AUTHORIZING PAYMENT OF CLAIMS ARISING FROM HEARING BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE - COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES EIGHTY-SECOND CONGRESS ON H. R. 1181 AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 207 OF THE LEGISLATIVE SEPTEMBER 17, 1951 Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services HRT 21 CONTENTS Statements of- Corwin, Harold D., assistant legal counsel on legislation for the Page 8 Downer, Adin M., assistant legislative counsel for the Veterans of Jackson, Stephen S., Office of Counsel, Office of Secretary of Defense, accompanied by William H. Baier, attorney for Board for the Correction of Naval Records, and C. M. Wiggin, executive secretary of the Board for the Correction of Naval Records.. Johnson, Charles E., legislative attorney, General Accounting Office AUTHORIZING PAYMENT OF CLAIMS ARISING FROM CORRECTION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL RECORDS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1951 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a. m., in Room 212, Senate Office Building (Senator Lester C. Hunt, chairman, and Senator Flanders). Present: Senators Hunt (presiding) and Flanders. Also present: Senator Harry P. Cain and William H. Darden, committee clerk. Senator HUNT. The committee will come to order. This subcommittee was appointed by Chairman Russell to consider H. R. 1181, to amend section 207 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 so as to authorize the payment of claims arising from the correction of military or naval records. H. R. 1181 will be considered in lieu of S. 308, the companion bill in the Senate. Section 207 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 authorized the correction of military and naval records by the Secretaries of the Armed Services through boards of civilian officers or employees of their respective departments, where such action was. necessary to correct errors or remove injustices. The Comptroller General has held that this section does not authorize the payment of any claim for money that is based on corrections of military or naval records by the board set up for that purpose. This bill would authorize the payment that would have been due if the error or injustice had not existed originally. Our first witness this morning is Mr. Steve S. Jackson, from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. May I ask whether this bill has passed the House? Mr. DARDEN. Yes, sir. Senator HUNT. Do you remember the vote? Mr. DARDEN. It was on the calendar. (H. R. 1181, is as follows:) [H. R. 1181, 82d Cong., 1st sess.] AN ACT To amend section 207 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 so as to authorize payment of claims arising from the correction of military or naval records Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 207 of the Act of August 2, 1946 (60 Stat. 812), is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 207. (a) The Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force and the Secretary of the Treasury (with respect to the Coast Guard), respectively, under procedures set up by them, and acting through boards of civilian officers or employees of their respective Departments, are authorized to correct any military 1 |