AMENDING THE WAR ORPHANS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE ACT TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 1960 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS OF THE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., in room 4232, New Senate Office Building, Senator Ralph W. Yarborough (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senators Yarborough (presiding) and Prouty. Committee staff members present: Stewart E. McClure, chief clerk; Frederick R. Blackwell, counsel to the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs; and Raymond Hurley, minority professional staff member. Senator YARBOROUGH. The Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee is now in session. Gentlemen, we regret this delay that you have suffered, but the Senate is in session at this time, and earlier there had been objection to this subcommittee meeting at the same time the Senate was in session. I have been on the floor of the Senate, and that matter has been worked out between the majority leader and the minority leader. We have their consent now to hold this meeting while the Senate is in session. The subcommittee will come to order. This hearing has been called today to receive testimony on S. 1050 and H.R. 4306, both of which propose to extend the War Orphans Educational Assistance Act for the children of post-Korean veterans. While these bills involve the same general principle, they do differ in their eligibility provisions, in that H.R. 4306 would provide a smaller class of beneficiaries than S. 1050. I trust, therefore, that we will receive testimony and discussion of the eligibility provisions in both bills. In addition to the approaches to this problem taken in the pending legislation, there is a third approach which may be referred to as a performance of duty concept. This concept might be characterized as the middle ground dealing with this problem. If it is followed in this matter the class of beneficiaries, with regard to number, would fall somewhere between the number covered by proposed S. 1050 and H.R. 4306, which has already passed the House. Another issue which we would like to have discussed by the witnesses concerns the question of whether the between-the-wars group should be afforded eligibility on the same basis as the post-Korean group. It has been said that once the Congress approves educational assistance for the children of post-Korean veterans, there is every reason to provide the same assistance to children of veterans 1 who died in service between World War II and the out-break of the Korean conflict. (The bills and departmental reports follow:) [S. 1050, 86th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide educational assistance for the children of service men and women who suffer death from a service-connected disability arising out of active military service during the period beginning on February 1, 1955, and ending on June 30, 1963 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 1701(a)(1) of title 38 of the United States Code is amended by striking out "or the Korean conflict" and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "the Korean conflict, or the period beginning on February 1, 1955, and ending on June 30, 1963,". (b) Subsection (d) of such section is amended by striking out "or the Korean conflict," and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "the Korean conflict, or the period beginning on February 1, 1955, and ending on June 30, 1963,". (c) Section 1712 of such title is amended by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c) and inserting a new subsection (b) as follows: "(b) In the case of any person (1) who becomes eligible for educational assistance under this chapter by virtue of the amendments to such chapter made by the Act which enacted this subsection, and (2) who is above the age of seventeen years and below the age of twenty-three years on the date of enactment of such Act, the period of eligibility prescribed by this section shall not end with respect to such person until five years after the date of enactment of such Act." [H.R. 4306, 86th Cong., 1st sess.] AN ACT To provide education and training for the children of veterans dying of a service-connected disability incurred after January 31, 1955, and before the end of compulsory military service Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 101 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: "(28) The term 'induction period' means the period beginning on February 1, 1955, and ending on the day before the first day thereafter on which individuals (other than individuals liable for induction by reason of a prior deferment) are no longer liable for induction for training and service into the Armed Forces under the Universal Military Training and Service Act." SEC. 2. Subsection 1701(a)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: "(1) The term 'eligible person' means a child of a person who died of a serviceconnected disability arising out of active military, naval, or air service— "(A) during World War I, World War II, or the Korean conflict, or "(B) as a direct result of armed conflict or while engaged in extrahazardous service (including such service under conditions simulating war) during the induction period, The but only if such service did not terminate under dishonorable conditions. standards and criteria for determining whether or not a disability is serviceconnected shall be those applicable under chapter 11 of this title." SEC. 3. Subsection (d) of section 1701 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking out "or the Korean conflict" and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "the Korean conflict, or the induction period". SEC. 4. In the case of any individual who is an "eligible person" within the meaning of section 1701(a)(1) of title 38, United States Code, solely by virtue of the amendments made by this Act, and who is above the age of seventeen years and below the age of twenty-three years on the date of enactment of this Act, the period referred to in section 1712 of title 38, United States Code, shall not end with respect to such individual until the expiration of the five-year period which begins on the date of enactment of this Act. Passed the House of Representatives August 17, 1959. Clerk. