resulting from such injuries in civil occupations. The schedule shall be constructed so as to provide ten grades of disability and no more, upon which payments of compensation shall be based, namely, 10 per centum, 20 per centum, 30 per centum, 40 per centum, 50 per centum, 60 per centum, 70 per centum, 80 per centum, 90 per centum, and total, 100 per centum. The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs shall from time to time readjust this schedules of ratings in accordance with experience.

SEC. 31. Except for fraud, misrepresentation of a material fact, or unmistakable error as to conclusion of fact or law, in no event shall the compensation being paid to any World War veteran on March 19, 1933, where entitlement to compensation for disability resulting from disease or injury or aggravation of a preexisting disease or injury incurred in fact in line of duty during the World War is established under this Act, be reduced below the rate of compensation provided for his service-connected disability by the rating schedule in effect on March 19, 1933: Provided, That as to such veterans, disability resulting from changes in service-connected conditions after the date of enactment of this Act, shall be rated under the rating schedule in effect on March 19, 1933, or under the rating schedule authorized in this Act, and the rating under the schedule in effect on March 19, 1933, shall be applied if higher, and the rating schedule authorized in this Act shall apply where the ratings are the same or higher thereunder.

PRESUMPTION OF ENTITLEMENT TO PENSIONS FOR SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR VETERANS AND CERTAIN WIDOWS, CHILDREN, AND DEPENDENT PARENTS OF DECEASED WORLD WAR VETERANS

SEC. 34. Veterans of the Spanish-American War, including the Boxer Rebellion and the Philippine Insurrection, and every widow, child, or children, dependent father or mother of a deceased World War Veteran who were in receipt of pension or compensation at the date of enactment of this Act, shall be entitled to continue to receive compensation under this Act at the rate being paid them on the date of enactment of this Act, it being presumed that the injury or disease causing the disability or death was incurred in line of duty in the active military or naval service during either the Spanish-American War, including the Boxer Rebellion

and Philippine Insurrection, or the World War, but such presumption shall be rebuttable and the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs is hereby authorized and directed to cause to be reviewed all such claims, and where on the basis of medical judgment or affirmative evidence it is determined that the injury or disease causing disability or death was not incurred in the line of duty in the active military or naval service, to discontinue payment of pension or compensation as of the last day of the calendar month during which such determination is made.

TITLE II. ELIGIBILITY FOR DOMICILIARY OR HOSPITAL CARE, INCLUDING MEDICAL TREATMENT, MEDICAL CARE, BURIAL

SEC. 200. The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, within the existing limits of Veterans' Administration facilities and those authorized prior to the date of enactment of this Act, is authorized to furnish domiciliary or hospital care, including medical treatment, to the following persons and in the specified order of preference:

(a) To honorably discharged veterans of any war, including the Boxer Rebellion and the Philippine Insurrection, who are suffering with injuries or diseases which were incurred or aggravated in line of duty in the active military or naval service when in need of hospital treatment for such injuries or diseases.

(b) To persons honorably discharged from the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard for disabilities incurred in line of duty or to those in receipt of pension or compensation for service-connected disability, who are suffering with injuries or diseases which were incurred or aggravated in line of duty in the active service when in need of hospital treatment for such injuries or diseases.

(c) To veterans of any war, including the Boxer Rebellion and the Philippine Insurrection, who served in the active military or naval service for a period of ninety days or more and who have been honorably discharged therefrom, who have no adequate means of support, and who are suffering with permanent disabilities or tuberculous or neuropsychiatric ailments, which incapacitate them from earning a living, and who have no adequate means of support, and whose disabilities are not the result of their own willful misconduct.

SEC. 201. No clothing shall be furnished to any person, admitted to a Veterans' Administration facility and while a member thereof except under the following conditions:

(a) Where the person is indigent and the furnishing of clothing is necessary to protect health or sanitation.

(b) Where the person requires special clothing made necessary by the wearing of prosthetic appliances.

