to the committee I just said, "it is so ordered." Now it will have to be "the ayes have it."

Mr. KORNEGAY. Mr. Chairman, I apologize for being late but at about quarter of 10 a person came to my office that I had to talk to. Mr. DORN. Well, we understand. We are glad you are here, Congressman Kornegay.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN S. MONAGAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT

Mr. DORN. Next we will hear from Congressman Monagan from the State of Connecticut. I want to express my appreciation personally and in behalf of the subcommittee for your appearing before us this morning.

Mr. MONAGAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a pleasure to appear before this illustrious subcommittee. I appear, Mr. Chairman, in support of H.R. 1029 and the purpose of this bill is to provide for a 3-year presumption of service connection for active tuberculosis disease cases in peacetime. This, it seems to me, is very worthy legislation. There are other diseases and disabilities that receive this treatment and there seems to be no rational reason why this distinction or discrimination should exist. I might say, Mr. Chairman, that our former colleague, Congressman Irwin of Connecticut, introduced a similar bill in the last session of Congress and I should like to have the opportunity, with the permission of the committee, to file in the record a copy of the letter from the former Congressman Irwin to me, because I feel this states very succinctly the arguments in favor of this legislation.

Mr. DORN. It will be the pleasure of the subcommittee to have the statement of our former colleague. Thank you.

(The letter referred to follows:)

CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D.C., December 5, 1960.

Hon. JOHN MONAGAN,
House Office Building,

Washington, D.C.

DEAR JOHN: At the 86th Congress I introduced H.R. 10202, providing for a 3-year presumption of service connection for active tuberculosis diseases cases in peacetime. That bill died with adjournment of the 86th Congress, of course, and had I been reelected I would have reintroduced it in the 87th Congress.

Now I am requesting your consideration of the bill as I feel very strongly that the discrimination against peacetime veterans in these particular cases seems completely unwarranted.

Medical science tells us that tuberculosis bacilli found in a veteran within a 3-year period after his discharge in all probability were conceived during the period of service. This presumptive period is justifiably recognized for wartime veterans but is unjustly denied to others.

It also seems odd to me that injuries or diseases of a far less serious nature, which are incurred or contracted during service by peacetime veterans, are granted service connection. Yet a dread malady such as tuberculosis, although conclusively presumed to have had its inception during service, is denied compensation. I am told there are thousands of such cases of discrimination. I am enclosing a copy of my bill for your information and guidance. advise if you feel you can introduce such legislation.

Sincerely yours,

Please

DONALD J. IRWIN,
Member of Congress.

Mr. MONAGAN. I might say this presumptive period I speak about is recognized insofar as wartime veterans are concerned but not peacetime. It seems to me this is an unjust discrimination and I hope the committee will consider the plausibility of Congress passing this legislation.

Mr. DORN. Thank you, Congressman. I am sure that your request will receive every consideration by the committee.

Mr. MONAGAN. Thank you very much.

STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS J. LANE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS

Mr. DORN. Next we will hear from Congressman Tom Lane from Massachusetts, the home of our distinguished President of the United States and the home of our majority leader.

We are glad to have you, Tom, always.

Mr. LANE. Thank you very, very much, Mr. Chairman.

First, Mr. Chairman, may I extend to you and the members of your committee and the staff my thanks and my appreciation for affording to me this opportunity just to say a few words here before this distinguished committee.

I am well aware of the tremendous amount of work accomplished by this committee over the years and I know it is made up for the most part of veterans of the various wars. They have been very, very active and sincere and conscientious in their work on legislation for the veterans.

Many of the veterans of the Congress have served on this committee and, of course, this year, again, we have some of our outstanding Congressmen serving on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and to have the opportunity to come here and to be privileged to observe your work here this morning is something I appreciate, especially, Mr. Chairman, when you are presiding here for the committee knowing that down through the years you have served on this committee so ably and have contributed so much, not only to the legislation affecting veterans but textiles and agriculture and so many other subject matters that you have fought for on the floor of the Congress; and knowing also of your wonderful war record, I know that you, too, are familiar with all of these subject matters that are brought before you more so than some of us who never had the opportunity to serve outside the continental United States.

