44 HBP 31 Mar, 54 Baier, William H., professional assistant, Bureau of Supplies and Dwyer, Maj. William J., Office of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1, Department of the Army, with respect to S. 2247---- Kraabel, T. O., director, National Rehabilitation Commission, the MISCELLANEOUS BILLS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1954 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee (composed of Senators Duff, Cooper, and Symington) met, pursuant to call, at 9 a. m., in room 212, Senate Office Building, Senator James H. Du presiding. Present: Senators Duff (chairman), and Symington. Also present: William H. Baier, assistant professional assistant, Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, Navy Department; John F. Victory, Director, National Advisor Committee for Aeronautics; Brig. Gen. H. B. Powell, G. S. G-1; Col. F. Galloway, Director, WAC; Col. P. Gray, Director, WAF. William Darden of the committee staff. Senator DUFF. This subcommittee was appointed by Chairman Saltonstall to consider several bills that come within the general category of pay and administration. Without objection, the letter by which the subcommittee was appointed will be inserted in the record at this point. (The letter referred to is as follows:) Hon. JAMES H. DUFF, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. JANUARY 14, 1954. DEAR SENATOR DUFF: The committee has pending before it a number of bills which, although not proposals which will require extensive hearings, should nevertheless be disposed of either favorably or unfavorably as promptly as orderly procedure will permit. I am therefore requesting that you serve as chairman of a subcommittee consisting of yourself, Senator Cooper, and Senator Symington, to undertake consideration of the bills listed on the accompanying calendar. Mr. Darden, of our staff, has prepared these bills for hearings and will assist the subcommittee as directed. The volume of business before the committee makes it necessary to appoint additional subcommittees, and a limited amount of dual membership, as well as duplication of staff assignment, is thus unavoidable. In order to keep schedule conflicts to a minimum, subcommittee chairmen are requested to keep in mind the two regularly scheduled weekly meetings listed below: Wednesday mornings, Real Estate Subcommittee. Thursday mornings, full committee. Sincerely yours, LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, Chairman. Senator DUFF. The committee members have before them a committee print that contains the language of the bills on this agenda, together with a compilation of materials and staff comments with respect to each bill. 1 Some of these bills are routine while others are somewhat more complex and involve matters of policy. In order that we may concentrate our time on those bills that require more careful scrutiny, the Chair would suggest that we have a member of the professional staff present the highlights on all of these bills to the subcommittee. Departmental witnesses are standing by to provide additional information on those bills if the subcommittee members desire to explore them in greater detail. As each bill is presented, we will insert a copy of the bill in the record, in addition to the departmental prepared statements with respect to the bills. A few witnesses have requested permission to appear in connection with two other pending bills, and I believe it would be desirable for us to defer action on the bills on which there will be outside testimony until that part of the meeting when we have had an opportunity to discuss the others on which there is no desire to testify. A BILL To validate certain payments for accrued leave made to members of the Armed Forces who accepted discharges for the purpose of immediate reenlistment for an indefinite period Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a), notwithstanding the provisions of section 4 (c) of the Armed Forces Leave Act of 1946, as amended (37 U. S. C. 33 (c)), any payments for accrued leave heretofore erroneously made to any member of the Armed Forces who was discharged after August 31, 1946, for the purpose of immediate reenlistment for an indefinite period are hereby validated. (b) In any case in which any member or former member of the Armed Forces of the United States has received any erroneous payment which is validated by subsection (a) of this section and has been required to repay to the United States all or a portion of such erroneous payment, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to such member or former member, or in the event he is deceased, to the person entitled to receive his arrears of pay in accordance with the Act of June 30, 1906, as amended (10 U. S. C. 868), a sum equal to any amount so repaid which has not been refunded to him. (c) The Comptroller General of the United States is hereby authorized and directed to allow credit in the accounts of disbursing officers for any payment validated by this Act. Senator DUFF. Mr. Darden, will you proceed? Mr. DARDEN. Mr. Chairman, the first bill is S. 22 which appears on page 1 of the committee print. This bill was introduced by Senator McCarran in January of 1953 and is recommended by the Department of Defense and without objection from the Bureau of the Budget. The bill proposes to validate certain payments for accrued leave that were erroneously made to members of the Army who were discharged for the purpose of entering into an indefinite enlistment. Public Law 128 of the 80th Congress authorized indefinite enlistments by members of the Armed Forces and this bill placed members of the first three pay grades of the Army in a status comparable to that of officers, but in order to enter upon these indefinite enlistments they had to be discharged from the enlistments in which they were then serving. The Army erroneously paid them at the time of the discharge the leave that they had accrued. If it had not been paid, it could have been carried forward to the new enlistment, and the result was that even though the payments were erroneous as a matter of law, the persons to whom they were made were available for duty at later dates when they otherwise would have been on official leave. A bill identical to this was favorably reported by this committee in the 82d Congress, but the Congress adjourned before there was an opportunity for its consideration by the House committee, and in reporting on that bill in the 82d Congress, the Comptroller General, of the United States advised the committee chairman that there was no apparent loss to the Government involved in the enactment of this bill. Senator SYMINGTON. How much money is involved? Mr. DARDEN. Senator Symington, $10,772.70, of which some $2,437.86 has been collected from the persons to whom it was paid, $6,346.85 has not been collected, although erroneously paid, and notices of exceptions from the disbursing officers' accounts were made in payments involving $1,987.99. Senator SYMINGTON. Would the money that has been paid have to be paid back? Mr. DARDEN. This bill would authorize that to be paid back, and the ones that had not paid it back, to keep it. Senator DUFF. Any other questions? Senator SYMINGTON. No, sir. Senator DUFF. Proceed with the next bill. That is S. 897. S. 897 Mr. DARDEN. The next bill, sir, is S. 897 on page 4 of the committee. print, which was introduced by Senator Johnson of Colorado. (S. 897 follows:) [S. 897, 83d Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To extend the time for making application for terminal-leave pay under the Armed Forces Leave Act of 1946, as amended Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 5 of the Armed Forces Leave Act of 1946, as amended, is amended by striking out "June 30, 1951" wherever it appears in such section and inserting in lieu thereof "June 30, 1954". Mr. DARDEN. The Navy Department reported on the bill for the Department of Defense and advised that it has no objection to the enactment of this bill. Its purpose is to extend the period of grace within which members of the Armed Forces may apply for payments in lieu of unused leave. The terminal leave concept was abolished at the end of World War II, and the Armed Forces Leave Act of 1946 authorized payments in lieu of the leave that normally would be taken in a terminal leave status. The original authority for these payments was enacted in 1946 and had a cutoff of September 1, 1947. This cutoff date has twice been extended and the last terminal date was June 30, 1951. Senator DUFF. This bill is an exact duplicate of the other bills that took care of the other cutoff dates? Mr. DARDEN. Yes, sir: it is. Senator DUFF. And no money would be necessary for this? Mr. DARDEN. That is my understanding, sir. |