man, Committee on Pensions, suggested certain liberalizations affecting paragraphs VIII and IX, Veterans Regulation No. 10, principally to permit payment of service-connected pension where the veteran incurred his disability during authorized furlough or leave of absence. H. R. 7880 was amended by the Committee on Pensions, House of Representatives, to incorporate the language proposed by the Veterans' Administration, and it was enacted into law as above stated June 16, 1938.

Mr. CHAIRMAN. Mr. Maas, I understand, is unable to be here this morning, but his secretary is present, and we will be glad to have a statement from him.

STATEMENT OF CHARLES A. JORDAN, SECRETARY TO HON. MELVIN J. MASS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA

Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, Mr. Maas is attending an important meeting of the House Naval Affairs Committee and, at his request, I am appearing before the committee with reference to the hearings on his bill, H. R. 75, and the Senate bill 522, these bills being similar pension bills pertaining to increase of pension for veterans of the Regular Establishment.

In the Seventy-fifth Congress Mr. Maas introduced H. R. 8948, which was referred to the House Committee on Pensions, of which committee he was a member. Hearings were held before that committee on June 8, 1938. His bill, in the Seventy-fifth Congress, provided for 80 percent of the rates paid for wartime service-connected disability. On June 4, 1938, the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs submitted a report to the House Committee on Pensions on Mr. Maas' bill, H. R. 8948, and in that report recommended to the committee a favorable report suggesting 60 percent of the wartime rates. During the hearings on this bill, Mr. Maas requested the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to submit to him additional data showing the exact basis on which they arrived at the figure of 60 percent. It was the thought of Mr. Maas that a more equitable and just rate would be 75 percent.

In the Seventy-fifth Congress the Senate passed S. 3503, which was a companion bill to Mr. Maas' bill, H. R. 8948, and this bill also provided for 80 percent of the wartime rate.

During this Congress Mr. Maas reintroduced the bill, H. R. 75,. which was identical with his bill in the Seventy-fifth Congress, H. R. 8948. It can be noted that Mr. Maas did not introduce the bill for the 60-percent wartime rate, but again presented the bill for 80 percent, he having in mind the fact that additional data obtained from the War and Navy Departments would justify a rate of 75. percent, which rate he felt was fully justified.

During this Congress the Senate has passed S. 522, which provides for 75 percent of the wartime rates. This bill is to be considered as a companion bill to Mr. Mass' H. R. 75, and inasmuch as the Senate has had an opportunity to pass this bill at this session of Congress, it is believed by Mr. Maas that the committee would be justified in substituting S. 522 in lieu of his bill, H. R. 75. By substituting this bill, it will expedite action for this group of worthy veterans of the Regular Establishment. It is Mr. Maas' belief that the committee should bear in mind the fact that the only way that veterans of the

Regular Establishment can obtain pension is by proving direct service-connected disability.

I have been requested by Mr. Maas to inform you that he would personally appreciate it if favorable consideration could be given to S. 522 in order that immediate relief of at least 75 percent of the wartime rate can be afforded to this worthy group of veterans who apparently have been neglected over this long period of time insofar as receiving pension for their direct service-connected disability.

I wish to thank the chairman and members of this committee for affording me an opportunity in appearing before you in behalf of Mr. Maas to present his views for consideration.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there any objection to the recall of Mr. Maas' bill and the substitution for it of S. 522, which, as I said, passed the Senate on July 18? [After a pause.] If there is no objection, H. R. 75 will be withdrawn.

(There was no objection.)

The CHAIRMAN. The next bill we will consider is H. R. 1828, introduced by Mr. Hendricks, to increase and equalize the pensions of the disabled ex-service men of the Regular Establishment whose disabilities were service-incurred.

