(e) Section 11(a) is further amended by adding the following new paragraph: "(3) Vocational rehabilitation services also includes services provided in a sheltered workshop or rehabilitation facility but only to the extent that such services are appropriate resources in the community.'

(f) Section 11(h) of such Act is amended by inserting the numeral "(1)" after "except that", changing the period at the end thereof to a comma, and adding the following: "and (2) with respect to vocational rehabilitation services to the severely handicapped as designated for this purpose by the Secretary, the Federal share shall be 100 per centum for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1972, and succeeding fiscal years.'

GRANTS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND STAFFING OF REHABILITATION FACILITIES

SEC. 7. (a) Section 12(b) (2) of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act is amended by inserting after "relating to" and before "safety standards" the words "occupational health and”.

(b) Section 12(i) of such Act is amended by striking out the "and" where it appears before "$30,000,000" and inserting before the semicolon after "1972" the following: ", $30,000,000 for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1973, June 30, 1974, and June 30, 1975".

(c) Section 12(i) is further amended by striking "1974" and inserting in lieu thereof "1977".

REHABILITATION FACILITY IMPROVEMENT

SEC. 8. (a) Section 13(e) of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act is amended by inserting after "comply with" and before "safety standards" the words "occupational health and".

(b) Section 13 (f) of such Act is amended by striking out "and" where it appears before "$30,000,000" and inserting after "June 30, 1972," the following: "and $30,000,000 for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1973, June 30, 1974, and June 30, 1975,".

IMPROVEMENT OF VOCATIONAL EVALUATION AND WORK ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS FOR THE SEVERELY HANDICAPPED

SEC. 9. (a) Section 15(a)(2) of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act is amended by inserting after the comma following "1972" the following: "$100,000,000 for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1973, June 30, 1974, and June 30, 1975,".

(b) Section 15(c)(1) of such Act is amended by striking "(other than the State blind commission or other agency providing assistance or services to the adult blind)."

(c) Section 15(c)(3) of such Act is amended to read as follows:

"(3) Shows the plan, policies, and methods to be followed in providing services under the State evaluation and work adjustment plan and in its administration and supervision; specifies that all severely handicapped individuals shall be provided evaluation and work adjustment services prior to provision of similar services to disadvantaged individuals who are not severely handicapped; and, in case evaluation and work adjustment services cannot be provided all other individuals who apply for such services, shows the order to be followed in selecting those to whom evaluation and work adjustment services will be provided."

PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES

SEC. 10. The Vocational Rehabilitation Act is amended by renumbering sections 14 through 18 as sections 15 through 19 and inserting the following new section:

"ASSURANCE OF CONDITIONS AND BENEFITS OF EMPLOYMENT

"SEC. 14. It is hereby declared to be the policy and intent of Congress that workshops and rehabilitation facilities receiving grants or contracts under this Act for construction; renovation; staffing; use as a diagnostic, evaluation, or training facility; or for any other purpose authorized by this Act shall assure their employees, including handicapped individuals, the following:

"(1) Compliance with occupational health and safety standards prescribed by the Secretary of Labor;

"(2) Wages at rates not less than those prevailing for similar occupations in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor under section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act;

"(3) Coverage for old-age, survivors, disability, and health insurance benefits under titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act;

"(4) Coverage for unemployment compensation benefits under applicable State law, the Social Security Act, and the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970;

(5) Coverage for workmen's compensation benefits;

"(6) Participation in any retirement or pension plan;

"(7) Applicability of the provisions of 29 U.S.C. 401 (73 Stat. 519).”

REORGANIZATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE SEC. 11. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Health Education, and Welfare, shall not, on or after July 1, 1971, without prior approval of Congress, abolish or consolidate any board, bureau, division, service, office, officer, authority, administration or other establishment within his Department. Mr. BRADEMAS. The Select Subcommittee on Education will come to order.

We are meeting this morning for the purpose of considering legislation to extend and expand programs providing vocational rehabilitation service for disabled citizens.

As you are aware, the Vocational Rehabilitation Act expires on June 30, 1972. Almost 2 years ago those of us who are interested in the Vocational rehabilitation program joined together to mark its 50th anniversary. I think it is widely agreed in Congress that this has been one of the most effective and beneficial programs for many of the people of our country.

During the half century which has elapsed since President Woodrow Wilson signed the vocational rehabilitation into law, the program has grown and it has improved.

In the first year of operation only 523 people were rehabilitated. Last year alone over 291,000 people were rehabilitated.

The impact of the growth of this program on the life of our country is, therefore, most impressive. We are told that every thousand dollars spent by Federal and State agencies on the vocational rehabilitation of disabled citizens results in an increase of over $35,000 in that person's lifetime earnings.

These figures are even more significant, of course, when we consider the gain in dignity for the rehabilitated individual through the capacity to rely upon himself.