Mr. Chairman, and members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, in World War II, the Armed Forces of the United States had to contend with the opposition of a determined foe and a hostile climate. The bitter fighting of the island-hopping campaigns exposed our men to climatic conditions and diseases that were new to our experience, and I know you are familiar with this subject matter, Mr. Chairman.

More men lost their lives in the Civil War from sickness and disease, than from enemy action. This was due to the lack of doctors, drugs, medical knowledge, and organized care of the sick and wounded. In contrast, when our men hit the beaches of the South Pacific in World War II, they knew that they would get the very best of medical care. But as they pushed into the steaming jungles, the health of some was impaired by tropical diseases. That is the part I am interested in.

Coming from a temperate climate, they did not have the built-in resistance to these infections.

We have learned that some of these rare diseases-rare because they are not present in the environment of the United States-take time to develop. It is obvious that when they show up in an American veteran, who did not work as a civilian in these areas before or after his military service, there is the logical presumption of direct connection with his military service. Sometime after leaving the service and after the sickness has become evident, the veteran, under present laws, finds it impossible to establish service connection as the basis for his disability claim.

Now I know that the members of this committee are familiar with this from personal contact with these war veterans who have remarkable records and have served over there in those tropical climates and are unable to prove in a few years that they have a justifiable claim.

To correct this blind spot in the law, I have introduced H.R. 704. Its purpose is to amend section 312, title 38, United States Code, to establish a presumption of service connection for chronic and tropical diseases becoming manifest within 3 years from separation from service.

Medical specialists in these diseases confirm the fact that in certain cases it takes up to 3 years after its subtle beginnings, to clearly diagnose the condition as chronic. They go from one doctor to another and the doctors themselves cannot diagnose the conditions. It takes time and expert testimony from some of the specialists in this field to bring out the fact that the man is suffering from a tropical disease.

In the absence of proof to the contrary, it is a reasonable presumption that such an affliction originated during the affected veteran's military service in the tropics.

I bring to your attention two recent precedents for establishing presumptions. We owe it to the committee for establishing these presumptions and putting them on the law books.

Public Law 86-187 (H.R. 267) approved by you and others August 25, 1959

Increases the presumptive period for service connection for the disease of multiple sclerosis from the present 2-year period to 3 years

and, again, on the same date, Public Law 86-188 (H.R. 271) which was approved by your committee, provides—

that Hansen's disease (leprosy) developing to a degree of 10 percent within 3 years from the date of a veteran's separation from the service shall be considered to be service connected.

Those two bills passed by this committee were very, very important legislation benefiting these veterans.

Although this improvement in the laws relating to disability compensation will benefit a small number of veterans, it will remove a roadblock that stands in the way of their legitimate claims, and it will assure them of our continuing interest in protecting their rights. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. DORN. Thank you for your comments. I will say I know of no one in the Congress over the years that has been more concerned about the welfare of our veterans. You have always come before us in their behalf and we appreciate it.

Mr. LANE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Congressman Kornegay, and other members of the committee.

STATEMENT OF HON. EMILIO Q. DADDARIO A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT

Mr. DORN. Next witness is a very good friend of the veterans and the committee, Congressman Daddario, of Connecticut.

We are glad to have you with us this morning.

Mr. DADDARIO. It is always a pleasure. Thank you.

Mr. DORN. You can make whatever comment you will desire. You can even make a speech if you want to.

Mr. DADDARIO. I will make a very short one.

I listened very attentively to the remarks just made and they compare in part with a section of H.R. 2755, which I have submitted, subsection (a)(1) dealing with tropical diseases or resulting disorders. I am, however, also concerned with the tuberculosis problem which is included in this area and without going into any of the background as to those remarks just made I would like to confine myself at the moment to the question of tuberculosis.