(The bill referred to and the report of the Veterans' Administration are as follows:)

[H. R. 1828, 76th Cong., 1st sess.1

A BILL To increase and equalize the pensions of the disabled ex-service men of the Regular Establishment whose disabilities were service-incurred

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person who served in the Regular Establishment of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, and who has been regularly discharged from such service otherwise than dishonorably, and who is disabled from an injury incurred or disease contracted in such service and in line of duty, or from the aggravation by active service and in line of duty of an injury or disease existing prior to such service shall be entitled to receive a pension at the following rates per month: (1) If and while the disability is rated at 10 per centum, $10; (2) If and while the disability is rated at 20 per centum, $20; (3) If and while the disability is rated at 30 per centum, $30; (4) If and while the disability is rated at 40 per centum, $40; (5) If and while the disability is rated at 50 per centum, $50; (6) If and while the disability is rated at 60 per centum, $60; (7) If and while the disability is rated at 70 per centum, $70; (8) If and while the disability is rated at 80 per centum, $80; (9) If and while the disability is rated at 90 per centum, $90; (10) If and while the disability is rated at total, $100.

SEC. 2. The pension or increase in pension at the rates herein provided for, as to all persons whose names are now on the pension rolls, shall commence at the rates herein provided on the 1st day of the month next following the passage and approval of this Act; and the pension or rate of pension provided for all persons coming within the provisions hereof and whose applications have not been acted upon, and all persons who shall hereafter file application and secure favorable action thereon, shall begin with the date of filing of such application with the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.

SEC. 3. The administrative and penal provisions of the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration are hereby made applicable to this Act; and except for fraud, mistake, or misrepresentation, the provisions of this Act shall not be held to reduce the pension or compensation being paid to any person at the time this Act takes effect.

SEC. 4. All Acts and parts of Acts which conflict or are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, modified, and amended.

VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION,
Washington, May 2, 1939.

Hon. JOHN LESINSKI,

Chairman, Committee on Invalid Pensions,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR MR. LESINSKI: This is with further reference to your letter of January 11, 1939, requesting a report on H. R. 1828, Seventy-sixth Congress, a bill to increase and equalize the pensions of the disabled ex-service men of the Regular Establishment whose disabilities were service-incurred.

Section 1 of the bill provides increased pensions for veterans of the Regular Establishment for service-connected disability of 10 percent to total disability at the rates now provided by paragraph II (a) to (j) of part I of Veterans Regulation No. 1 (a), as amended, which are the rates provided by the veterans' regulations promulgated pursuant to Public, No. 2, Seventy-third Congress, March 20, 1933, for disability incurred during wartime service subsequent to April 20, 1898. This bill would grant such benefits to "any person who served in the Regular Establishment" without any limitation as to the time of such service. It would, therefore, include service prior to April 21, 1898, service subsequent to April 21, 1898, and service during wartime. Members of the Regular Establishment who have disabilities incurred in service in wartime subsequent to April 20, 1898, are now pensionable at the rates provided by part I of Veterans Regulation No. 1 (a), as amended, which range from $10 to $250 per month. Section 1 would cover "any person who served in the Regular Establishment of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, and who has been regularly discharged from such service otherwise than dishonorably," and who is disabled as required therein, while paragraph I (a), part II, of Veterans Regulation No. 1 (a), as amended, requires an honorable discharge.

The bill does not specifically amend or repeal the rates now provided by subparagraphs II (k) to (o) of part II of Veterans Regulation No. 1 (a), as amended (the provisions of which are set forth below), for certain specific service-connected disabilities incurred during other than wartime, subsequent to April 20, 1898.

"(k) If the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or the loss of the use of only one foot, or one hand, or one eye, the rate of pension provided in part II, paragraph II (a) to (j), shall be increased by $12 per month.

"(1) If the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of both hands, or of both feet, or of one hand and one foot, or is so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance, the monthly pension shall be $75.

"(m) If the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of both hands and one foot, or of both feet and one hand, or if the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, is blind in both eyes, having only light perception, the monthly pension shall be $87.

"(n) If the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, is blind in both eyes, having only light perception, and has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of one hand or of one foot, the monthly pension shall be $100. "(o) If the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use as provided in subparagraphs (1) to (n), inclusive, of part II, paragraph II, of this regulation, and/or blindness in both eyes, having only light perception, which conditions under subparagraphs (1) to (n), inclusive, entitled him to two or more of the rates provided in those subparagraphs, no specified condition being considered twice in the determination, the monthly pension shall be $125."