Several aspects of the vocational rehabilitation program have contributed to its success, among them the relationship it has enjoyed with Congress. Second, the working relationship between the Federal agency and its partner, the State rehabilitation agencies, and, third, the unique involvement of voluntary agencies as major suppliers of services for a publicly supported program.

Although the vocational rehabilitation program has been successful in the numbers of persons served and rehabilitated, and the effectiveness of the service and their delivery, none of us can fail to be aware of the unmet needs of handicapped persons. Present estimates show that nearly 7 to 10 million people need vocational rehabilitation service and approximately 500,000 new cases are added to this number annually.

Although we can be proud of the Federal-State program which did result in the rehabilitation of nearly 300,000 people for useful work last year, clearly we are not coming close to meeting the extraordinary needs of the remaining 10 million persons.

So, in our consideration this week of amendments to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, we shall be considering some significant changes in the program. I hope very much that after careful and conscientious study of the proposals that have been introduced, we shall be able to so amend the act that we can strengthen the program in a way in which Members of Congress and this committee of both parties can be proud.

I should say at this point, however, that I am distressed as we begin these hearings in the second session of this Congress that the administration has not yet produced its proposal to extend its significant program.

Because the vocational rehabilitation program has enjoyed such strong bipartisan support in the past, I hope the administration will join Congress in indicating support for meeting the needs of our handicapped citizens.

Now, the first witness before the subcommittee this morning is no stranger to the members of this subcommittee. He has been a friend of this committee for many years and for whom all members of our committee have very great respect.

I am very pleased to call to testify Mr. E. B. Whitten, the executive director of the National Rehabilitation Association.

Mr. Whitten, we are pleased to have you with us, sir.

STATEMENT OF E. B. WHITTEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL REHABILITATION ASSOCIATION, ACCOMPANIED BY DR. SAUL RICHMAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE REHABILITATION POLICY OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL REHABILITATION ASSOCIATION Mr. WHITTEN. Accompanying me this morning is Dr. Saul Richman, who is the chairman of the rehabilitation policy of the Committee of the National Rehabilitation Association and who is employed as director of program planning for the New York State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency.

Mr. Chairman, being a principal sponsor of the most comprehensive piece of legislature that is before you, that is H.R. 8395, we felt the necessity to prepare a rather lengthy and complete piece of testimony which you have before you.

We do not feel the necessity, however, of trying to read this entire statement, so we want to ask at this time that the entire statement, headed "Statement of the National Rehabilitation Association" be inserted in the record, also another document entitled the "Rehabilitation Act of 1971, What You Need To Know About It," a question and answer analysis of the bill, and, third, a table in which we have comparisons of the three pieces, or major pieces of legislatioTM that are before the committee.

Mr. BRADEMAS. Without objection, Mr. Whitten, those documents will be inserted in the record.

(The documents referred to follow:)

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL REHABILITATION ASSOCIATION

Mr. Chairman, the National Rehabilitation Association appreciates the opportunity to offer testimony before this Committee on proposals to amend the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Particularly, it appreciates the fact that the Committee has called hearings early in the year. This should make possible the

final passage of the legislation by June 30, at which time the appropriation authority for all titles of the Act expires. Members of this Committee have been most helpful in support of the rehabilitation movement, helping to see that a satisfactory legal basis exists for the various programs, and, also, helping to see that the legislation, once enacted, is funded.

IDENTIFICATION

The National Rehabilitation Association is an organization of 33,000 individuals and 600 organizations. Individual members are about equally divided between those who work in some aspect of rehabilitation programs and others who, although not employed in rehabilitation activities, are concerned as private citizens for the rehabilitation of handicapped people and demonstrate this concern through membership and participation in the Association. The professional membership includes large numbers of administrators, counselors, physicians, and smaller numbers of social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, speech and hearing pathologists, and other professionals active in rehabilitation. The National Rehabilitation Association was organized in 1925, a few years after the passage of the first Vocational Rehabilitation Act and has been in continuous existence since that time. Its purpose is quite simple: to do everything it can to see that physically and mentally impaired individuals are given the assistance they need to enable them to live independently, secure and hold remunerative employment, and become useful citizens in their states and communities. Although its concerns are broader than the programs supported under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, the National Rehabilitation Association looks upon the Vocational Rehabilitation Act and the programs operated thereunder as the backbone of the entire rehabilitation movement. The National Rehabilitation Association has presented testimony on all significant amendments to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act since the first Vocational Rehabilitation Act was passed.