In this bill I refer to an active tuberculosis disease developing 10 percent degree of disability or more within 3 years from date of separation from such service. This is a bill which was introduced last session by Congressman Irwin, of Connecticut; one in which he took a great deal of interest and one which I have followed through, both because of his calling it to my attention and because of the fact that I was impelled in this direction by the fight he put up with this particular improvement as to conditions affecting our veterans during that 2-year period. The best medical testimony I have been able to get on this question is that the problems involving the development of tuberculosis cannot be so quickly defined so that it can be determined that they were or were not service connected but that it does have a developing period, which, over a 3-year period of time could safely be said to have been initiated during the course of the service. Because of the fact that there are many problems in this area and because we have had many people who have served in the armed services and who have then found it impossible to establish a connection and who have then not been able to get the type of aid and assistance which we would like to have them get, this bill has been introduced.

I strongly urge your committee to take favorable action, take cognizance of the problem which exists, and to take a close look into this area of coverage.

Mr. DORN. Congressman, I want to thank you for your testimony and for introducing the bill, and I think it was a good one.

Mr. DADDARIO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Congressman Kornegay.

Mr. DORN. We will now hear the testimony of Congressman Thomas G. Morris from the State of New Mexico. You may proceed, Congressman.

STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS G. MORRIS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO, IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 879 AND H.R. 880 Mr. MORRIS. Mr. Chairman, I want to offer my unqualified support to two bills introduced by my colleague Mr. Teaque (on request) on behalf of those citizens to which the entire Nation owes a great debt, a debt which really never can be repaid. These are the veterans who have become disabled in line of military duty.

H.R. 879 provides for a 15-percent increase in the basic rates of disability compensation, the monthly payments of which depend upon the degree of disability the veteran suffers. About 1.9 million veterans would benefit by this bill. The first-year cost of the bill is an estimated $188 million.

H.R. 880 provides for a 10-percent increase in the statutory awards or specific rates which are granted veterans with specific disabilities or a combination of disabilities, including anatomical loss. This bill would benefit about 138,000 veterans and increase costs about $17.8 million the first year.

The last general increase in compensation rates was in 1957. It is now almost mid-1961. In the interim, the cost of living has risen with a consequent decline in the purchasing power of the compensation paid our disabled veterans. The impact of rising living costs, of course, falls hardest on persons with fixed incomes, which includes many if not nearly all of the veterans disabled by reason of serviceconnected disability.

The payment to disabled veterans which I am discussing is called compensation advisedly. It is not a gratuity but is a payment which attempts to replace the earning capacity which the individual has lost in the service of his country. Those of us who have not suffered any impairment to our earning power usually have fared pretty well. Real wages have in general risen. It is necessary, therefore, not merely to preserve the purchasing power of the compensation paid the disabled veteran but also to provide a benefit which is sufficiently high to enable the disabled veteran to participate in the rise in the level of living enjoyed by our Nation as a whole.

It should also be pointed out that loss of earning capacity not only affects the current income of disabled veterans but also reduces the opportunity to continue to accumulate social security benefits or private pension benefits payable to active workers upon retirement. Moreover, veterans disabled in World War I have had little or no opportunity to accumulate such benefits.

Veterans' benefits date back in American history to the founding days of the Republic. Although it is difficult to place a monetary value on the debt we owe our veterans, particularly those who have been partially or totally disabled, Congress, with the support of the country, has been very generous with our

veterans.

The need for an adjustment of the service-connected disability compensation schedule has been recognized by the administration, and by various_veteran groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, AMVETS, and the Veterans of World War I of the U.S.Á., Inc. I am sure Congress will also recognize this need.

In concluding, I want to urge again that when the adjustment is made, it be sufficiently large to compensate not only for price rises but also to enable our veterans disabled in the service of our country to participate in the rising level of living we, the more fortunate, enjoy.

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM O. COOPER, NATIONAL COMMANDER OF THE DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS, ACCOMPANIED BY ALBERT L. DANIELS, CHAIRMAN OF THE DAV NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE; ELMER M. FREUDENBERGER, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF LEGISLATION; DENVEL D.. ADAMS, NATIONAL DIRECTOR; CHARLES L. HUBER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CLAIMS SERVICE; AND FRANK WOOD, DIRECTOR OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS.

Mr. DORN. We will now hear from Commander Cooper of the Disabled American Veterans, the national commander.

I would like to say to the subcommittee and to our friends here that Commander Cooper is a warm personal friend of our distinguished