Under the applicable rating schedule the disabilities covered by the provisions of subparagraphs (1) and (m) are ratable as total in degree. As a consequence, the bill as drafted would provide pension at the rate of $100 per month in such cases. The graduation of special pension rates for specific disabilities which are based upon severity of condition would be seriously disturbed. If further consideration is given to this proposed legislation, it is suggested that section 1 be redrafted so as to specifically provide what changes in the rates provided by subparagraphs (k) to (o), quoted above, if any, are intended.

The remaining provisions of the bill are as follows:

"SEC. 2. The pension or increase in pension at the rates herein provided for, as to all persons whose names are now on the pension rolls, shall commence at the rates herein provided on the 1st day of the month next following the passage and

approval of this Act; and the pension or rate of pension provided for all persons coming within the provisions hereof and whose applications have not been acted upon, and all persons who shall hereafter file application and secure favorable action thereon, shall begin with the date of filing of such application with the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.

"SEC. 3. The administrative and penal provisions of the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration are hereby made applicable to this Act; and except for fraud, mistake, or misrepresentation, the provisions of this Act shall not be held to reduce the pension or compensation being paid to any person at the time this Act takes effect.

"SEC. 4. All Acts and parts of Acts which conflict or are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, modified, and amended."

It is estimated that this bill would provide increases for approximately 33,100 veterans who served subsequent to 1898 and approximately 1,000 veterans who served prior to 1898, or a total of approximately 34,100 veterans at a cost for the fiscal year 1940 of $7,906,000.

Prior to the enactment of Public, No. 2, Seventy-third Congress, March 20, 1933, the general pension law (act of July 14, 1862, as amended) was the legislation providing pensions for service-connected disability or death whether incurred in time of war or at any other time. The general law provided monthly pension, except for certain permanent specific disabilities, in amounts ranging from $6 to $30 for total disability, dependent upon rank, except that as between $8 and $18 per month partial disabilities could be rated and paid regardless of rank. The permanent specific statutory rates were applicable to such disabilities as amputations of a hand or foot, for which disabilities monthly pensions of $80 were provided and for other specific losses as high as $125 per month was provided. Although the laws provided higher rates for such conditions, the rate for total disability from organic disease, in the absence of helplessness, was pensionable at only $30 per month. The rate of $30 for total disability was payable regardless of rank.

Section 17 of title I, Public, No. 2, Seventy-third Congress, March 20, 1933, repealed all public laws granting pensions to veterans and the dependents of veterans of the Spanish-American War, including the Boxer Rebellion and Philippine Insurrection, and the World War, and to the former members of 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. other words, Public, No. 2, did not repeal or amend the general pension law in its application to veterans and the dependents of the veterans who served prior to April 21, 1898, but it repealed all laws granting pension to persons who served on and after April 21, 1898, and their dependents.

In

The veterans regulations promulgated by the President pursuant to Public, No. 2, were designed to equalize as far as possible benefits payable for disability or death incurred in active military or naval service and to divide them into two grops, i. e., wartime and peacetime, the underlying theory being that because of the greater hazard, and because in times of war men were summarily detached from their usual pursuits, a larger amount should be paid where death or disability was incurred in war service. Under the prior laws persons who served during peacetime and who were suffering from disabilities incurred during such service were in some instances paid pension far in excess of the amount paid to World War veterans for similar disabilities, and in some instances far in excess of the rate of pay for active-duty service.

As to persons whose service was in the Regular Establishment other than in wartime, the first regulation promulgated by the President eliminated rank as a factor and provided monthly disability-pension rates ranging from $6 for partial disability to $30 for total disability, with rates for certain specific disabilities up to $125, graduated on the basis of severity. The President by subsequent regulation and as the result of studies conducted by the Veterans' Administration, at the President's direction, raised by 50 percent the rate for total disability to $45 per month and comparable raises were provided for lesser degrees of disability. Presidential regulation also provided that any veteran of the Regular Establishment or the dependents of any such veteran entitled to pension on account of disability or death resulting from an injury received in line of duty in actual combat in a military expedition or military occupation should receive the rate of pension provided for wartime service. Further, the regulations provided for the combination of ratings and for the payment of pensions at wartime rates to those veterans who had both wartime and peacetime service and who suffered disability in line of duty in each period of service. 175490-39-9

The matter of pensions to veterans of the Regular Establishment continued to receive careful study during the period in which the President had authority to promulgate veterans regulations under Public, No. 2, Seventy-third Congress. Subsequent to that time, the study was enlarged in scope to include all monetary benefits granted this group, including retirement privileges, as well as other benefits.

