REASONS FOR DELAY IN UTILIZING FUNDS

Senator HILL. It has been nearly five months. Why has there been so much delay?

Mr. CARDWELL. There has been an effort to draw members to the committee from around the country. I cannot explain all of the delays that have occurred. There has been a problem of clearing them, obtaining their acceptance, limitations to serve, and so on. I checked on this just before I came over this morning and I was told by a member of the staff that they would have the committee appointed very shortly and the conference will be underway shortly.

Senator HILL. Will they utilize the funds we have given them, $200,000 altogether?

Mr. CALDWELL. I would be glad to examine that further and submit a statement for the record.

Senator HILL. Would you give us a statement as of today so we will know what this situation is?

(The statement follows:)

NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTER ON EDUCATION OF THE DEAF, $100,000

(1) The responsibility for the National Advisory Committee on Education of the Deaf has been assigned to the Assistant Secretary for Education, Francis Keppel. Specific operation of this program has been delegated to Philip H. Des Marais, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Educational Projects, with Mrs. Patricia G. Winalski as Executive Secretary of the Committee.

(2) The Secretary has selected the members of the Committee and their names will be announced shortly, following final processing.

(3) The first meeting of the Committee is tentatively scheduled to be held April 25-28, 1966.

(4) Staffs are in the process of preparing reports on programs for the deaf in all agencies of the Department of HEW for review by the Committee.

(5) The Committee will review and approve plans for the national conference at the April meeting.

(6) Of the $100,000 available for this activity in 1966, it is currently estimated that $40,000 will be obligated during this fiscal year. This amount includes minor costs related to planning for the National Conference on Education of the Deaf to be held early in fiscal year 1967. The 1967 budget estimate includes a request

for $100,000 for the National Advisory Committee.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION OF THE DEAF, $100,000

(1) Staff has prepared plans for the Conference to be presented to the National Advisory Committee on Education of the Deaf in April.

(2) Consultants and technical personnel have been designated and cleared to carry out these plans after they have been approved by the National Advisory Committee on Education of the Deaf.

(3) The funds available for the conference in fiscal year 1966 will not be obligated and will revert to the Treasury. For fiscal year 1967, however, a like amount is included within the budget and will be obligated early in the fiscal year in support of the conference which will be held during the summer.

SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

Senator HILL. We want to thank you very, very much.

We are recessed until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

(The hearings were recessed at 1:20 p.m. Monday, March 7, 1966, to convene at 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 8, 1966.)

60-302-66-25

AND WELFARE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1967

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 1966

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., in room 1318, New Senate Office Building, Hon. Lister Hill, chairman, presiding.

Present: Senators Hill, Byrd, Bartlett, Cotton, and Allott.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND
WELFARE

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION ADMINISTRATION

GRANTS FOR REHABILITATION SERVICES AND FACILITIES

STATEMENTS OF MISS MARY E. SWITZER, COMMISSIONER; ACCOMPANIED BY JOSEPH HUNT, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, PROGRAM SERVICES; JAMES F. GARRETT, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, RESEARCH AND TRAINING; SAMUEL E. MARTZ, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, MANAGEMENT SERVICES; CHARLES F. KEARNEY, ACTING CHIEF, BUDGET AND FISCAL OPERATIONS; AND JAMES B. CARDWELL, DEPARTMENT BUDGET OFFICER

APPROPRIATIONS, BUDGET ESTIMATES, AND CHANGES

Senator HILL. The subcommittee will kindly come to order. Miss Switzer, we are very happy to have you back with us this morning. We welcome you and we will be glad to have you proceed in your own way. I shall insert at the outset of your remarks a tabulation showing by item the 1966 appropriations, the budget estimates for fiscal year 1967, and the changes.

(The table follows:)

Comparative statement of the appropriations for fiscal year 1966, and the estimates for fiscal year 1967—Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

In addition the following request for program costs in 1966 under existing legislation is anticipated in the President's budget and not reflected above:

Grants for rehabilitation services and facilities..

$39, 000, 000

APPROPRIATION ESTIMATE

"GRANTS [TO STATES] FOR REHABILITATION SERVICES AND FACILITIES "[For grants to States in accordance with the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, as amended, $124,000,000 of which $121,000,000 is for vocational rehabilitation services under section 2 of said Act; and $3,000,000 is for extension and improvement projects under section 3 of said Act: Provided, That allotments under section 2 of said Act to the States for the current fiscal year shall be made on the basis of $200,000,000, and this amount shall be considered the sum available for allotments under such section for such fiscal year: Provided further, That addiitional allotments, not exceeding $1,400,000 in the aggregate, for grants under section 2 of said Act may be made, in accordance with regulations of the Secretary, to States in which the Federal share of the costs of rehabilitation services under such section exceeds their respective allotments from such $200,000,000 : Provided further, That the Secretary shall, within the limits of such allotments or additional allotments for grants under section 2 of said Act, allocate (or from time to time reallocate) among the States, in accordance with regulations, amounts not exceeding in the aggregate $5,000,000 which may be used only for paying the Federal share of expenditures for the establishment of workshops or rehabilitation facilities where the State funds used for such expenditures are derived from private contributions conditioned on use for a specified workshop or facility, and no part of the allotment or additional allotment to any State for grants under section 2 of said Act other than the allocation or reallocation to such State under this provisio may be so used: Provided further, That the allotment to any State under section 3(a)(1) of said Act shall be not less than $15,000.] For grants for rehabilitation services and facilities in accordance with the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, as amended, $259,060,000, of which $236,000,000 is for grants for vocational rehabilitation services under section 2; $3,000,000 is for grants for innovation projects under section 3; $9,560,000, which shall remain available for the periods specified in section 4(a) (2), is for grants for planning for the development of comprehensive vocational rehabilitation programs and for planning, preparing for, and initiating special programs to expand vocational rehabilitation services under section 4(a)(2); $4,500,000, which shall remain available for the period specified in section 12(i), is for grants with respect to workshops and rehabilitation facilities under section 12; and $6,000,000 is for grants for workshop improvement activities under section 13: Provided, That the Secretary shall, within the limits of the allotments and additional allotments for grants under section 2 of such Act, allocate (or from time to time reallocate) among the States, in accordance with regulations, amounts not exceeding in the aggregate $5,000,000, which may be used only for paying the Federal share of expenditures for the establishment of workshops or rehabilitation facilities where the State funds used for such expenditures are derived from private contributions conditioned on use for a specified workshop or facility, and no part of the allotment or additional allotment to any State for grants under section 2 of said Act other than the allocation or reallocation to such State under this proviso may be so used: Provided further, That the allotment to any State under section 3(a)(1) of such Act shall be not less than $25,000.

