CONTENTS Page Eco Statements of Corwin, Harold D., assistant legal counsel on legislation for the Retired Officers Association -- Foreign Wars. accompanied by William H. Baier, attorney for Board for the of the Board for the Correction of Naval Records---- mission, The American Legion --Tausig, John G.--- III coBoon 11 AUTHORIZING PAYMENT OF CLAIMS ARISING FROM CORRECTION OF MILITARY AND NAVAL RECORDS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1951 UNITED STATES SENATE, 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? [H. R. 1181, 820 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 or naval record where in their judgment such action is necessary to correct an error or remove an injustice, and corrections so made shall be final and conclusive on all officers of the Government except when procured by means of fraud : Provided, That procedures set up by the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force in accordance with this subsection shall be approved by the Secretary of Defense: Provided further, That no corrective action shall be taken under this subsection unless the request therefor be filed by claimant, his heirs at law, or legal representatives within three years after his or their discovery of the alleged error or injustice, or within ten years after the date of enactment of this Act, whichever be the later: Provided further, That the failure to file the request by claimant, his heirs at law, or legal representative, within three years after his or their discovery of the alleged error or injustice may be excused by such board of civilian officers or employees of the respective Departments upon finding by it that it is in the interest of justice to excuse such failure to file within the prescribed time in which event action shall be taken in the same manner as if the request had been filed within the three years as prescribed herein. "(b) The Department concerned is authorized to pay, out of applicable current appropriations, claims of any persons, their heirs at law or legal representatives as hereinafter provided, of amounts paid as fines, forfeitures, or for losses of pay (including retired or retirement pay), allowances, compensation, emoluments, or other monetary benefits, as the case may be, which are found to be due on account of military or naval service as a result of the action heretofore taken pursuant to section 207 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, or hereafter taken pursuant to subsection (a) of this section: Provided, That in the case of deceased persons where no demand is presented by a duly appointed legal representative of the estate, payments otherwise due hereunder shall be made to the decedent's widow, widower, legal heirs, or beneficiaries, in the order of precedence or succession as may be prescribed by the applicable provisions of law relating to the kind of payment involved and when not otherwise so provided, in the order of precedence as set forth in the Act of February 25, 1946 (60 Stat. 30), or as may be prescribed by the applicable provisions of law relating to the kind of payment involved. "(c) The acceptance by the claimant of any settlement made pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall constitute a complete release by the claimant of any claim against the United States on account of such correction of record. “(d) Applicable current appropriations shall be available for payment of such sums as may be due for continuing the pay (including retired or retirement pay), allowances, compensation, emoluments, and other monetary benefits to persons who shall have received payment pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section and who may be entitled to such continuing payments as a result of the correction of their military or naval records : Provided, That continuing payments are authorized to be made to such personnel for not more than one year following the date of the correction or one year following the date of enactment of this Act, whichever be the later, without the necessity of reenlistment, appointment, or reappointment to the grade, rank, or office to which such pay (including retired or retirement pay), allowances, compensation, emoluments, and other monetary benefits are attached, and such reenlistments, appointments, and reappointments are hereby authorized by the Secretary concerned without regard to other qualifications." SEC. 2. This Act shall be effective from and after August 2, 1946. RALPH R. ROBERTS, Clerk. Senator HUNT. Mr. Jackson, you may proceed, please. STATEMENT OF STEPHEN S. JACKSON, OFFICE OF COUNSEL, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE; ACCOMPANIED BY WILLIAM H. BAIER, ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD FOR THE CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS; AND C. M. WIGGIN, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE BOARD FOR THE CORRECTION OF NAVAL RECORDS Mr. JACKSON. My name is Stephen S. Jackson. I am of the Office of Counsel, of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense, which is recommending passage of this bill. AUTHORIZING PAYMENT OF CLAIMS My statement is addressed to the House bill in view of the fact that this was introduced in the House originally. There have been several changes which I believe are not reflected in the Senate bill. Senator HUNT. We are going to consider the House bill, Mr. Jackson, in lieu of the Senate bill. Mr. JACKSON. The Department of Defense recommends that this 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 enacted by the Senate. This proposal has been approved by the Bureau of the Budget and passed the House of Representatives July 2, 1951. . In August 1946, Congress gave to the Secretaries of the armed services and the Secretary of the Treasury—with respect to the Coast Guard-authority for the correction of military and naval records where such action is necessary to correct error or remove injustices. Some of these errors or injustices result in the deprivation of monetary benefits to the applicant. While the record can be corrected, the loss of monetary benefits cannot be corrected. A decision of the Comptroller General of the United States dated May 20, 1948, 270G709, held that, Neither section 207 nor other legislation vests in the head of the specified department or in this office any authority to order or direct the allowance or payment of any claim for money, or to use appropriated funds to pay any claim for money, based on corrections made on military or naval records of an individual under the authority of that section. H. R. 1181 would realistically implement the action taken in 1946 by amending section 207 so as to authorize the Department concerned to pay claims found to be due as a result of action taken pursuant to section 207 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. H. R. 1181 authorizes payment of benefits which have been found to be due in the past but which could not be paid because of the Comptroller General's opinion, as well as such claims in the future. When the original bill which the Department of Defense recommended was considered before the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives, three specific objections were interposed by the General Accounting Office. First, the lack of any time limitation in the bill. The Department of Defense was opposed to any time limitation but withdrew its opposition if the proviso set forth in the present act-page 2, lines 13 to 21—were adopted, whereby the boards would have authority to excuse compliance with the limitation in cases where an injustice would result to a member of the armed services who, for instance, because of injury in combat, capture, participation in combat or other exigencies or military service might render it impracticable for him to file his claim within the prescribed period. Second, the General Accounting Office objected to the original language making settlements final and conclusive. The Department of Defense yielded and accepted the language submitted by the General Accounting Office on this point. Third, the General Accounting Office objected to the language set forth in section 1 (d) of the original bill which provided that payments could be made without the necessity of reenlistment or appointment of the persons concerned, to the grade, rank, or office to which such pay or benefits are attached. The Department of Defense was |