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282

Income, annual, by source and percentage:

All pensioners, calendar year 1961-

280

Pensioners under Public Law 86-211, calendar year 1961,
comparison with study of new claims, week of August
14-18, 1961-

281

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1962-2040, with average, by length of service..

Deaths, projected, by war, fiscal years 1956-2000--

Veterans on pension rolls, by entitlement under Public Law 86-211
and prior pension laws, World War I and other wars, with pen-
sion payment and income range, May 20, 1962..

202

285-286

Pensions-Continued

Page

287-289

Statistical tables-Continued
Widows and children on pension rolls, by entitlement under
Public Law 86-211 and prior pension laws, World War I and
other wars, with pension payment and income range, May 20,
1962_
World War I deceased veteran cases, number on compensation
and pension rolls, monthly payments, type of beneficiary,
average age of widows, number in foreign countries, by fiscal
years, 1950-1962 _ _

World War I veterans, total in civil life, on compensation or pen-
sion rolls, age, monthly payments, protected awards, number
in foreign countries, by fiscal year, 1950-62 – –

Poissant, W. A. (See Veterans' Administration.)
Roberts, Hon. Ray.
Saylor, Hon. John P.

293

292

178, 179, 328
164, 167,

172, 173, 323, 324, 325, 327-330, 332, 336-338, 358, 359, 394-403

Schadeberg, Hon. Henry C.

Stancil, J. W. (See Veterans' Administration.)

Teague, Hon. Olin E.

169,

Engle, Dr. H. M., Acting Chief Medical Director__

170, 173, 179, 180, 182, 183

Fable, Robert C., Jr., General Counsel--
164, 320, 321, 322

Farmer, A. W., Director, Compensation and Pension Service--

Gleason, John S., Jr., Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.

141,

143-147, 164, 167-185, 192-195, 197, 198, 294, 296, 297, 309–320,
322-330, 332, 333, 336-338, 358, 359, 361, 362, 367-371, 377-382,
392-396, 398-403, 406.

Poissant, W. A., Chief Actuary, Department of Insurance-

Stancil, J. W., Chairman, Board of Veterans' Appeals.

World War I veterans, benefits provided for (see also Pensions: Statistical
tables)--

292-293

VA LEGISLATIVE POLICY-ADMINISTRATOR OF

VETERANS' AFFAIRS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 1963

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS,

Washington, D.C.

The committee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 356, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Olin E. Teague (chairman of the committee) presiding.

Mr. TEAGUE of Texas. The committee will come to order.

We have with us this morning Mr. John Gleason, Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, and I think a good part of the Veterans' Administration.

STATEMENT OF JOHN S. GLEASON, JR., ADMINISTRATOR, ACCOMPANIED BY W. J. DRIVER, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR; A. H. MONK, ASSOCIATE DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR; DR. H. M. ENGLE, ACTING CHIEF MEDICAL DIRECTOR; AND ROBERT C. FABLE, JR., ACTING GENERAL COUNSEL

Mr. GLEASON. Yes, sir.

Mr. TEAGUE of Texas. We have asked the Administrator to discuss nursing homes and related types of care, pensions, judicial review, insurance, compensation, peacetime G.I. bill, and an overall general discussion on the whole of VA policies, and tell us the position of the Administration on each of these different programs. If you look at his statement, it is, I would hope, a rather complete statement, and from the looks of it, it is. It is divided into sections. I would like to suggest to the committee that we go through it section by section, and after we go through one section, we have questions on that section and proceed through the statement in that way.

Mr. Administrator, it is good to have you with us. I think this is the first time you have been before the full committee, isn't it? Mr. GLEASON. Yes, sir, that is correct.

Mr. TEAGUE of Texas. You have had a long honeymoon. I hope

you have enjoyed it.

Mr. GLEASON. I hope it isn't over.

Mr. TEAGUE of Texas. All right, sir. Go right ahead.

