It is our view that no matter in what degree a veteran is disabled that such disability, even though moderate, has a definite bearing upon his present ability to earn a living and will have a much more serious effect as he grows older. This becomes more apparent in cases where the veteran is seriously disabled.

It has now been several years since the rates of compensation have been increased. Yet during this time salaries have increased substantially in both Government and private industry; food and other commodities have risen in price and the value of the dollar has decreased. In almost every area of American life things have become more expensive. Yet during this period such things as veterans' compensation have remained static. It is our firm belief that the subcommittee should study this question most seriously with the thought in mind of instituting a reasonable increase in present rates of compensation to offset increases in almost every other area of American life.

An increase in compensation rates becomes particularly important in those cases where there is a high rate of disability or total disability. In these cases the veteran can work only marginally or not at all and consequently, because of higher living expenses, he and his family are forced to change their standard of living. While it is true that legislation has been recently enacted greatly benefiting seriously disabled veterans there are still many areas that need attention to cope with the many special needs of the totally disabled veteran.

In appearing here this morning, it is not my intention to go into detail on any of the particular bills, but rather to support the basic concept calling for an increase in the rates of compensation and urge that special consideration be given to those veterans who are suffering from serious disabilities. This is essentially the tenor of the resolution passed at our last national convention which was held in Chicago, Ill., in August 1960.

Before concluding, however, I would like to comment on one bill which would do away with an inequity that exists under the present compensation laws. It relates to the special allowance for those veterans who are 50 percent or more disabled. Presently, those veterans rated 50 percent or more are entitled to receive additional compensation for dependents and could receive as high as $150 per month, whereas the veteran rated 40 percent can receive only $73 per month no matter how many dependents he has.

There appears to be no sound basis for such discrimination and the subcommittee is urged to study this area of compensation with a view to setting up a standard that will more equitably discharge its responsibility to the veteran who has dependents and whose disbilities are moderately severe.

I am sure that there are many other bills under consideration of this subcommittee that, were they to be specifically considered by our organization, they would certainly receive our full support. We are, however, confident that the subcommittee will seriously and sympathetically consider these bills bearing in mind that they are in the interest of those veterans to whom we owe the most-the serviceconnected veteran-and we are willing to place our trust in the committee's action.

I again express my sincere appreciation for this opportunity to appear here this morning to testify on these very important bills affecting a large segment of our veteran population.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. DORN. Mr. Hafey, how many veterans approximately are in your great organization?

Mr. HAFEY. We have somewhat under a hundred thousand, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. DORN. I am particularly happy to have you with us this morning. Feel free to come back any time.

Mr. HAFEY. Thank you very much.

Mr. DORN. Any questions?

Mr. FINO. Mr. Hafey, first of all I want to say it is a pleasure to see you here this morning. Speaking for myself, as a member of this committee I want you to know I am fully cognizant of the financial problems of our disabled veterans and assure you I am in complete sympathy with the serious need for adjustment in our case.

Mr. HAFEY. Thank you, sir.

Mr. DORN. Mr. Kornegay?

Mr. KORNEGAY. No questions.

Mr. DORN. Thank you, Mr. Hafey. When is your next convention meeting?

Mr. HAFEY. It is to be held in Atlantic City this coming August. Mr. DOPN. Thank you.

Mr. Ellsworth

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM C. ELLSWORTH, EX-PRESIDENT OF THE VIRGINIA CHAPTER OF PARALYZED VETERANS OF AMERICA

Mr. ELLSWORTH. I am Mr. Ellsworth. I am appearing for Kermit McDonald.

Mr. DORN. Please come around.

Mr. ELLSWORTH. I am William C. Ellsworth from Richmond, Va. Mr. DORN. You represent the Paralyzed Veterans Association? Mr. ELLSWORTH. Yes.

Mr. DORN. We are glad to have you. We are sorry Mr. McDonald could not be with us but we are glad to have you.

Mr. ELLSWORTH. I have a statement here prepared by Mr. McDonald, who is the present president of the Virginia chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America. This is in support of the bill 3350 as introduced by the Honorable Olin E. Teague.

(The statement is as follows:)

Many of our members and veterans of this area who are service connected and eligible for the $150 per month aid-and-attendance allowance are having considerable trouble in receiving this allowance and their regular monthly compensation checks due to short stays in Veterans' Administration hospitals for treatment. This inconvenience is forced upon these veterans because of their need for hospitalization of a minor nature. It is our contention that this difficulty is unwarranted and unnecessary and, that the passage of this legislative measure would prevent a repetition of the problem in the future.

If a veteran should enter the hospital for minor treatment or even a checkup his aid-and-attendance allowance check is discontinued. Although the veteran is hospitalized the expense of outside assistance is still going on and, when the veteran is discharged and returns home both his allowance and compensation checks are late and most times withheld for months. The period of difficulty, in some cases, has been as long as 6 months thus creating a financial burden to

the veteran and his family. For these reasons many veterans who are entitled to receive this allowance are reluctant to enter the hospital because of the embarrassment of not being able to meet his obligations to his creditors.

During the month of July of 1960 more than 70 checks were withheld and many did not get the situation cleared up until January of this year. It is our sincere belief that if a veteran is partially able to live away from the hospital his survival should not be jeopardized because of the Veterans' Administration's methods of accounting.

From its inception we have been interested in this bill and every phase of its progress. We are here, now, for the purpose of soliciting favorable consideration from each and every member of this committee. We are hopeful that when all the facts are known this committee will understand the urgent need for the passage of this legislative measure.

Mr. ELLSWORTH. This is submitted by Kermit B. McDonald of the Virginia chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America.

I have my own statement (reading):

STATEMENT BY WILLIAM C. ELLSWORTH, EX-PRESIDENT
OF THE VIRGINIA CHAPTER

I feel that the House of Representatives bill No. 3350 should be considered for the following reasons:

Having been wounded and paralyzed in combat in World War II, I have had considerable time to become very well acquainted with the problems that confront a paralyzed man. These problems are very great in number. This aidand-attendance allowance payment has been a great help to the paralyzed men and in the alleviation of many of these problems. This allowance has enabled us to obtain certain kinds and amounts of assistance that we desperately need. All of this is very good if we remain outside of the hospital indefinitely but, we cannot and probably never will be able to survive at home for a long and continuous period.

We are prone to ailments and complications of every type which accompany a paralysis and must seek medical treatment more often than a nonparalyzed veteran. Some of the complications arising which demand immediate treatment are plastic surgery, malfunction of the kidneys and kidney stones removal, ulceration of the body in pressure areas and even heart conditions. We must contend with these ailments for which hospitalization is mandatory but, we should not have to forfeit a portion of our income when treatment will not last longer than 60 days.

Such action, which is instituted immediately whenever a veteran is admitted to a hospital, places many veterans in financial difficulty. To overcome this situation the veteran must secure a loan from a bank or other lending agencies with high rates of interest. The Veterans' Administration has given as its reason for the delay, the method of distribution. That is, when Chicago became the central distributing office for all compensation and pension checks, the confusion started. There were several cases of delayed checks before this action took place. Many veterans here tell their sad cases of not receiving checks from 2 to 6 months. As a result of this uncertainty of monthly income many veterans will not enter the hospital for necessary medical care because they cannot afford to pay for help when there is a change in the rate of pay when hospitalized. The help or assistance must be maintained at all cost because the training of a person to assist you is a long and involved process.

If the veterans [most of us] must be hospitalized, their stays generally run from a few days to about 2 months. This is why we are attaching such great importance to this bill. With the emphasis shown by our presence at this hearing, we hope that the impetus created will be sufficient for the passage of this bill. It will not only help the paralyzed veterans keep their heads above water financially but will also eliminate the anxiety of wondering if their checks will come at all. Thank you.

Mr. DORN. Mr. Ellsworth, you have taken up this matter of delayed checks with the Veterans' Administration?

Mr. ELLSWORTH. No, sir. I bring this in to show you the complications involved by not having a grace period because the men, as I say, are in and out of the hospital, some it may be a few days, some

it may be a week. Generally it never runs over 2 months. If it runs over 2 months they are in for real tough trouble and you can generally consider that they might not make it.

That is the extent of it. If they stay any length of time it is something that is really wrong and that is it.

Mr. DORN. Any questions?

Mr. FINO. No.

Mr. KORNEGAY. No questions.

Mr. DORN. Mr. Ellsworth, we are glad to have you.

We appre

ciate you coming up. You made a fine statement for both yourself and Mr. McDonald.

Mr. ELLSWORTH. Thank you.

Mr. DORN. Mr. Christian, will you identify yourself, please, sir?

STATEMENT OF DIXON CHRISTIAN, VIRGINIA CHAPTER OF PARALYZED VETERANS OF AMERICA

Mr. CHRISTIAN. All right, sir.

I am Dixon Christian and I represent the Paralyzed Veterans of the Virginia chapter. I understand our formal statement has been read and entered into the record. The only thing I can add is from the personal view about this bill as it affects me. I am a quadraplegic and therefore have to have an aide to help me at home in many ways. I have had an experience last summer where I had to check into the hospital for a month and a half or so and during this period of time. my $120 service connected peacetime aid-and-attendance allowance was discontinued. This naturally placed a strain on my financial situation because I am dependent on my pension for paying this aide.

So, from a personal viewpoint, I can only say that it would be a great relief to me if I could know when I went to check in for a checkup for a period say of a week or so that this would not be discontinued because it is difficult for me to find an aide that is trained to help me. I cannot ask him to leave for a week and then come back and then say "I will start paying you again in a week or so." So, from a personal viewpoint, that is how I feel about it.

of

Also I might mention that last summer my check was held up and that was one of the administrative difficulties of the bill. I think that the main point with me is the fact that I have to maintain an aide and if I don't have this aid-and-attendance bill in continuance course if I were going to be in the hospital more than 2 months, then I think it would be right that I should ask the aide to leave because certainly there would not be anything for him to do at home. For less than 2 months I would ask that they consider continuing the aid-and-attendance allowance. That completes my statement. Mr. DORN. Mr. Christian, do you have much difficulty in getting aides. I mean, is that problem getting increasingly worse as the time goes by?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. I don't see how it could get increasingly worse because it is bad already. To get a man that is competent and train him to do the things that are required for me I require help 24 hours a day. There are a lot of things I can do for myself but there are a lot of things I just can't do. Therefore, it takes me a month or two to train a man to do exactly what I want to do.

Even then, as you know, just on the basis of getting good help, whether it is trained help or otherwise, it is a problem.

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Mr. DORN. How many veterans, Mr. Christian, do we have in this country in your category? Could you tell us right off?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. I could not tell you in the quadraplegics. I don't know the number in that relationship. There are many paraplegics that require help at home. I am a quadraplegic and I think othersunless they have an unusual situation-need aid-and-attendance but there are many paraplegics that also require special aid.

Mr. DORN. I guess some of them are in a fortunate position of having someone in the home?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. Yes. I live with my mother and father but even at that I cannot ask one of them to be there 24 hours a day in case I fall out of the wheelchair or whatever. So even with good family help an aide is still required.

Mr. FINO. What branch of service were you in?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. I was not in in wartime; I was hurt 31⁄2, 4 years ago in July, just in basic training.

Mr. FINO. What branch of the service?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. Army.

Mr. DORN. Any questions, Mr. Kornegay?

Mr. KORNEGAY. No.

Mr. DORN. Mr. Christian, we appreciate your coming up here— we realize with some difficulty-but we are grateful for your coming. Mr. CHRISTIAN. I apologize for my lateness.

Mr. DORN. That is all right.

Mr. CHRISTIAN. I appreciate this opportunity to testify.

Mr. KORNEGAY. Have you had any difficulty in having your checks resumed after entering the hospital?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. Yes, I have; not having them resumed but I have gotten some mighty odd numbers for checks. In other words, they would hold up the check in order to-I don't know just why but the calculations are very difficult to figuring how much I owe them and how much they owe me. I got too much one time and next time almost nothing. When I depend on that for paying for a car for carrying me from place to place and several other obligations on top of paying the aide, it becomes rather difficult.

If I had not had my family to help me out I would have been in pretty bad financial trouble for a little while. I could have worked it out, but it would have been a hardship. Fortunately in my particular case my family can help me, but I know there are others where this is not true.

Mr. KORNEGAY. Even the time in hospital was deducted from your compensation check?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. That is right, at the rate of I think it is $5 a day, but I am not sure. In other words, the breakdown on whatever it would be on a monthly basis of 120 a day by day basis, they break that down and deduct that from your check.

Mr. DORN. Mr. Christian, it is just because I am interested in your organization. Do any of your men find they can do anything? I mean of course I know you agree that a thing like that is very difficult to find, any kind of gainful employment at home, isn't it?

Mr. CHRISTIAN. Well, it is. I have worked on the situation for quite a while. Naturally I am young and feel like I've got a few years ahead of me and I am very much interested in finding something to do; not only to occupy my time but to feel like I am contributing something.