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, D.C., March 25, 1959. Hon. LISTER HILL, Chairman, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This will acknowledge your letter of February 24, 1959, inviting the Bureau of the Budget to comment on S. 1050, a bill to provide educational assistance for the children of service men and women who suffer death from a service-connected disability arising out of active military service during the period beginning on February 1, 1955, and ending on June 30, 1963. The Bureau of the Budget believes that the bill departs from sound benefit principles in several respects. The War Orphans' Educational Assistance Act was an important revision of the concept that education should be provided by the Government as an aid to readjustment from wartime military service to civilian pursuits but in enacting this unusual supplementary form of assistance to dependents the Congress closely limited it to the child of a veteran whose death resulted from a disability incurred during the war period itself. S. 1050 would constitute still another departure from the readjustment concept and, in addition, it would grant these benefits to dependents when it has not been a policy to provide readjustment benefits for peacetime service. The nature of peacetime service is such that we consider it proper for the Government's responsibility to servicemen to be more nearly approximate to that which normally obtains between a responsible employer and an employee; as such, the obligation of the Government to assist in the maintenance of dependents of servicemen whose deaths are connected with peacetime service should be met by monetary benefits in the form of adequate death compensation. Present law provides for the continuation of death compensation for children of deceased servicemen from the ages of 18 to 21 when they are attending approved schools. Furthermore, it is to be noted that the 85th Congress enacted the National Defense Education Act which provides a general program of assistance and encouragement to the youth of our country in the field of higher education. For these reasons, and those contained in the report which the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs is making to your committee on this bill, this office strongly recommends that this measure not be enacted. Chairman, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare DEAR SENATOR HILL: The following comments are furnished in response to your request for a report by the Veterans' Administration on S. 1050, 86th Congress. This bill would amend chapter 35 of title 38, United States Code, to provide educational assistance for the children of persons who die as the result of a serviceconnected disability arising out of service in the Armed Forces during the period beginning February 1, 1955, and ending June 30, 1963. June 30, 1963, would coincide with the expiration of authority to induct individuals into the Armed Forces for training and service under the Universal Military Training and Service Act. This educational assistance benefit was established by the War Orphans' Educational Assistance Act of 1956 for the children of veterans who die from a World War I, World War II, or Korean conflict service-connected disability. The benefit takes the form of a monetary allowance while pursuing a program of education beyond the secondary school level or of special restorative training in those cases where a physical or mental disability handicaps such a child in the pursuit of a program of education. In administrative details, the program is patterned after the education and training program provided as a readjustment benefit for veterans of the Korean conflict period. The same general age limitations of 18 to 23 years applicable under the existing war orphans-educational program would apply to the new group. However, the bill contains a special provision that any child who is above the age of 17 and below the age of 23 on the date of its enactment will have 5 years thereafter to pursue his program of education. The War Orphans' Educational Assistance Act was a considerable enlargement of the area in which the Federal Government had acted to discharge its obligation to the dependents of war veterans who died from service causes. The basic program which has traditionally been provided for them is monthly compensation which, in the case of a child, continues beyond his 18th birthday and until his 21st birthday if he is pursuing a course in an approved educational institution. In granting the extraordinary added benefit of special educational assistance to the child under the War Orphans' Act, the Congress closely limited it to the child of a veteran whose death resulted from a disability incurred during the war period itself. For example, the basic war dates, December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946, for World War II apply to this program, in contrast to the more extensive period governing the readjustment programs for veterans. In the case of World War II, these latter veterans programs embrace a service period beginning with the prewar draft date of September 16, 1940, and ending on July 25, 1947. The congressional recognition that this unusual supplementary form of assistance should apply only to circumstances produced by war service is further reflected by the legislative course of bills which led to enactment of the War Orphans' Act. The initial bills, including the final bill as reported by the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, restricted the coverage to cases in which the veteran parent had died from disability incurred in combat or from an instrumentality of war. As amended on the House floor, this provision was relaxed to include disabilities incurred in line of duty during the war period, but there was no extension of the war dates to cover a preceding or subsequent period in which the draft was operative. It seems clear that this program was regarded as especially geared to the family dislocations and the greater hazards incident to a war period involving mass mobilization and indefinite periods of service. We seriously question whether the underlying purposes of this special type of war program are realistically served if it is extended to children of veterans whose deaths result from disabilities incurred in service at the present time. There are significant differences in the nature and circumstances of that service