(The letter of the chairman of February 20, 1963, to the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs follows:)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS, Washington, February 20, 1963.

Mr. JOHN S. GLEASON, JR.,

Administrator of Veterans Affairs,

Veterans' Administration, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. GLEASON: The committee is planning a hearing in a few weeks for the purpose of discussing major legislative proposals which are pending before the

committee. A mutually convenient date can be selected sometime during the latter part of March. We would like to have you appear before the committee to discuss veterans' programs and changes which have been proposed.

It is the purpose of this letter to suggest the areas of discussion. I will set out below some areas for discussion and indicate questions which will be of interest. I believe that a good approach would be for you to prepare a statement covering the subject matter outlined below, which you could read to the committee. Committee members would be given an opportunity to ask questions on each major subject area. Subjects for discussion are:

1. Intermediate or nursing care to be provided certain veterans with chronic conditions: I am appointing a special subcommittee on this subject and it is our intention to develop a program of intermediate or nursing care for elderly veterans. Quite a number of bills are pending before the committee now; however, H.R. 224 contains several proposals. We will be particularly interested in having you discuss the following:

(a) What steps can be taken to place into service immediately 1,000 unused beds in the VA system devoted to intermediate or nursing care. This plan contemplates the use of existing VA facilities and does not anticipate construction of new facilities. It is recognized that additional staffing and, in some instances, additional equipment would be necessary.

(b) The raising of the aid and attendance allowance to a level which would be sufficient to provide care in a private nursing home in most areas of the country. (This subject will be mentioned under the heading of non-serviceconnected pensions since any raise in the aid and attendance allowance would probably come through amendment to Public Law 86-211.)

(c) Revision of the formula for subsidy to State soldiers' homes to include payment of the subsidy for those individuals receiving nursing and hospital care and a program of matching funds for capital improvements by State homes to provide additional hospital and nursing home facilities.

(d) A program for the furnishing of all or part of the drug cost incurred by aid and attendance veterans.

2. Non-service-connected pensions: The committee has approximately 66 pension bills pending before it. About one-third of these are identical to H.R. 2332. About 10 are similar to H.R. 3745 of the last Congress. About a dozen are general $100 per month pension bills and the remainder propose various changes in existing law. The major proposals advocated by various organizations are H.R. 33, H.R. 1927 and H.R. 2332. Several weeks ago I requested a report and cost estimates on these bills. It is hoped that by the date of these hearings tentative cost estimates are available and you will be in a position to discuss these proposals and outline the position of the VA with regard to them.

The Veterans' Affairs Committee and the VA have made extensive studies of the operation of Public Law 86-211, with particular emphasis on the failure of several hundred thousand veterans and widows to elect the higher benefits of Public Law 86-211. These findings have been either ignored or rejected by certain veteran groups. The findings of VA in this regard should be reviewed.

You will probably be questioned as to the general policy of VA with regard to changes in the non-service-connected pension program.

3. Service-connected compensation legislation: There is a wide variety of specialized legislation pending on this subject. However, the bills being advocated by various groups, which would result in considerable expenditures, are those which propose the payment of a dependency allowance to those veterans with dependents who are receiving compensation less than 50 percent. There are also proposals pending which would, if enacted, result in revising the rating schedule to create a mathematical relationship 10 percent through 100 percent in compensation payments. H.R. 2582, sponsored by one of the organizations, embodies this proposal and the dependency allowance below 50 percent proposal. Will you please be prepared to comment on the cost of these proposals and state a position for the VA.

4. Survivor benefits: The President in his budget message recommended increases in compensation for dependent parents and surviving children. We have pending H.R. 211 and the report filed by VA indicates that this bill is acceptable to the administration and carries out the recommendations of the President. This bill does not provide for increases in compensation for surviving widows. There is pending before the Armed Services Committee a military pay proposal, recommended by the administration. If this is enacted, widows would receive an increase depending on the rank of their deceased husband. Would you please analyze the increases for widows which would result from enactment of the military

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