SEC. 202. Reasonable traveling and other expenses of the person to a Veterans' Administration facility may be paid in the discretion of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs only when the person is granted prior authority to report to a Veterans' Administration facility for treatment of injury or disease incurred or aggravated in line of duty in the active military or naval service. Upon completion of such treatment as may be prescribed and regular discharge by the Veterans' Administration, reasonable traveling and other expenses of the person, from the Veterans' Administration facility to the place from which hospitalized may be paid in the discretion of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs. In the event of the death of any person prior to discharge, transportation expenses, including preparation of the body, for the return of the body to place of residence or the nearest national cemetery may be paid in the discretion of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs when deemed necessary and as an administrative necessity. SEC. 203. No person shall be entitled to receive domiciliary, medical, or hospital care, including treatment, when outside of the continental limits of the United States or its Territories or possessions.

SEC. 204. The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs is hereby authorized to provide such rules and procedure governing domiciliary or hospital care as he may deem proper and necessary.

SEC. 205. Pension or compensation for disability, the result of injury or disease incurred or aggravated in the line of duty in the active military or naval service, and emergency officers' retirement pay, of any person who is being furnished hospital treatment, institutional, or domiciliary care by the United States, or any political subdivision thereof, shall not exceed $15 per month: Provided, That where such person has a wife, child, or dependent mother or father, the difference by which the amount to which such disabled person would otherwise be entitled

exceeds $15 will be payable to the wife, child, or dependent mother or father, as may be prescribed by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs. Where any disabled person having neither wife, child, nor dependent mother or father is being maintained by the Government of the United States, or any political subdivision thereof, in an institution and shall be deemed by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to be insane, the pension, compensation, or emergency officers' retirement pay for such person shall thereafter not exceed $15 per month so long as he shall be maintained by the Government of the United States, or any political subdivision thereof, in an institution: Provided, however, That in any case where the estate of such person derived from funds paid under the War Risk Insurance Act, as amended; the World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended; the several pension Acts; Public Laws Numbered 2, 78, 140, and 141, Seventy-third Congress; Public Laws numbered 269 and 344, Seventy-fourth Congress; and/or this Act equals or exceeds $1,500, any payments of pension being made will be discontinued until the estate derived from such funds is reduced to $500.

SEC. 206. Where a disabled person entitled to pension or compensation under this Act, or emergency officers' retirement pay, is a patient in a Veterans' Administration facility, or where for any other reason the disabled person and his wife are not living together, or where the child or children are not in the custody of the disabled person, or in the custody of the widow, the amount of the pension, compensation, or emergency officers' retirement pay may be apportioned as may be prescribed by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.

SEC. 207. The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, within the existing limits of Veterans' Administration facilities, is authorized in his discretion to furnish to men discharged from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard for disabilities incurred in fact in line of duty or to those in receipt of pension or compensation for service-connected disability, and to veterans of any war, including the Boxer Rebellion and the Philippine Insurrection, such medical, surgical, and dental services as may be found to be reasonably necessary for diseases or injuries incurred or aggravated in fact in line of duty in the active military or naval service. Such persons may also be furnished with such supplies, including dental appliances, wheel chairs, artificial limbs, trusses, and similar appliances, including special clothing made necessary by the wearing of prosthetic appliances, as the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs may determine to be useful and reasonably necessary, which dental appliances, wheel chairs, artificial limbs, trusses, special clothing, and similar appliances may be procured by the Veterans' Administration in such manner, either by purchase or manufacture, as the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs may determine to be advantageous and reasonably necessary.

BURIAL

SEC. 220. Where an honorably discharged veteran of any war dies after discharge a flag to drape the casket shall be furnished in all cases; such flag to be given to the next of kin after burial of the veteran.

