ADJUSTING THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF CERTAIN AWARDS OF PENSIONS AND COMPENSATIONS PAYABLE BY THE VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION

JULY 7, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. RANKIN, from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

(To accompany S. 811/

The Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 811) to adjust the effective date of certain awards of pensions and compensations payable by the Veterans' Administration, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments, and recommend that the bill. as amended, do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

Page 2, line 5, strike out the word "day" and insert in lieu "date", Page 2, line 5, strike out the word "claim" and insert in lieu" award": Page 2, line 6, strike out the word "allowed" and insert in lieu "effective".

Page 2, line 6, strike out the word "it" and insert in lieu "claim": Page 2, line 6. strike out the words "within one year of the" and insert in lieu thereof the words "on the date of".

EXPLANATION OF THE BILL

This bill as amended authorizes retroactive awards of compensation, pension, or increases of either, for those persons now on the rolls who were prevented from filing their claims at an earlier date because of capture, internment or other enemy action during World War II: It applies to all veterans, widows, and dependents.

Benefits are payable in disability cases from the date of discharge if the claim is filed within 1 year from discharge, and in death cases, benefits are payable from the date of the death of the person who served if the claim is filed within 1 year from such death. Otherwise, benefits are payable from the date of application. Generally pensions

based upon age or non-service-connected disability are paid effective from date of application or date of attaining the required age or degree of disability, whichever is the later.

This bill makes an exception to the general rule above outlined in that it provides for the award of pension or compensation to be adjusted so as to be effective as of the date the award would have been effective had claim been filed on the date of death, discharge, or the occurrence of age or any disability or increased disability.

The bill only authorizes payments of pension or compensation to which the claimants would have been entitled had it been possible for them to meet the requirements of the existing law as to date of filing claim. No new cases would be added to the rolls as a result of this legislation.

The report of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs on this bill is as follows:

Hon. JOHN E. RANKIN,

VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION, Washington 25, D. C., July 5, 1949.

Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs,

House of Representatives, Washington 25, D. C.

DEAR MR. RANKIN: Reference is made to your request of June 29, 1949, for a report by the Veterans' Administration on S. 811, Eighty-first Congress, an act to adjust the effective date of certain awards of pensions and compensations payable by the Veterans' Administration, as passed by the Senate on May 6, 1949.

The purpose of the bill is to authorize retroactive awards of pension and compensation in the cases of certain persons now on the rolls who were prevented from filing their claims at an earlier date because of internment or other enemy action The bill provides as follows:

"That notwithstanding the provisions of any other law which prescribes the effective date of awards of pensions and compensation, in the case of any claimant for pension or compensation under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, who is receiving a current pension or compensation on the date of the enactment of this Act, whose claim arose with respect to the disability or death or attainment of a specified age of a member or former member of the armed forces on and after December 7, 1941, and who was unable to file such claim by reason of being interned by a country with which the United States was at war or was otherwise prevented from filing such claim by action of such country, the award of pension or compensation shall be adjusted so as to be effective as of the day the claim would have been allowed had it been filed within one year of the death, discharge from the armed forces, or the occurrence of age or any disability or increased disability giving rise to a claim for pension, increased pension, compensation, or increased compensation: Provided, That claims for the benefits of this Act shall be filed within one year from the date of enactment of this Act

Under existing laws and regulations. there is no limitation on the time within which application may be made for compensation or pension, but benefits are payable in disability cases from date of discharge if claim is filed within 1 year from discharge, and in death cases benefits generally are payable from date of death if claim is filed within 1 year from death Otherwise, such benefits are payable prospectively from the date of application. The general rule as to pensions based upon age or non-service-connected disability is that payment is made from date of application or date of attaining the required age or degree of disability, whichever is the later It will be noted that, except in cases in which benefits are payable from the date of discharge or death. the presumption that claim was filed within 1 year is ambiguous because the effective date of the award would be fixed by the exact date on which the claim is presumed to have been filed It could be presumed that claim was filed on the first, last. or any intermediate date following the attainment of the required age or the occurrence of increased disability and hence the bill does not fix any exact effective date for awarding benefits in such cases.

While there are doubtless some hardship cases in which veterans or their dependents were prevented for several years by enemy action from making application for compensation or pension or increase thereof, the extension proposed

by the bill would constitute a departure from the generally uniform laws governing the effective dates of awards and might have the effect in certain cases of opening the door to stale claims.

Compensation and pension are gratuities primarily designed for the current partial support of veterans and their dependents. The enactment of such legislation as here proposed might in some instances involve large retroactive payments to noncitizens as well as citizens which would run into thousands of dollars and cover a period of more than 6 years. The usual policy of the Congress has been not to encourage or authorize the payment of retroactive compensation or pension for a period longer than 1 year, thus avoiding the establishment of large estates for veterans or their dependents which may be inherited ultimately by collateral heirs to whom the Government owes no obligation.

It is believed that this bill would be difficult of administration for the reason that, in many cases, it would be impossible to secure accurate evidence upon which to base determinations thereunder.

There is no information available upon which to base an estimate of the cost of the bill, if enacted.

Advice has been received from the Bureau of the Budget that the enactment of the proposed legislation would not be in accord with the program of the President.

EXTENDING FOR 2 YEARS THE AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINISTRATOR OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS RESPECTING LEASES AND LEASED PROPERTY

JULY 7, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. RANKIN, from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 2010

The Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 2010) to extend for 2 years the authority of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs respecting leases and leased property, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendment, and recommend that the bill, as amended, do pass.

The amendment is as follows:

Page 1, line 7, strike out "1951" and insert in lieu "1950".

EXPLANATION OF THE BILL

This bill as amended extends to June 30, 1950, the authority of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to enter into leases or renewals of leases of property for periods not to exceed 5 years. This authority carries with it, among others, the exemption from the provisions of law prohibiting the execution of leases if the annual rental of the property, in cases of rentals over $2,000 a year, exceeds 15 percent of the fair market value at date of the lease. Also exempted are the provisions of law prohibiting alterations, repairs, and improvements at Government expense where the cost would exceed 25 percent of the first year's rental.

The original authority was granted on June 22, 1946, as an amendment to the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, with the same exemptions as provided herein. The basic justification for the original authorization was the extreme difficulty of locating suitable rental space. The authority which would have expired on June 30, 1947, was extended for 1 year on June 14, 1947, with the justification being