"Grants to States, next succeeding fiscal year: For making, after May 31, of the current fiscal year, grants to States under section 2 and 3 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, as amended, for the first quarter of the next succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary, the obligations incurred and the expenditures made thereunder to be charged to the appropriation therefor for that fiscal year: Provided, That the payments made pursuant to this paragraph shall not exceed the amount paid to the States for the first quarter of the current fiscal

year.

"[For an additional amount for 'Grants to States', including grants to public and other nonprofit agencies, institutions and organizations, $8,310,000, of which $500,000 is for grants to States for vocational rehabilitation services under section 2 of said Act; $5,000,000, which shall remain available for the periods specified in section 1(3) of said Act, is for grants for planning for the development of comprehensive vocational rehabilitation programs, and for grants for planning. preparing for, and initiating special programs to expand vocational rehabilitation services, as authorized by section 4(a)(2) of said Act; $1,500,000, which

shall remain available for the period specified in section 14(i) of said Act, is for grants with respect to workshops and rehabilitation facilities as authorized by section 14 of said Act; and $1,310,000 is for grants to workshops for improvement projects under section 15 (b) of said Act: Provided, That this paragraph shall be effective only upon enactment into law of H.R. 8310, Eighty-ninth Congress, or similar legislation.]"

GRANTS FOR REHABILITATION SERVICES AND FACILITIES

EXPLANATION OF LANGUAGE CHANGE

The language change for this appropriation is required by the Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1965, which substantially increased the authorities of the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration. To accommodate these new provisions the entire body of the original language, with the exception of the proviso for making succeeding fiscal year section 2 and 3 grants in the current year, has been changed. The substance of these changes actually are reflected in the 1966 supplemental language, which is proposed for deletion at the end of the language pages.

The changes are as follows:

(1) The appropriation title has been changed from "Grants to States" to "Grants for Rehabilitation Services and Facilities" to reflect the broader scope of the programs financed from this appropriation. In addition to the basic support program, section 2, and the innovation program, section 3, (formerly extension and improvement), previously funded from this appropriation, the following programs will also be financed in fiscal year 1967: the expansion grant program and statewide planning grants, section 4(a)(2); the construction of rehabilitation facilities and workshops program, section 12; and the workshop improvement program, including training services grants, section 13.

(2) Reference to the amount authorized to be allotted to the States under section 2 has been deleted. This authorization is no longer required in the annual appropriation act since the VR amendments (Public Law 89-333) specify in section 1(2) the amounts authorized to be appropriated for each of the 3 fiscal years 1966, 1967, and 1968 and section 2 of the act further specifies that the amount authorized under section 1(2) shall be used to determine the allotment of funds to which each State is entitled each fiscal year.

(3) The proviso providing for additional allotments to States in which the Federal share of the costs of rehabilitation services under section 2 exceeds their respective allotment under the amount authorized to be distributed has been deleted. The fiscal year 1967 estimate does not provide for the matching of State funds in excess of the amounts required to earn their entitlement under the authorization.

(4) The title for section 3 grants has been changed from "Extension and Improvement" projects to "Innovation Projects" as specified in the new legislation. The objective of projects under this revised section is the development of methods or techniques which are new in the State for providing services, and to serve those who have catastrophic or particularily severe disabilities.

(5) Language has been inserted to provide for the new statewide planning grants and expansion projects authorized under section 4(a)(2). The objective of the statewide planning grants is to arrive at an organized statewide plan by which all disabled persons needing rehabilitation services can receive them by the year 1975. Expansion grants are available to both State agencies and nonprofit agencies, and the objective of these grants must be the rehabilitation and return to gainful employment of larger numbers of disabled individuals. Reference is made to the availability of funds for these programs as specified in section 4(a) (2); statewide planning funds are available until June 30, 1968; expansion funds are available until June 30, 1971.

(6) Language has been inserted to provide for the new programs for the construction and initial staffing of new workshops and facilities authorized under section 12. Reference is made to the availability of funds for these programs as specified in section 12(i). These funds are available until June 30, 1970. (7) Language has been inserted to provide for the new workshop improvement activities program authorized under section 13. This program provides for the expansion and improvement of sheltered workshops and for training service grants for handicapped persons in workshops and facilities.