SEC. 221. Where an honorably discharged veteran of any war or a veteran of any war in receipt of pension or compensation dies after discharge, the Administrator, in his discretion and with due regard to the circumstances in each case, shall pay, for burial and funeral expenses and transportation of the body (including preparation of the body) to the place of burial, a sum not exceeding $200 in case the veteran prior to his death was in receipt of compensation under this Act, or a sum not to exceed $100 in the event that the veteran before his death was suffering from no compensable disability, to cover such items and to be paid to such person or persons as may be prescribed by the Administrator. Burial allowance, or any part thereof, authorized under this regulation shall not be payable if the veteran's net assets at the time of death, exclusive of debts and accrued pension, compensation, or insurance due at time of death, equal or exceed the sum of $1,000. The Administrator may, in his discretion, make contracts for burial and funeral services within the limit of the amount herein allowed without regard to the laws prescribing advertisement for proposals for supplies and services for the Veterans' Administration. No deduction shall be made from the sum allowed because of any contribution toward the burial and funeral (including transportation) which shall be made by a State, county, or other political subdivision, lodge, union, fraternal organization, society or beneficial organization, insurance company, workmen's compensation commission, State industrial accident board, or employer, but the aggregate of the sums allowed from all sources shall not exceed the actual cost of the burial and funeral (including transportation).

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TITLE III. ENTITLEMENT OT EMERGENCY OFFICERS' RETIRED PAY

SEC. 300. Any person who served as an officer of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States during the World War, other than as an officer of the Regular Army, Navy, or Marine Corps during the World War, who made valid application for retirement under the provisions of Public, No. 506, Seventieth Congress, enacted May 24, 1928, sections 581 and 582, title 38, United States Code, and who prior to the passage of this Act has been granted retirement with pay, shall be entitled to continue to receive retirement pay at the monthly rate now being paid him if the disability for which he has been retired resulted from disease or injury or aggravation of a preexisting disease or injury incurred in fact in line of duty during such service, exclusive of statutory presumptions of service connection except as contained in section 1, title I of this Act: Provided, That such person entered active service between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918: Provided, That the disease or aggravation of the disease or injury directly resulted from the performance of military or naval duty, and that such person otherwise meets the requirements of the regulations which may be issued under the provisions of this Act.

TITLE IV. ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SEC. 400. There shall be at the head of the Veterans' Adninistration an Administrator, to be known as the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Such Administrator shall receive a salary of $12,000 per annum, payable monthly. Except as hereinafter provided the Administrator shall hold office for fifteen years and shall not be eligible for reappointment. When the Administrator attains the

age of seventy years he shall be retired from his office.

SEC. 401. The Administrator may be removed only by impeachment. SEC. 402. The Administrator, under the direction of the President, shall have control and management of the Veterans' Administration as now constituted, except he shall have no jurisdiction or in any manner be responsible for determinations made as the result of review on appeal by the Board of Veterans' Appeals in respect to any questions involving benefits under the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration.

SEC. 403. Except as provided in title V of this Act, all decisions rendered by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs under the provisions of this Act shall be final and conclusive on all questions of law and fact, and no other official or court of the United States shall have jurisdiction to review, by mandamus or otherwise, any such decision.

SEC. 404. The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs is hereby authorized, in carrying out the provisions of this Act or any other laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, to delegate authority to render decisions to such person or persons as he may find necessary. Within the limitations of such delegations, any decisions rendered by such person or persons shall have the same force and effect as though rendered by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.

SEC. 405. All offenses committed and all penalties or forfeitures incurred under the Acts repealed by this Act may be prosecuted and punished in the same manner and with the same effect as if said repeal had not been made, and any person who forfeited rights to benefits under any such Acts shall not be entitled to any benefits under this Act.

SEC. 406. Whoever, in any claim for benefits under this Act, makes any sworn statement of a material fact knowing it to be false shall be guilty of perjury and shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or both.