JUSTIFICATION FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES

We realize that this Committee does not need any elaborate justification of vocational rehabilitation programs. A few sentences, however, may give perspective to consideration of the proposals before the Committee. Rehabilitation is a system of services which has been developed to help physically and mentally handicapped people whose needs cannot be met satisfactorily in the regular service systems developed to serve all of the people. For instance, educational programs designed to educate all the people do not educate all people equally well. Health programs designed to meet health needs of all people do not meet health needs of all equally well. Manpower programs designed to meet the employment needs of all the people cannot meet the needs of all individuals equally well. Prominent among the atypical individuals who cannot be served effectively in what we may call regular programs are the physically handicapped, the mentally retarded, and the emotionally ill, many of whom are economically and culturally deprived as well as being physically or mentally handicapped. Although we certainly expect the programs of health, education, welfare, and manpower to improve their ability to meet the needs of those who apply for their services, we cannot visualize a time when the special needs of physically and mentally handicapped people will not require special programs designed to meet their particular needs. Programs under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act are among the most important which Congress has designed to meet these needs.

STATUS OF STATE-FEDERAL VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAM

The last hearings on vocational rehabilitation legislation were held in 1968. Since that time, the state-federal program of vocational rehabilitation has continued to expand in numbers of people served, numbers of people rehabilitated, and in the depth of services being provided. Statistical reports of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare will testify to this expansion. It will be noted, for instance, that the proportion of individuals served by the vocational rehabilitation agencies who are mentally ill and mentally retarded have been increasing rapidly, until they now constitute as much as 50% of the entire case load. Despite this marked progress, it must be pointed out that the expansion of the program toward the goals which Congress seemed to have in mind in 1968 has been slowed down perceptively by inadequate financing. Beginning in 1970, the Administration has been recommending, and Congress has been accepting, amendments to

the Act in the annual appropriation bills which establish allotment bases lower than those mandated in the law. For instance, the allotment base for the current fiscal year is $600 million, while the amount mandated in the law for the current year is $700 million.

The program really would have been in a straight jacket in 1972 had it not been for the fact that the House of Representatives amended the 1972 appropriation act on the floor to provide for an increase which permitted a modest growth of the programs in 1972. Members of this Committee of both parties were active in supporting this amendment. The state-federal vocational rehabilitation program is in a generally healthy condition, but the pressures for services are terrific, and many needy individuals are being denied services or are being required to wait for services because of the inadequate resources of the vocational rehabilitation agencies.

STATUS OF RESEARCH AND TRAINING PROGRAM

Research and training programs are in a crisis situation. The Administration recommended in the 1972 budget sharp decreases in both of these programs. Although Congress, in the amendment referred to above, restored the funds to the 1971 level, a high degree of uncertainty prevails in training and research institutions. Although OMB has released all research and training funds that were appropriated, HEW has not made all of the sums appropriated available to research and training institutions, resulting in a backlog of applications, both new and for continuations. It is said that the spending of some of these funds awaits a final approval of long overdue new strategies for research and training.

STATUS OF REHABILITATION FACILITY PROGRAMS

Congress, following the recommendations of the Administration, has virtually stopped appropriating funds for construction and staffing of rehabilitation facilities under Section 12 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. The small sums appropriated during the last two or three years have been applied, almost exclusively, to the development of a very few facilities which are of particular interest to certain members of Congress. Funds have been insufficient for any nationwide effort to meet the rehabilitation facility needs. Funds, although inadequate, continue to be appropriated for rehabilitation facility improvement, facility training grants, and technical assistance.

The 1968 legislation contemplated the establishment of a nationwide program of vocational evaluation and work adjustment services, such services to be administered by the state vocational rehabilitation agencies but to be made available to the clientele of other agencies. This was recognized by many individuals as landmark legislation. In the last year of the previous Administration, a small appropriation was requested of Congress to begin this program. The current Administration withdrew this request without any official explanation and has never recommended any funding for this program, which is authorized in Section 15 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. The National Rehabilitation Association still feels that adequate funding of this section will contribute greatly to increased effectiveness not only of vocational rehabilitation agency programs but programs operated by other agencies, whose clients need these particular kinds of services.

THE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION ACT OF 1971

The remainder of this statement will relate principally to the provisions of HR 8395, entitled "The Rehabilitation Act of 1971", which was introduced by the chairman of the Committee for himself and twenty-four other Committee members. It will be noted that this proposal takes the form of a new Vocational Rehabilitation Act. The bill, as worded, would be the Vocational Rehabilitation Act in its entirety, if the proposed amendments should be adopted. In drafting the legislation, the provisions have been regrouped in such a way that all the programs of grants to the states are included in one title, the special responsibilities of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in another, new categorical programs in a third, etc. This arrangement of the provisions of the bill is far more logical, and we believe it will contribute to a better understanding of the legislation. The proposal also includes a declaration of purpose, which has not appeared heretofore in the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. At this point, Mr. Chairman, I would like to request that there be inserted into the hearings two documents, one entitled "A Brief Explanation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1971", which is a