HOSPITAL AND DOMICILIARY FACILITIES AND SERVICES This appropriation covers the construction, replacement, extension, alteration, remodeling, or repair of hospitals and domiciliary facilities subject to the recommendation of the Federal Board for Hospitalization and the final approval of the President. The entire wording of this item is inserted as new material inasmuch as no appropriation for this purpose was requested for the fiscal year 1935. The wording is designed with the object in view of picking up all miscellaneous authorizations for which appropriations have not heretofore been made and all unobligated balances remaining which had been appropriated for specific purposes and at definite locations and making them generally available for replacement, extension, alteration, remodeling, or repairing of any hospital or domiciliary facility under the exclusive control of the Veterans' Administration. EXPLANATION OF THE 1936 ESTIMATE Due to the liberalized provisions of Public, No. 141, Seventy-third Congress, enacted March 28, 1934, hospitalization and domiciliary care of veterans again becomes a factor of such proportion that consideration must be given to the providing of adequate and suitable accommodations in excess of the accommodations now available. Particularly is this true in connection with the hospitalization for neuropsychiatric disabilities. Although it is not contemplated that it will be necessary to build any new hospital units as a whole, it will be absolutely essential that certain facilities already built be altered, remodeled, or extended to accommodate this class of patients. As of July 31, 1934, there were 20,927 neuropsychiatric patients hospitalized in Veterans' Administration hospitals, with 627 patients of this class hospitalized in civil, State, and other Government hospitals and paid for by the Veterans' Administration. As of July 31, 1934, there were remaining unoccupied in the Veterans' Administration facilities only 180 vacant beds to care for this type of patient. These available vacant beds are widely scattered at 22 different points, making it impossible, of course, to effect any concentration. Only three of these available vacant beds are adaptable to the hospitalization of colored patients. With the constantly increasing number of eligible veterans applying for hospitalization, the necessity for additional beds is very apparent. Consequently, every effort is being made with the limited funds available to remodel and extend existing facilities for the purpose of supplying the necessary beds of this type at the least possible expense to the Government. Under date of April 23, 1928, Public, No. 300, Seventieth Congress, was approved authorizing $2,100,000 to be appropriated to erect 12 barracks buildings and utilities and appurtenances thereto at the Soldiers' Home, Los Angeles, Calif. To date $1,250,000 has been appropriated under this authorization, which amount has been utilized for the purpose specified; $850,000 remains unappropriated, with an unobligated balance of the appropriated funds in the amount of $1,039.32. Public, No. 780, Seventieth Congress, approved February 20, 1929, authorized the appropriation of $1,500,000 to erect a sanitary, fire proof hospital at the Soldiers' Home, Dayton, Ohio; $1,475,000 has been appropriated under this authorization, and there remains unappropriated an amount of $25,000, together with an unobligated balance of the appropriated funds in the amount of $25,853.44. Public, No. 812, Seventieth Congress, approved February 26, 1929, authorized the appropriation of $150,000 to supplement a previous appropriation to provide for the construction of a fireproof hospital annex at the Soldiers' Home, Marion, Ind.; $100,000 was appropriated under this authorization, leaving a balance of $50,000 to be appropriated, together with an unobligated balance of $24,375.09 from the appropriated funds. Public, No. 505, Seventy-first Congress, approved July 3, 1930, authorized the appropriation of $2.000.000 to erect domiciliary facilities in one of the Northwest Pacific States. This entire amount was appropriated, although only $1,117,550.61 was obligated in connection with the establishment of these domiciliary facilities at Roseburg, Oreg. This leaves an unobligated balance from the appropriated funds of $882,449.39 designated for utilization for a specific purpose and no longer required for that purpose. The office of this appropriation language is to appropriate the $925,000 authorized in the first three acts, but not appropriated, and to make this amount, together with the unobligated balances of appropriations made under these authorizations, available generally where needed in connection with the program of remodeling and extending existing facilities. This, if approved, will make available for the fiscal years 1935 and 1936 a total of $5,319,907, which it is anticipated will be obligated at the rate of $1,554,487 during the fiscal year 1935 and $3,765,420 during 1936. An itemization by fiscal years of these proposed obligations is as follows: Fiscal year 1935: Roanoke, Va., administration building__ Los Angeles, Calif.: Warehouse Alteration to buildings__ Johnson City, Tenn., alterations and additions to hospital. Total $3,375. 74 1, 000, 000. 00 65, 000, 00 80,000.00 395,000.00 11. 111. 30 1, 554, 487. 04 Fiscal year 1936: Bath, N. Y., hospital building_. Continued Treatment Building, 164 beds, colored___. North Little Rock, Ark.: Neuropsychiatric Infirmary, 165 beds, colored_ Perry Point, Md., 164 beds, colored building_. Los Angeles, Calif., partial replacement of barracks_ Total 600, 000. 00 300, 000, 00 300, 000, 00 300, 000.00 300, 000, 00 300, 000, 00 300,000.00 1, 365, 420, 32 3,765, 420.32 In the event this appropriation item is approved and the funds made available, there will be remaining upon the statute books only one operative authorization act for hospital and domiciliary construction. This remaining act is Public, No. 868, Seventy-first Congress, approved March 4, 1931, in the amount of $20,877,000 (other wise known as the Seventh Construction Act), under which a total of $16,877,000 has been appropriated. No part of the remaining $4,000,000 authorized is now requested as an appropriation, as it is believed more expedient and better policy to exhaust completely and make final disposition of all other pending authorities. ADJUSTED-SERVICE CERTIFICATE FUND This appropriation was originally for the purpose of amortizing the face value of each adjusted-service certificate issued in 20 years from its date, or on the prior death of the veteran. The act of February 27, 1931 (46 Stat., p. 1429), authorized the making of loans to the extent of 50 percent of the face value of the certificates, providing the certificate had been issued 2 years. The act of July 21, 1932 (47 Stat., pp. 724-725), further amended the organic law by removing the restriction concerning 2-year issuance. The result of these last two acts was to eliminate for the present the amortization feature of the fund and to require an annual appropriation to provide sufficient funds to meet expected loans; certificates maturing by reason of deaths; and repayments of loans on certificates made to veterans by banks. EXPLANATION OF THE 1936 ESTIMATE Prior to the fiscal year 1933 the estimates submitted to the Bureau of the Budget under this appropriation were computed in accordance with the provisions of section 505 of the World War Adjusted Compensation Act. Accordingly, these prior estimates represented an actuarial calculation of the amount necessary to amortize, under accepted insurance principles, the number of adjusted-service certificates issued in 20 years from date of issuance or upon the prior death of the veteran. Formulating an estimate on this basis, it is determined at the present time that an appropriation would be required in the amount of $142,367,245 to be credited to the adjusted-service certificate fund as of January 1, 1936. A summarization of this estimate is as follows: Estimated amount of appropriation required Jan. 1, 1936, if the fund is to be put on an actuarial basis---. 1, 534, 772, 193 142, 367, 245 In connection with the above estimates, however, it was determined expedient by both the Bureau of the Budget and by the Congress to depart from that procedure for the fiscal years 1933, 1934, and 1935 since the amendments with reference to loans made necessary the availability of funds on a different and increased basis; that is, the fund required appropriations on a fiscal-year basis sufficient to meet the demand for loans; certificates matured by deaths; and redemptions to banks for loans made by them to veterans secured by adjusted service certificates. |