SUBCOMMITTEE NO. 3 CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3365, TO AUTHORIZE THE CREDITING OF CERTAIN SERVICE FOR PURPOSE OF RETIRED PAY FOR NONREGULAR SERVICE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES,
SUBCOMMITTEE No. 3,

Washington, D.C., February 19, 1959.

The subcommittee met, at 2 p.m., Hon. L. Mendel Rivers (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Mr. RIVERS. I will ask the committee to come to order.

Off the record.

(Further statement off the record.)

Mr. RIVERS. On the record.

The bill scheduled for consideration this afternoon is H.R. 3365. (H.R. 3365 is as follows:)

[H.R. 3365, 86th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To authorize the crediting of certain service for purpose of retired pay for nonregular service, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That title 10, United States Code, is amended as follows:

(1) Section 1332(a) (1) is amended

(a) by inserting the following new clause after clause (C):

"(D) the National Guard after June 14, 1933, if his service therein was continuous during the period beginning on the date of his enlistment in the National Guard, or his Federal recognition as an officer therein, and ending on the day before the date of his enlistment or appointment, as the case may be, in the National Guard of the United States, the Army National Guard of the United States, or the Air National Guard of the United States;";

(b) by redesignating clauses (D), (E), and (F) as clauses “(E)", “(F)”, and "(G)", respectively; and

(c) by striking out the word "and" at the end of clauses (E) and (F) and adding the following new clauses:

"(H) the Army Nurse Corps, the Navy Nurse Corps, the Nurse Corps Reserve of the Army, or the Nurse Corps Rerserve of the Navy, as it existed at any time after February 2, 1901;

"(I) the Army under an appointment under the Act of December 22, 1942 (ch. 805, 56 Stat. 1072), or the Act of June 22, 1944 (ch. 272, 58 Stat. 324); and

"(J) an active full-time status, except as a student or apprentice, with the Medical Deparetment of the Army as a civilian employee

"(i) in the dietetic or physical therapy categories, if the service was performed after April 6, 1917, and before April 1, 1943; or "(ii) in the occupational therapy category, if the service was performed before appointment in the Army Nurse Corps or the Women's Medical Specialist Corps and before January 1, 1949, or before appointment in the Air Force before January 1, 1949, with a view to designation as an Air Force nurse or medical specialist; and".

(2) Section 1332(a) is amended by adding the following sentence at the end thereof: "For the purpose of clauses (A), (B), and (C), service in the National Guard shall be treated as if it were service in a reserve component, if the person concerned was later appointed in the National Guard of the United States, the Army National Guard of the United States, the Air National Guard of the United States, or as a Reserve of the Army or the Air Force, and served con(431)

34066-59-No. 8 -1

tinuously in the National Guard during the period beginning on the date of his Federal recognition and ending on the day before the date of that appointment."

(3) Section 1332 (b) is amended by striking out clause (6) and inserting the following clauses in place thereof:

"(6) Service as an inactive Reserve nurse of the Army Nurse Corps established by the Act of February 2, 1901 (ch. 192, 31 Stat. 753), as amended, and service before July 1, 1938, as an inactive Reserve nurse of the Navy Nurse Corps established by the Act of May 13, 1908 (ch. 166, 35 Stat. 146).

"(7) Service in any status other than that as commissioned officer, warrant officer, nurse, flight officer, appointed aviation cadet, or enlisted member, and that described in subsection (a) (1) (J).”.

(4) Section 3683 (4) is amended to read as follows:

"(4) all active full-time service, except as a student or apprentice, with the Medical Department of the Army as a civilian employee

"(A) in the dietetic or physical therapy categories, if the service was performed after April 6, 1917, and before April 1, 1943; or

"(B) in the occupational therapy category, if the service was performed before appointment in the Army Nurse Corps or the Women's Medical Specialist Corps and before January 1, 1949."

(5) Section 3926 is amended by adding the following new subsection at the end thereof:

"(d) For the purpose of determining whether a commissioned officer of the Army Nurse Corps or the Army Medical Specialist Corps may be retired under section 3911 of this title, all service computed under section 3683 of this title shall be treated as if it were service as a commissioned officer.".