when compared to the hazards and dislocations of service while the Nation is at war. Since this matter must be examined largely on the basis of the kind and conditions of service involved, it is quite pertinent to consider whether the situation would not be rather similar if, instead of service during a period of draft, the service concerned were in a normal time of peace. Except for the fact that in a normal time of peace the service would be performed largely by those following a military career, the problem would remain much the same. On the merits, therefore, the proposed extension to cover the draft period might well be later urged as a precedent for providing a similar service-connected benefit for the children of those dying from disability incurred in routine peacetime service. This, of course, would depart radically from the essential purposes of the war orphans' program as it was originally conceived and now operates. It is estimated that the direct benefit cost attributable to enactment of the bill during the next 5 years would approximate $114,000 in fiscal year 1960, $339,000 in fiscal year 1961, $656,000 in fiscal year 1962, $1,100,000 in fiscal year 1963, and $1,500,000 in fiscal year 1964. Annual costs would rise slowly after the first 5 years to a peak of no more than $3 million. In view of the foregoing, I am unable to recommend favorable consideration of S. 1050 by your committee. Advice has been received from the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the presentation of this report to the committee and that the Bureau strongly recommends that this measure not be enacted. Sincerely yours, Hon. LISTER HILL, SUMNER G. WHITTIER, Administrator. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, Chairman, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, Washington. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request of March 9, 1959, for a report on S. 1050, a bill to provide educational assistance for the children of service men and women who suffer death from a service-connected disability arising out of active military service during the period beginning on February 1, 1955, and ending on June 30, 1963. This bill would amend the War Orphans' Educational Assistance Act of 1956 in order to extend the eligibility for benefits to children of persons who died of a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty in the active service in the Armed Forces during the period beginning on February 1, 1955, and ending on June 30, 1963. In general, this Department believes that the educational needs of any particular class of citizens are best met by extending educational opportunities for all citizens and by strengthening education in terms of both quality and quantity. The instant bill, however, would appear to be based upon the assumption that there is a special Federal responsibility toward the children of deceased service men and women that is not adequately discharged either by existing survival benefits provided in such cases or by the provisions of the act that would be amended. In the judgment of this Department that is a questionable assumption. Nevertheless; we would defer to the views of the Veterans' Administration with respect to the need and desirability of the special benefit which would be provided by the bill. Accordingly, we do not make any recommendation with respect to the enactment of S. 1050, but defer to the views of the Administrator of the Veterans' Administration. The Bureau of the Budget advises that it perceives no objection to the submission of this report to your committee. Sincerely yours, ARTHUR S. FLEMMING, Secretary. OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS, Hon. LISTER HILL, VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION, Washington, D.C., September 10, 1959. Chairman, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, DEAR SENATOR HILL: We are pleased to furnish the following comments in response to your request for a report by the Veterans' Administration on H.R. 4306, 86th Congress, as passed by the House of Representatives on August 17, 1959. This bill would extend the war orphans educational assistance program to children of persons dying as the direct result of armed conflict or while engaged in extrahazardous service (including such service under conditions simulating war) during the "induction period." This period is defined in the bill as beginning February 1, 1955, and ending when individuals (other than individuals liable for induction by reason of prior deferment) are no longer liable for induction into the Armed Forces under the Universal Military Training and Service Act. Under existing law, this period would terminate June 30, 1963. As introduced, H.R. 4306 would have extended eligibility for this benefit to the children of any veteran dying from service-connected causes which arose during the induction period. Thus, it was similar to S. 1050, 86th Congress, upon which we furnished a report to your committee on March 26, 1959. The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs amended the bill to limit the eligibility to deaths arising from combat duty or service under extra hazardous conditions. The House amendment is patterned after the provisions added to the law in 1941 by Public Law 359, 77th Congress (now 38 U.S.C. 336), which provide for the payment of the higher wartime rates of disability compensation if the disability resulted from armed conflict or while engaged in extrahazardous service. In our prior reports we seriously questioned the soundness of an extension of this special type of war program to children of veterans whose deaths resulted from disabilities incurred in service at the present time. There are, as we pointed out, significant differences in the nature and circumstances of present-day service when compared to the hazards and dislocations of service while the Nation is at war. We still have some misgivings as to the likelihood that enactment of this bill may encourage efforts to convert the war orphans educational assistance program to a general service-connected benefit for the children of persons dying from disabilities incurred in routine peacetime service. On the other hand, we recognize the force of the argument that the existence of the draft law, taken together with the requirement of extrahazardous service, presents a situation which is far re 53620-60 |