It was determined by the Veterans' Administration to refer pertinent data to the Secretary of War, Secretary of the Navy, and the Commandant, Coast Guard, requesting report on any recommendations they desired to make. Upon receipt of these reports, they were made a part of the basic study of the whole problem and following a careful consideration of the matter it was concluded that possible relief in some cases, particularly certain specific disabilities, was indicated following the policy adopted by the Congress in connection with wartime cases subsequent to the enactment of Public, No. 2, Seventy-third Congress. With this in mind, information was furnished the Congress resulting in the enactment of Public, No. 788, Seventy-fourth Congress, June 24, 1936, an act to increase the pension to certain veterans of the Regular Establishment on the rolls March 19, 1933.

Public, No. 788, did not disturb the existing criteria of eligibility for pension under part II of Veterans Regulation No. 1 (a), as amended, but following the principle invoked by the Congress in legislation subsequent to Public, No. 2, Seventy-third Congress, provided a protected award for those cases on the rolls on March 19, 1933, and entitled to peacetime service-connected pension under the existing regulation, limiting the reduction of benefits to 25 per centum. A further limitation was included providing that the protected award shall in no event exceed 75 per centum of the wartime rate for similar disability under part I of Veterans Regulation No. 1 (a), as amended.

The study of the effects of the Veterans Regulations and Public, No. 788, Seventy-fourth Congress, was continued with the resulting conclusion, considering all factors, that a total disability rate of 60 percent of the wartime rate under part I of Veterans Regulation No. 1 (a), as amended, can be justified upon practicable and scientific consideration. Such a total rate would provide a monthly pension of $60, or double the rate payable under the general pension law in effect on March 19, 1933. It would increase the existing monthly rate of $45 by 33% percent. Partial disabilities would, of course, be rated on the basis that the disability bears to the total rate. Specific injuries for which such rates have been provided would be pensionable on the basis of 60 percent of the wartime rate for the same injuries. It is estimated that such an increase in the rates would cost approximately $1,860,000 for the fiscal year 1940, providing increased pensions for approximately 19,000 veterans of the Regular Establishment.

There is enclosed a copy of the hearings before the Committee on Pensions. House of Representatives, Seventy-fifth Congress, third session, on H. R. 8948, a bill to liberalize the laws providing pensions for veterans and the dependents of veterans of the Regular Establishment for disabilities or deaths incurred or aggravated in line of duty other than in wartime. The hearings contain the report of June 4, 1938, of the Veterans' Administration, addressed to the chairman, Committee on Pensions, House of Representatives (pp. 88-92), which report was unfavorable to the rates proposed by the bill for veterans of the Regular Establishment, 80 percent of the highest amount payable to World War veterans suffering with similar service-connected disabilities, but indicated that legislation for such veterans providing pensions at 60 percent of the wartime rates, as provided by part I of Veterans Regulation No. 1 (a), as amended, would be in accord with the program of the President, provided that enactment thereof were deferred until the first session of the Seventy-sixth Congress. The hearings also contain the report of June 4, 1938, of the Veterans' Administration. addressed to the chairman, Committee on Military Affairs, United States Senate (pp. 97-101), on S. 3503. Further, there is included in the hearings the testimony of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, supplemented by a detailed statement pertaining to the study of benefits provided for the Regular Establishment in connection with which the War and Navy Departments and the United States Coast Guard cooperated.

For the foregoing reasons the Veterans' Administration does not recommend favorable action on the bill, but it would favor the enactment of legislation increasing the rates of pension for disability incurred in the service other than in wartime subsequent to April 21, 1898, to 60 percent of the rates for dis