(6) Section 6324 is amended by striking out the words "an officer" and inserting the words "a regular officer or a reserve officer" in place thereof. (7) Section 8683 (4) is amended to read as follows:

"(4) all active full-time service, except as a student or apprentice, with the Medical Department of the Army as a civilian employee—

"(A) in the dietetic or physical therapy categories, if the service was performed after April 6, 1917, and before April 1, 1943: or

“(B) in the occupational therapy category, if the service was performed before appointment in the Army Nurse Corps or the Women's Medical Specialist Corps and before January 1, 1949, or before appointment in the Air Force before January 1, 1949, with a view to designation as an Air Force nurse or medical specialist."

(8) Section 8926 is amended by adding the following new subsection at the end thereof:

"(d) For the purpose of determining whether an Air Force nurse or medical specialist may be retired under section 8911 of this title, all service computed under section 8683 of this title shall be treated as if it were service as a commissioned officer.".

SEC. 2. All appointments made after December 6, 1941, in the Army of the United States without component under the joint resolution of September 22, 1941 (ch. 414, 55 Stat. 728), that were not earlier terminated by administrative action or specific provision of law may be considered for all purposes to have continued in effect until the close of March 31, 1953.

SEC. 3. This Act does not deprive any person of any service credit to which he was entitled on the day before the effective date of this Act.

SEC. 4. Any person who, on the effective date of this Act, would not have completed 18 years of service for which he is entitled to credit in the computation of his basic pay under the laws in effect prior to the effective date of this Act. and who, as a result of the enactment of this Act, is credited with more than 17 · years of such service, shall be allowed twelve months from the effective date of this Act to make the election provided by section 1431(b) of title 10, United States Code, notwithstanding the requirement of the second sentence of that section.

Mr. RIVERS. This bill, which was sponsored by the Department of Defense, and approved by the Bureau of the Budget, has as its main purpose the recognition of certain service as service which can be considered by Reserve personnel for purposes of retirement under title III of Public Law 810, 80th Congress. As you know, title III

of Public Law 810 provides retirement benefits for the Reserve personnel at age 60.

In addition, the bill would recognize for purposes of voluntary retirement from active duty the service performed by nurses and medical specialists in the Armed Forces prior to the time they were given commissioned officer status in 1947.

Finally, the bill will validate the appointments of officers appointed in the Army of the United States without component for the period

between 1948 and 1953.

As a matter of information to new members on this subcommittee, I understand that this subcommittee had previously considered the general subject matter of this bill during the second session of the 84th Congress. At that time H.R. 2035, which was generally concerned with the same subject matter, was reported favorably by the full Armed Services Committee, and subsequently passed the House. However, the other body failed to take action in respect to it.

Our first witness will be a representative of the Navy Department, who will be speaking in behalf of the Department of Defense. That is Commander Porter, isn't it?

Mr. SLATINSHEK. Commander Porter.

Mr. RIVERS. Commander Porter, would you come up, please sir. Commander Porter, you go right ahead and give us what this bill

does.

Commander PORTER. Aye, aye sir.

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear here to recommend the enactment of H.R. 3365 in order to remove existing discriminations in the types of service creditable for retirement purposes which appear to have been the result of unintentional omissions in the present law. I shall discuss the provisions of the bill which pertain to Navy personnel, and Army representatives will testify regarding the portion of the bill applicable to the Army.

Section 302 of the Army and Air Force Vitalization and Retirement Equalization Act of 1948 (Public Law 810, 80th Cong), limits the service creditable for retirement to service in the status of a commissioned officer, warrant officer, flight officer, or enlisted person. Because of statutory technicalities which I will describe for each of the categories affected, this language does not permit credit for service as a naval aviation cadet under an appointment made prior to the Naval Aviation Cadet Act of 1942 or for service as a Navy nurse prior to the Army-Navy Nurses Act of 1947. In each case, service which is factually similar is creditable under the law for regular retirement. Candidates were appointed as aviation cadets in the Naval Reserve under the act of April 15, 1935. Upon completion of their training, they remained aviation cadets on active duty for 3 years. It was not until this time that they were appointed commissioned officers in the Naval Reserve. Until then they had neither enlisted nor officer status. They were cadets. Therefore, the period they served as cadets cannot be credited for retirement under the present wording of Public Law 810. The Naval Aviation Act of 1942 provided that the aviation. cadet of the Naval Reserve would have enlisted status. Thus, the cadet enlisted since September 1942 receives credit toward retirement for the period served as a cadet. Also, aviation cadets of the Air Force have always had enlisted status and they receive credit for their

service as a cadet. The proposed legislation would permit mémbers of the Reserve components who performed active duty as appointed aviation cadets to count that service for retirement purposes under Public Law 810. A further inequity between the Regular and Reserve has resulted from ComGen Decision B-95802, April 1953, which allows cadet time prior to 1942 to be counted for Regular naval personnel, or for Reserves retiring under regular 20-year laws, but not under Public Law 810.

