78TH CONGRESS 2d Session

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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REPORT No. 1240

PENSIONS AND COMPENSATION TO CERTAIN PERSONS RECEIVING RETIRED PAY

MARCH 7, 1944.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. MARTIN of Iowa, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 771]

The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 771) to provide for payment of pensions and compensation to certain persons who are receiving retired pay, having considered the same, submit the following report thereon, with the recommendation that it do pass with the following amendment:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

That any person who is receiving pay pursuant to any provision of law relating to the retirement of persons in the regular military or naval service, and who would be eligible to receive pension or compensation under the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration if he were not receiving such retired pay, shall be entitled to receive such pension or compensation upon the filing by such person with the department by which such retired pay is paid of a waiver of so much of his retired pay and allowances as is equal in amount to such pension or compensation. To prevent duplication of payments, the department with which any such waiver is filed shall notify the Veterans' Administration of the receipt of such waiver, the amount waived, and the effective date of the reduction in retired pay.

The purpose of this bill is to permit any person who is receiving retired pay pursuant to any provision of law relating to the retirement of persons in the regular military or naval service, and who would be eligible to receive pension or compensation under the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, if he were not receiving such retired pay, to receive such pension or compensation by filing a waiver of so much of his retired pay and allowances as is equal in amount to such pension or compensation.

It is the view of your committee that the bill as passed by the Senate would not operate to fully accomplish its purpose.

As

amended in the Senate, the bill would require a waiver of all retired pay of the person concerned in order for him to receive pension. Your committee feels that a person entitled to receive pension should be authorized to receive such pension, and in addition thereto any difference between the amount of his retired pay and pension in cases where the retired pay exceeds the amount of the pension. There follows a letter from the War Department concerning the proposed measure:

Hon. ROBERT R. REYNOLDS,

Chairman, Committee on Military Affairs,

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., May 17, 1943.

United States Senate.

DEAR SENATOR REYNOLDS: The War Department has no objection to the enactment of S. 771, Seventy-eighth Congress, a bill to provide for payment of pensions and compensation to certain persons who are receiving retired pay, provided it is amended along the lines hereinafter indicated so as to remove the possibility of discrimination and to simplify its administration.

The purpose of this bill is to permit any person who is receiving retired pay pursuant to any provision of law relating to the retirement of persons in the regular military or naval service, and who would be eligible to receive pension or compensation under the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, if he were not receiving such retired pay, to receive such pension or compensation by filing a waiver of so much of his retired pay and allowances as is equal in amount to such pension or compensation.

The laws administered by the Veterans' Administration provide pensions on account of service-connected wartime disabilities at rates ranging from $10 to $250 per month depending upon the nature and extent of the disability, whereas monthly payments of retired pay in the lower grades are not in as large amounts as are provided by the pension laws in some instances.

Section 4 of Public Law 140, Seventy-seventh Congress, approved June 30, 1941, an act to provide for the discharge or retirement of enlisted men of the Regular Army and of the Philippine Scouts in certain cases (55 Stat. 395), quoted below, authorizes for retired enlisted men what S. 771 purports to authorize for other persons receiving retired pay pursuant to any provision of law relating to the retirement of persons in the regular military or naval service:

"SEC. 4. Where an enlisted man placed on the retired list under this Act or under any provision of law would be eligible to receive pension or compensation under the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, if he were not receiving retired pay, he may waive receipt of retired pay and allowances for the purpose of receiving such pension or compensation; and thereafter such retired enlisted man may waive receipt of such pension or compensation for the purpose of receiving retired pay and allowances. To prevent concurrent payments, when waiver of receipt of retired pay and allowances for the purpose of receiving pension or compensation is filed in the War Department that Department shall notify the Veterans' Administration of the receipt of such waiver and the effective date of the stoppage of retired pay and allowances. Similar report to the War Department shall be rendered by the Veterans' Administration, when waiver of receipt of pension or compensation is filed in the Veterans' Administration for the purpose of receiving retired pay and allowances."

Thus retired enlisted men are granted authority to waive retired pay (or pension or compensation) so as to receive pension or compensation (or retired pay). The War Department has no objection to the extension of such authorization to all military personnel. However, the language of the bill appears to relate to Regular Army and Navy personnel exclusively.

If further consideration is to be given to the bill it is suggested that it be amended to read as follows:

"That where any person authorized to receive military or naval retired pay in accordance with any provision of law would be eligible to receive pension or compensation under the laws administered by the Veterans' Administration, if he were not on the retired list in the case of Regular Army or Regular Navy personnel, or if he were not in receipt of retired pay in the case of other Army or Navy personnel, he may waive receipt of retired pay and allowances for the purpose of receiving such pension or compensation; and thereafter such person

may waive receipt of such pension or compensation for the purpose of receiving retired pay and allowances. of receipt of retired pay and allowances for the purpose of receiving pension or To prevent concurrent payments, when waiver compensation is filed in the War Department or the Navy Department, the Department concerned shall notify the Veterans' Administration of the receipt of such waiver and the effective date of the stoppage of retired pay and allowances. Similar report to the War or Navy Department shall be rendered by the Veterans' Administration, when waiver of receipt of pension or compensation is filed in the Veterans' Administration for the purpose of receiving retired pay and allowances."

It is not possible to estimate the cost of this legislative proposal if it should be enacted into law, as there are so many unknown factors. However, it is thought that it would affect relatively few cases.

The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report.

Sincerely yours,