COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE JOHN BELL WILLIAMS, Mississippi SAMUEL N. FRIEDEL, Maryland JOHN JARMAN, Oklahoma LEO W. O'BRIEN, New York JOHN E. MOSS, California JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan PAUL G. ROGERS, Florida ROBERT W. HEMPHILL, South Carolina HORACE R. KORNEGAY, North Carolina GILLIS W. LONG, Louisiana LIONEL VAN DEERLIN, California JOHN B. BENNETT, Michigan J. ARTHUR YOUNGER, California ANCHER NELSEN, Minnesota HASTINGS KEITH, Massachusetts Bureau of the Budget on H.R. 2108 and H.R. 3873_ Commerce Department on H.R. 2108___ Health, Education, and Welfare Department on H.R. 3873_ Clark, Earl W., codirector, Labor-Management Maritime Committee, AFL-CIO Maritime Committee, and American Merchant Marine Institute__ Edelman, Sidney, Assistant Chief, Public Health Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.. Ellenbogen, Theodore, Deputy Chief, Legislation Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Health, Education, and Wel- Finnegan, David, attorney, Legislative Division, Department of the 122222 Hansen, Hon. Julia Butler, a Representative in Congress from the Miller, Dr. Mryon D., Chief, Division of Hospitals, Public Health Service, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.. Pelly, Hon. Thomas M., a Representative in Congress from the State Wedin, John H., secretary, Committee for Restoration of Marine Westland, Hon. Jack, a Representative in Congress from the State of 16 Additional information submitted for the record by American Medical Association, letter from Dr. F. J. L. Blasingame.. Bassett, Mrs. Robert, letter from Fishing Vessel Owners Association, telegram from.... Letter from Wilbur J. Cohen, Assistant Secretary, transmitting Medical care for seamen and certain other persons, from the Opinions from Office of General Counsel dated October 12, 1951. October 30, 1951. December 29, 1953. October 25, 1954... Interior Department, letter from Robert M. Paul, Deputy Assistant Woolfey, Lloyd, telegram from.... MEDICAL CARE FOR SELF-EMPLOYED SEAMEN MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1963 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to call, in room 1334, Longworth Building, Hon. Kenneth A. Roberts (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. ROBERTS. The subcommittee will please come to order. We are holding hearings today on six bills: H.R. 2108, introduced by our colleague, Mr. Rivers of Ålaska; H.R. 2669, introduced by our colleague, Mrs. Hansen; H.R. 3338, introduced by our colleague, Mr. Pelly, a former member of this committee; H.R. 3873, introduced by our colleague, Mr. Pike; H.R. 7002, introduced by our colleague, Mr. McIntire; and S. 978, a bill which has passed the other body. These bills are designed to restore to owner-operators of small vessels the right to public health service which they enjoyed prior to an administrative ruling of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, in 1954, which interpreted sections 2(h) and 322 of the Public Health Service Act as not authorizing such services for such owner-operators. The purpose of the bills is to remove an inequity in present practices by amending the act to include certain self-employed seamen among those who have the privilege of receiving medical care in Public Health Service hospitals. At this point in the record, the text of the bills and the agency reports thereon will be inserted. (The bills and reports follow :) [H.R. 2108, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide medical care for certain persons engaged on board a vessel in the care, preservation, or navigation of such vessel Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 2(h) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 (h)) is amended by striking out "any person employed on board" and inserting in lieu thereof "any person employed or engaged on board." SEC. 2. Section 322(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 249 (a)(1)) is amended by inserting immediately after "employed" the following: "or engaged". 1 [H.R. 2669, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide medical care for certain persons engaged on board a vessel in the care, preservation, or navigation of such vessel Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 2 (h) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 (h)) is amended by striking out "any person employed on board" and inserting in lieu thereof “any person employed or engaged on board”. SEC. 2. Section 322 (a) (1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 249 (a) (1)) is amended by inserting immediately after “employed” the following: “or engaged”. [H.R. 3338, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide medical care for certain persons engaged on board a vessel in the care, preservation, or navigation of such vessel Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 2 (h) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201(h)) is amended by striking out "any person employed on board" and inserting in lieu thereof "any person employed or self-employed on board". SEC. 2. Section 322(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 249 (a)(1)) is amended by inserting immediately after "employed" the following: "or self-employed". [H.R. 3873, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend section 322 of the Public Health Service Act to permit certain owners of fishing boats to receive medical care and hospitalization without charge at hospitals of the Public Health Service Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsection (a) of section 322 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 249) is amended by striking out "and" at the end of paragraph (6), by striking out the period at the end of paragraph (7) and inserting in lieu thereof "; and", and by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph: "(8) Persons who own vessels registered, enrolled, or licensed under the maritime laws of the United States, who are engaged in commercial fishing operations, and who accompany such vessels on such fishing operations, and a substantial part of whose services in connection with such fishing operations are comparable to services performed by seamen employed on such vessel or on vessels engaged in similar operations." [H.R. 7002, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide medical care for certain persons engaged on board a vessel in the care, preservation, or navigation of such vessel Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsection (h) of section 2 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 (h)) is amended to read as follows: “(h) The term ‘seaman' includes any person employed or self-employed on board in the care, preservation, or navigation of any vessel, or in the service, on board, of those engaged in such care, preservation, or navigation;”. SEC. 2. Section 322 (a) (1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 249 (a) (1)) is amended by inserting immediately after the word "employed" the following: "or selfemployed". [S. 978, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] AN ACT To provide medical care for certain persons engaged on board a vessel in the care, preservation, or navigation of such vessel Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsection (h) of section 2 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 (h)) is amended to read as follows: "(h) The term 'seamen' includes any person employed or self-employed on board in the care, preservation, or navigation of any vessel, or in the service, on board, of those engaged in such care, preservation, or navigation;". |