Page Interior Department cemeteries. (See Cemeteries and memorials: Interior.) Jewish War Veterans of the United States, Bergen County (N.J.) Council, Joelson, Hon. Charles S., statement_. Johnson, Hon. Lyndon B., President of the United States, message_ Los Angles County (Calif.), Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: Kelly, Norman J., director, statement_. 3427 Moreno Valley (Calif.) Chamber of Commerce, letter and resolution__ 3424, 3425 3081-3088 Raether, Howard C., executive secretary, letter--- 3374, 3375 New Jersey Veterans Cemetery Committee: Samelsberger, Joseph A., tem- 3365-3374 Nolan, Robert W. (See Fleet Reserve Association.) North, Thomas, Maj. Gen., U.S. Army (retired.) (See American Battle O'Brien, Philip F. (See Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A., Inc.) 3064, 3065 "1967 Edition of Funeral Service Facts and Figures," a publication of Na- 3377, 3379-3422 Retired Officers Association: Chapman, James W., Col., U.S. Air Force Samelsberger, Joseph A. (See New Jersey Veterans Cemetery Committee.) Saylor, Hon. John P., letters and statements submitted to Special Subcom- mittee on Cemeteries and Burial Benefits_. Schadeberg, Hon. Henry C., statement___ Schweiker, Hon. Richard S., statement.. Chairman. (See Teague, Hon. Olin E.) 2980-2984 Investigative authority, House Resolution 1031, House debate Staats, Elmer B. (See Comptroller General of the United States.) State laws, ordinance, and regulations pertaining to disposition of dead Stover, Francis W. (See Veterans of Foreign Wars.) Teague, Hon. Olin E. 2975, 2985, 2991, 2994-2997, 3001, 3003, 3081-3085, 3087, 3088, 3093-3097, 3099, 3104, 3105, 3108-3110, 3159 Tunney, Hon. John V., letter and statement.. U.S. Veterans' Advisory Commission, Recommendation No. 26- United Veterans Council of Philadelphia, statement and letter- Driver, William J., Administrator of Veterans' Affairs- 3161-3181 3180, 3181 Reports on bills considered_____. Richers, George J., member, recommendation____ Stover, Francis W., Director, National Legisaltive Service.. Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A., Inc.: O'Brien, Philip F., National Walker, Hon. E. S. Johnny, letter and statement-. Wardle, Donald L., Col. U.S. Army. (See Defense Department: Army) 3013-3015 3005-3011 ADMINISTRATION OF CEMETERIES TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1968 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE ON CEMETERIES AND BURIAL BENEFITS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 362, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Olin E. Teague (chairman of the subcommittee and the full committee) presiding. Mr. TEAGUE of Texas. The committee will come to order. Before we begin this morning, I want to say that Members of Congress who have introduced bills related to cemeteries have been advised of these hearings and have been invited to submit statements for the record. Without objection, a list of bills and statements received from authors of bills will be inserted in the record at the conclusion of today's hearing. Such other statements and material pertinent to these hearings as may become available prior to the printing of these hearings will be inserted in the record at an appropriate point. I ask that the message of the President of January 30, 1968, entitled "Our Pride and Our Strength: America's Servicemen and Veterans," be included at this point in the record, and following that, excerpts from the Congressional Record of March 14, 1968, containing the debate of the House on House Resolution 1031, and recommendation No. 26 of the U.S. Veterans' Advisory Commission. (The information referred to follows:) OUR PRIDE AND OUR STRENGTH: AMERICA'S SERVICEMEN AND VETERANS To the Congress of the United States Looking beyond the tragedy of war, Abraham Lincoln saw a nation's obligation "to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan." His words are enshrined in the spirit of this country's concern for its veterans and servicemen. American holds some of its greatest honors for the men who have stood in its defense, and kept alive its freedoms. It shows its gratitude not only in memorials which grace city parks and courthouse squares across the land-but more meaningfully in the programs which "care for him . . . and for his widow and his orphan." OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS SO FAR As the result of legislation over the past several years, today's veteran can continue his education through a new GI Bill of Rights, which right now is helping 400,000 men and women. He can buy a home with a Veterans Administration-insured mortgage. Over 200.000 veterans have purchased houses because of this provision. If he receives a pension, his increased payments now can afford him a better standard of living. If he is disabled, or needs special medical care, he is eligible for the same benefits his fellowmen of earlier conflicts received. FISCAL YEAR 1969 VETERANS BUDGET In the Fiscal 1969 Budget, we will have budget outlays of $7.3 billion to provide services for America's 26 million veterans and their families, who make up 46 percent of the nation's population. With these funds, we can continue the programs already in existence, and begin the new ones I will outline in this Message. BASIC BENEFITS Two programs to extend the basic benefits to America's veterans and servicemen are left on the unfinished agenda of the 90th Congress. In my 1967 Message on America's Servicemen and Veterans, I proposed measures to: Increase Servicemen's Group Life Insurance from a maximum of $10,000 to a minimum of $12,000—with higher amounts scaled to the pay of the serviceman, up to a maximum of $30,000. Protect the veteran against disproportionate pension losses that could result from increases in other income such as Social Security. I once again-once more-urge the Congress to enact these proposals. Now, to continue and bring up-to-date our efforts to help the veteran and his family, I recommend two new legislative proposals. First, I ask the Congress to increase the maximum guarantee on GI home loans from $7,500 to $10,000. Home mortgage guarantees under the GI Bill normally cover about 35 percent of the value of a loan. For eighteen years, that guarantee has remained at $7,000-adequate in 1950, but no longer so in today's housing market. The increase I am recommending will help the veteran to purchase a decent home and get the financing protection which the law promises him. Since World War II, with encouragement of the Government and supported by GI Bill gurantees, some $68 billion have been loaned by the private sector to homebuying veterans. This suggests the beneficial impact the program has had on our economy. But its meaning reaches deeper into the traditional values of American life. Almost 7 million veterans-many of them of modest means and some without even the money for a down payment-have experienced the satisfaction of home ownership through this program. Second, I propose that the benefits of Vocational Rehabilitation be extended to service-disabled veterans being trained on a part-time as well as full-time basis. Presently, a disabled veteran can take Vocational Rehabilitation and receive a training allowance only if he trains full-time. This restriction may present him with a hard choice: either leave his job for training, or forego the training itself. Clearly, that choice is unfair. The disabled veteran should be able to keep his job while he prepares for a better one through vocational training, drawing the allowance it provides. THE QUALITY OF ADMINISTRATION The purpose of our veterans program is to serve those who have served us. That purpose can be blunted unless the quality of program administration keeps pace with the growth of our veteran population. Last year, almost three quarters of a million servicemen and women returned to civilian life. This year, that number will increase to over 850,000. The ultimate effectiveness of our programs turns on these conditions: He must be able to choose among them. He must know that the help he needs will be there when he needs it. We have tried to make certain that men leaving the service become familiar with the benefits that await them as veterans. |