"I believe that Navy medical care in general
will warrant high level command attention," Secretary
Claytor added, "and the Chief of Naval Operations, the
Surgeon General and I are confident that with the

action we are taking the quality of medical care

for the Department of the Navy will improve in the
months and years ahead."

- usn

Mr. WHITE. If there is no further business, the subcommittee is adjourned.

[Whereupon, at 3:30 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned, to reconvene at 9:30 a.m., Thursday, October 13, 1977.]

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES,

MILITARY PERSONNEL. SUBCOMMITTEE,

Washington, D.C., Thursday, October 13, 1977.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 9:30 a.m., in room 2212, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Richard C. White (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Mr. WHITE. The subcommittee will come to order.

We continue our hearings on health care today with testimony from Dr. Smith, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, whom we trust is prepared to offer departmental views on various items of legislation before the subcommittee.

Also, in view of the testimony received yesterday by the subcommittee on the situation at the naval hospital in Oakland we hope to get into an exchange with the Secretary on that problem since it appears that the shortcomings at Oakland are not distinct but somewhat common among military hospitals in general.

That conclusion has been supported by recent staff visits to Army, Navy, and Air Force installations. Accordingly, Mr. Secretary, we hope you will help us in gaining more insight into the health care problems and what solutions may be possible for the cooperation of all concerned.

We will take a short recess at this point.

[A brief recess was taken.]

Mr. WHITE. Dr. Smith, would you like to proceed?

STATEMENT OF DR. ROBERT N. SMITH, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR HEALTH AFFAIRS

Dr. SMITH. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I am Dr. Robert Smith, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. I thank you for the opportunity to appear again before this committee and provide supplemental information to assist you in your deliberations on the military health care system.

I have with me Gen. Benjamin Baker who is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Resources and Programs on my left and Col. John L. Lee, U.S. Air Force, Acting Chief, Personnel Division, Office of Air Force Reserve on my right. Sitting behind me is Mr. Joe Rhea who is Director of the CHAMPUS program and is the Director of the CHAMPUS office in Denver.

I have a copy of the statement that I am about to make. I am prepared to use that statement or I have a briefer statement. The difference between the two is that I do not discuss the position, where we have no position I do not discuss the bills in the summary statement. In the longer statement the bill is mentioned, but only the purpose of the bill and then a statement to the effect that the Defense Department has no position on the bill.

I believe in the interest of time, sir, and where I can present an official position, that it would be timesaving to use the summary state

ment.

Mr. WHITE. Without objection your entire statement will be placed in the record, Dr. Smith.

Dr. SMITH. All right, sir.

I am prepared to discuss the following bills which have received a final Department of Defense position and are cleared by the Office of OMB: H.R. 96 and H.R. 4020 which are identical, H.R. 992, H.R. 2079, H.R. 2328, H.R. 3894, and H.R. 4540. The following bills have not achieved complete Department of Defense coordination or are awaiting approval by the Office of Management and Budget. They are: H.R. 572 and similar bills, 589, 1186, 2470, 2667, and 3805. Also, H.R. 748, H.R. 780, H.R. 4952, H.R. 5129 and similar bills, 7066, 7113, 7195. Continuing: H.R. 6038, H.R. 8551, H.R. 8552, H.R. 8553, H.R. 8248, H.R. 8258, and H.R. 8647.

In addition there is defense bill 95-87, which is undergoing coordination, dealing with the profile payments for CHAMPUS. There is no official position on these bills, but I am prepared to discuss them at your convenience after I finish my statement.

I will briefly report on those Defense Department-approved bills now before the committee.

H.R. 96 and H.R. 4020, which are identical, a bill to amend title. 10 and 32, United States Code, to authorize additional medical and dental care and other related benefits for reservists and members of the National Guard, under certain conditions, and for other purposes. The Department of Defense believes it would not be appropriate to oppose or to endorse such legislation until it has been studied along with the other items of the total compensation system, and the findings and recommendations of that study are available.

Next, H.R. 992, a bill to amend title 10 of the United States Code, in order to provide former members and their dependents medical and dental care in uniformed services facilities during the 60-day period after discharge or separation and to make such persons eligible for post exchange and commissary privileges during such 60-day period. The Department of Defense is opposed to this bill due to the fact that it gives people being separated from the services higher priority of care than retired members.

Next, H.R. 2079, a bill to repeal a restriction on the availability of health care under the Civilian Health Care and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services, the CHAMPUS program, as set forth in section 742 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1977. The Department of Defense is opposed to this bill as the present provision insures maximum utilizaton of existing uniformed services medical facilities.

H.R. 2328, a bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to remove, the restrictions on the use of certain private institutions under the dependents' medical care program, and for other purposes. The Department of Defense supports enactment of H.R. 2328 as it will improve the CHAMPUS program with a minimum increase in budgetary requirements.

H.R. 3894, a bill to amend title 10, the United States Code, in order to establish an Optometry Corps in the Army and Navy and to provide

a separate optometric service within the Air Force. The Department of Defense is strongly opposed to this bill and recommends that no action be taken on it.

H.R. 4540, a bill to amend title 10, United States Code, so as to provide that the Chief of the Biomedical Sciences Corps of the Air Force, shall be a brigadier general, and for other purposes. The Department of Defense opposes enactment of this bill and agrees with the Air Force that the existing manning and review boards are a better means to establish and review general officer requirements providing a flexibility that is unavailable in legislated positions.

On those bills which I mentioned before that there is not a clear position, I will furnish the committee an approved report in the near report,

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I thank you for the opportunity to appear before this subcommittee. I will be happy to answer the questions that you may have.