SEC. 407. If any person entitled to payment of pension, compensation, or emergency officers' retirement pay under this Act, whose right to such payment under this Act ceases upon the happening of any contingency, thereafter fraudulently accepts any such payment, he shall be punished by a fine of not more than $2,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

SEC. 408. Whoever shall obtain or receive any money, check, compensation, emergency officers' retirement pay, or pension under this Act, without being entitled to the same, and with intent to defraud the United States or any beneficiary of the United States, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $2,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

SEC. 409. Any person who shall knowingly make or cause to be made, or conspire, combine, aid, or assist in, agree to, arrange for, or in any wise procure the making or presentation of a false or fraudulent affidavit, declaration, certificate, statement,

voucher, or paper, or writing purporting to be such, concerning any claim for benefits under this Act, shall forfeit all rights, claims, and benefits under this Act, and, in addition to any and all other penalties imposed by law, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

SEC. 410. (a) All public laws granting medical or hospital treatment, domiciliary care, compensation and other allowances, pension, or retirement pay to veterans and the dependents of veterans of the Spanish-American War, including the Boxer Rebellion and the Philippine Insurrection, and the World War, or to former members of the military or naval service for injury or disease incurred or aggravated in fact in line of duty in the military or naval service (except so far as they relate to persons who served prior to the Spanish-American War and to the dependents of such persons, and the retirement of officers and enlisted men of the Regular Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard), and Veterans Regulations (Executive orders) promulgated by the President pursuant to title I, Public Law Numbered 2, Seventy-third Congress, March 20, 1933, are hereby repealed, but payments in accordance with such laws and Veterans' Regulations shall continue to the last day of the third calender month following the month during which this Act is enacted. The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs under the general direction of the President shall immediately cause to be reviewed all allowed claims under the above referred to laws and where a person is found entitled under this Act, authorize payment or allowance of benefits in accordance with the provisions. of this Act commencing with the first day of the fourth calendar month following the month during which this Act is enacted.

(b) The repeal provisions of this section shall not be held to apply to claims under sections 4 and 5 of Public Law Numbered 140, Seventy-third Congress, March 27, 1934: Provided, however, That the rates provided in sections 2 and 4 and the schedule of ratings provided in section 30 of this Act shall be applicable to claims under section 4 of that Act commencing on the first day of the fourth calendar month following the month during which this Act is enacted.

(c) The repeal provisions of this section shall not be held to apply to Navy pensions as provided by sections 229 and 230, title 38, United States Code, or to Army and Navy Medal of Honor Roll pensions as provided by sections 391 and 394, inclusive, title 38, United States Code.

(d) The repeal provisions of this section shall not be held to apply to Public Law Numbered 262, Seventy-fourth Congress, August 12, 1935, and the provisions of that Act shall be for application in the administration of this Act.

SEC. 411. All files, records, reports, and other papers and documents pertaining to any claim, whether pending or adjudicated, shall be deemed confidential and privileged, and no disclosure thereof shall be made except as follows:

(a) To a claimant or his duly authorized agent or representative as to matters concerning himself alone when, in the judgment of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, such disclosure would not be injurious to the physical or mental health of the claimant;

(b) When required by process of a United States court to be produced in any suit or proceeding therein pending, or when such production is deemed by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to be necessary, in any suit or proceeding brought under the World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended;

(c) When required by any department or other agency of the United States Government;

(d) In all proceedings in the nature of an inquest into the mental competency of a claimant;

(e) In any judicial proceeding when in the judgment of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs such disclosure is deemed necessary and proper;

(f) The amount of pension, compensation, or emergency officers' retirement pay of any beneficiary shall be made known to any person who applies for such information and the Administrator, with the approval of the President, upon determination that the public interest warrants or requires, may, at any time and in any manner, publish any or all information of record pertaining to any claim; (g) The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs shall authorize an inspection of Veterans' Administration records by duly authorized representatives of recognized organizations.

SEC. 412. Any person desiring a copy of any record, paper, etc., in the custody of the Veterans' Administration, which may be disclosed under the above provisions, must make written application for same to the Veterans' Administration, stating specifically: