SEC. 2. All laws or parts of laws in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of this enactment are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict or inconsistency.

[H. R. 47, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a), as amended, so as to increase the limit of amounts payable thereunder in connection with the funeral and burial of deceased veterans

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a), is further amended by striking out the amount "$150" wherever such amount appears in paragraphs II and III thereof, and inserting in lieu thereof the amount "$400".

[H. R. 260, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To authorize the payment by the Veterans' Administration of increased compensation on account of service-connected total deafness to veterans in receipt of compensation

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subparagraph (k) of paragraph II of part of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), pertaining to the making of special awards to certain veterans suffering service-connected disability, is amended to read as follows:

"(k) If the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of one foot, or one hand, or blindness of one eye, having only light perception, or deafness of both ears, having absence of air and bone conduction, the rate of compensation provided in part I, paragraph II, subparagraphs (a) to (j), shall be increased by $42 per month; and in the event of anatomical loss or loss of use of one foot, or one hand, or blindness of one eye, having only light perception, or deafness of both ears, having absence of air and bone conduction, in addition to the requirement for any of the rates specified in subparagraphs (1) to (n), inclusive, of part I, paragraph II, the rate of the compensation shall be increased by $42 per month for each such loss or loss of use, but in no event to exceed $360 per "" month.'

SEC. 2. The amendment made by this Act shall be effective on the first day of the first month beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.

[H. R. 264, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), as amended, to establish for persons who served in the Armed Forces a statutory award for the total loss of hearing in one ear

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subparagraph (k), paragraph II, part I, Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(k) If the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of one foot, or one hand, or blindness of one eye, having only light perception, or deafness of one ear, having absence of air and bone conduction, the rate of compensation provided in part I, paragraph II, subparagraphs (a) to (j), shall be increased by $42 per month; and in the event of anatomical loss or loss of use of one foot, or one hand, or blindness of one eye, having only light perception, or deafness of one ear, having absence of air and bone conduction, in addition to the requirement for any of the rates specified in subparagraphs (1) to (n), inclusive, of part I, paragrpah II, as herein amended, the rate of compensation shall be increased by $42 per month for each such loss or loss of use, but in no event to exceed $360 per month."

SEC. 2. The increased rates provided by this Act shall be effective from the first day of the first month following the passage of the Act.

[H. R. 1297, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To provide that pension, compensation, and retirement pay shall be paid during periods of active service and the amount thereof deducted from the amount payable for such active service

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the second paragraph of paragraph XIII

of Veterans Regulation Numbered 10, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Pension, compensation, or retirement pay to which any person is entitled on account of his own service shall be paid for any period with respect to which such person is entitled to active service pay, but the amount of such active service pay shall be reduced by the amount of such pension, compensation, or retirement pay paid to him for such period."

[H. R. 1305, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a), as amended, so as to provide for the payment of an additional amount to cover the cost of a burial lot in connection with the funeral and burial of deceased veterans

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the first sentence of Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a) II is amended to read as follows:

"II. Where an honorably discharged veteran of any war, a veteran of any war in receipt of pension or compensation, a veteran discharged from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard for disability incurred in line of duty, or a veteran of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard in receipt of pension for service-connected disability dies after discharge, the Administrator, in his discretion and with due regard to the circumstances in each case, shall pay, for burial and funeral expenses and transportation of the body (including preparation of the body) to the place of burial, a sum not exceeding $150, plus an additional amount not in excess of $75 for the site of burial, interment, or entombment, to cover such items and to be paid to such person or persons as may be prescribed by the Administrator."

SEC. 2. Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a) is amended by inserting after the words "not to exceed $150" wherever appearing the words "plus an additional amount not to exceed $75 for the site of burial, interment, or entombment".

[H. R. 1413, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend subparagraph (k) of paragraph II, part I, Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), as amended, to authorize compensation for blindness of one eye with 5/200 visual acuity or less

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subparagraph (k), paragraph II, part Ï, Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(k) If the disabled person, as the result of service-incurred disability, has suffered the anatomical loss or loss of use of a creative organ, or one foot, or one hand, or blindness of one eye, with 5/200 visual acuity or less, the rate of compensation therefor shall be $47 per month independent of any other compensation provided in part I, paragraph II, subparagraphs (a) to (j); and in the event of anatomical loss or loss of use of a creative organ, or one foot, or one hand, or blindness of one eye, with 5/200 visual acuity or less, in addition to the requirement for any of the rates specified in subparagraphs (1) to (n), inclusive, of part 1, paragraph II, the rate of compensation shall be increased by $47 per month for each such loss or loss of use, but in no event to exceed $400 per month."

[H. R. 1536, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a), as amended, so as to increase the limit of amounts payable thereunder in connection with the funeral and burial of deceased veterans

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a), is further amended by striking out the amount "$150" wherever such amount appears in paragraphs II and III thereof, and inserting in lieu thereof the amount "$350".

[H. R. 1930, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To grant permanent and total disability ratings to veterans suffering from severe industrial inadaptability as a result of war service

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That where, as a result of sound medical evidence and/or examination and other evidence in fact, it has been established by the United States Veterans' Administration that a veteran's service-connected disability, resulting from his service in the Armed Forces of the United States during any war, has caused a severe industrial inadaptability, rendering him to be unemployable, or incapable of following continuously any gainful occupation, then in that case the veteran shall be considered as permanently and totally disabled and shall receive a rating of permanent and total disability for compensation purposes and for any other benefits to which such rating might entitle him, regardless of any rating which any rating schedule might designate for such disability or disabilities.

[H. R. 2003, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To liberalize the definition of "widow of a World War I veteran" governing the payment of compensation or pension

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 3 of the Act of May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 353), as amended by section 3 of the Act of December 14, 1944 (58 Stat. 804; 38 U. S. C. 505 (a)), is hereby amended by striking out all of the first sentence before the colon preceding the first proviso and substituting in lieu thereof the following: "For the purpose of payment of compensation or pension under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, the term 'widow of a World War I veteran' shall mean a woman who was married prior to the date of enactment of this amendatory Act, for ten or more years, to the person who served."

SEC. 2. Compensation or pension shall not be paid for any period prior to the date of enactment of this amendatory Act to any person whose eligibility for compensation or pension is established solely by virtue of such Act.

[H. R. 2101, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To equalize the rates of compensation payable for wartime and peacetime service-connected disabilities

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph II of part II of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), as amended, is amended to read as follows:

"II. For the purposes of part II, paragraph I (a), hereof, if the disability results from injury or disease, the compensation shall be the same as the compensation now or hereafter payable for the disability had it been incurred in or aggravated by active military or naval service during a period of war service as provided in part I of this regulation."

SEC. 2. Paragraph I (c) of part II of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), as amended, is amended to read as follows:

"(c) The dependents of any deceased veteran, whose death resulted from an injury or disease received in line of duty (1) as a direct result of armed conflict, or (2) while engaged in extra hazardous service, including such service under conditions simulating war, or (3) while the United States is engaged in war, otherwise entitled to compensation under the provisions of part II of this regulation or the general pension law, shall, in cases of surviving widow, child, or children, be entitled to compensation at the rates provided by subsection 14 (a) of the Act of July 13, 1943 (57 Stat. 558; 38 U. S. C. 731 (a)), as amended, and, in cases of dependent mother or father, or both, be entitled to compensation at the rates provided by the second paragraph of section 5 of the Act of July 19, 1939 (53 Stat. 1070; 38 U. S. C. 472b), as amended."

SEC. 3. This Act shall be effective on and after the first day of the first calendar month following the date of its enactment.

[H. R. 3372, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To increase the rates of compensation for service-connected disability or death payable under the laws and regulations administered by the Veterans' Administration, and to provide for the adjustment of such rates on the basis of the cost of living in the United States

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the monthly rates of compensation for service-connected disability or death payable on the effective date of this Act under part I and part II of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), and under the World War Veterans' Act of 1924, are hereby increased by 10 per centum.

SEC. 2. Each person who is entitled to receive compensation for service-connected disability or death under part I or part II of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), or under the World War Veterans' Act, 1924, shall, from and after the effective date of this Act, be entitled to receive the increased compensation provided by the first section of this Act plus additional benefits at a rate per annum equal to 1 per centum of the amount of such increased compensation for each point by which, during any six-month period provided for in section 3, the average level of the Consumers' Price Index (published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor), computed in accordance with section 5, exceeds 100. The additional benefits to which any person is entitled under this section on account of any one-point advance in the average level of such index shall, subject to section 3, be payable only during the period that such advance is maintained. SEC. 3. Adjustments in the additional benefits payable to any person under section 2 shall be made on the basis of the reports of the Secretary of Labor provided for in section 5, and shall be made only at the expiration of the first six-month period after the date on which this Act takes effect, and at the expiration of each six-month period thereafter.

SEC. 4. In computing the additional benefits to which any person is entitled under section 2, one-half or any larger fraction of a point advance shall be considered as a one-point advance, and other fractions of a point advance shall be ignored.

SEC. 5. The Secretary of Labor shall, at the expiration of the first five-month period after the date on which this Act takes effect, and at the expiration of each six-month period thereafter, report to the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs on the average level of the Consumers' Price Index during the previous six-months. For the purposes of this Act, the base period for such index shall be January through June 1953, and the level of such index during the base period shall be expressed as 100.

SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect on the first day of the first month following the month in which it is enacted.

[H. R. 3503, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Veterans Regulation in order to eliminate the provision requiring that a payment from a burial association shall be deducted from the burial allowance to a veteran

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph II, of Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a), as amended, is amended (1) by striking out "burial association,' in that portion of the third sentence preceding the first proviso, and (2) by striking out all after "Provided further," in the second proviso through "And provided further," in the third proviso.

[H. R. 3916, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To facilitate the making of proof of service-connected disability in the case of certain veterans of World War I

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in any case where a veteran of World War I claims to have suffered a service-connected disability of which there is no official record, where the claimed disability is of a type which would have been discovered if an adequate physical examination had been given at the time of discharge from service, but such an examination was not given, and where the claim of disability is supported by one or more affidavits of an individual or individuals who served in the Armed Forces with the claimant, then, for the purposes of all laws and regulations granting rights, benefits, and privileges to veterans of World War I,

the claimant shall be conclusively presumed to have suffered the service-connected disability claimed by him. As used in this Act (1) the term "veteran of World War I" means an individual who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States during the period beginning April 6, 1917, and ending November 11, 1918, and who was honorably discharged from such service; and (2) the term "service-connected disability" means any injury, disease, or other disability which was incurred in or aggravated by service in the Armed Forces of the United States during the period beginning April 6, 1917, and ending November 11, 1918.

[H. R. 4608, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To provide for the payment of monetary benefits withheld from certain Veterans' Administration beneficiaries

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the last proviso only of Public Law Numbered 622, Seventy-ninth Congress, August 7, 1946, is hereby repealed.

[H. R. 4668, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To extend certain benefits to veterans who received a service-connected disability as a result of service in Germany during the occupation of Germany after World War I

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) for the purposes of paragraphs I and II of part I of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a); part IV of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a); Veterans Regulation Numbered 6 (a); Veterans Regulation Numbered 7 (a); Veterans Regulation Numbered 9 (a); and the Act entitled "An Act to provide increases of compensation for certain veterans with serviceconnected disabilities who have dependents", approved July 2, 1948, as amended. (38 U. S. C., secs. 740-741); in the case of a person who served in the active military service in Germany with the United States military forces during the occupation of Germany after World War I and prior to January 25, 1923, if while so serving such person suffered a disability resulting from personal injury or disease contracted in line of duty, or from aggravation of a preexisting injury or disease contracted or suffered in line of duty, when such disability was incurred in or aggravated by such service, such person shall be held and considered to be a veteran of World War I who suffered such disability during World War I.

(b) For the purposes of all other provisions of law administered by the Veterans' Administration the disability of such person shall be held and considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by active military service other than in a period of war service.

SEC. 2. This Act shall take effect on the first day of the first month which begins more than thirty days after the date on which this Act is enacted.

[H. R. 5012, 83d Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To establish a conclusive presumption of service-connection in certain cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis and multiple sclerosis

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of American in Congress assembled, That the third proviso in subparagraph (c) of paragraph I of part I of Veterans Regulation Numbered 1 (a), as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Provided further, That active pulmonary tuberculosis manifesting a 10 per centum degree of disability or more within three years from the date of separation from active service, or multiple sclerosis manifesting a 10 per centum degree of disability or more within two years from the date of separation from active service, shall be conclusively presumed to have been incurred in or aggravated by active service".