Until the passage of the Army-Navy Nurses Act of 1947, nurses had neither officer nor enlisted status. Therefore, the present wording of section 1332 (b) of title 10, United States Code, does not permit the crediting of service performed by Reserve nurses prior to 1947. The proposed legislation would authorize crediting the nurse of the Reserve components for the same type of service for which the Regular nurse receives credit. This could be accomplished by amending section 1332, title 10, United States Code, as proposed by this bill.

I shall be glad to answer any questions with respect to the Navy sections in this legislation.

Mr. RIVERS. I notice the Ramseyer analysis of this thing, of this bill, giving us the existing law and the proposed changes that would be affected by this proposed legislation is set out here very well by Mr. Slatinshek. I notice that most of your testimony seemed to have to do with cadets and nurses.

Commander PORTER. Yes, sir; because that is about all that the Navy end of it is concerned with.

Mr. RIVERS. I see.

Commander PORTER. Now the Army and the Air Force are going to cover the National Guard time, physiotherapists, and that kind of thing.

Mr. RIVERS. I see. I thought you were going to carry the ball for the whole business.

Commander PORTER. No, sir. I was instructed to carry the ball for the Navy; sir.

Mr. RIVERS. I see.

Commander PORTER. And then to have the Army go ahead.

Mr. RIVERS. The only thing that affects you in the Navy, then, is the nurses and the cadets; is that right?

Commander PORTER. That is true.

Mr. RIVERS. Is that true?

Commander PORTER. That is true, sir.

Mr. SLATINSHEK. That is correct, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. RIVERS. Are there any questions?

Mr. PHILBIN. Mr. Chairman.

Mr. RIVERS. Yes.

Mr. PHILBIN. You count the service at the Naval Academy for purposes of retirement?

Commander PORTER. No, sir.

Mr. PHILBIN. You don't count that at all. Why don't you count

that?

Mr. RIVERS. They have been trying to get that under the law for goodness knows how long.

Mr. PHILBIN. Why should that be excluded?

Commander PORTER. It apparently has been the intent of Congress not to count that time; sir.

Mr. PHILBIN. I don't know. I have been on this committee for a long time, and I never heard such an intent expressed around here. Mr. RIVERS. Congressman Cole, who took the atomic energy, had a bill. We had long hearings on it. The Department of Defense sent up here, under the Kilday committee, Brigadier General Maddox, Harold Maddox, if you gentlemen remember that. They didn't look with favor upon it.

Mr. PHILBIN. The committee never had hearings on it.

Mr. BRAY. If the gentleman will yield, I don't think we ever had a discussion on it.

Mr. RIVERS. No, I don't think so.

Mr. BRAY. As I recall, they didn't want to go that far.

Mr. RIVERS. We explored it very fully, and I don't recall just exactly what the committee did. I don't think the committee voted on it. They just held hearings. I don't know what happened. I wasn't chairman.

Mr. PHILBIN. Do you know whether the time at the Military Academy is counted for retirement?

Commander PORTER. It is not; sir.

Mr. PHILBIN. It is not. So apparently there is no discrimination between them.

Mr. RIVERS. Oh, no.

Commander PORTER. No, sir. This is just an attempt to count for the Reserves the same type of time that can now be counted for Regulars. It is an attempt to equalize the opportunities for counting this time.

Mr. PHILBIN. This bill applies only to Reserves?

Commander PORTER. Yes, sir.

Mr. RIVERS. That is right.

Commander PORTER. Because the Regulars can now count this time. Mr. WAMPLER. Mr. Chairman.

Mr. RIVERS. Yes, sir.

Mr. WAMPLER. Does this count, like the OCS-ROC programs? Are they included in such or excluded?

Commander PORTER. Well, they are not specifically excluded. They are not included.

Mr. WAMPLER. As the NROTC, being the same way, as not being included?

Commander PORTER. That is right; yes, sir. The only two types of time we want to include here are Nurse Corps time before nurses were given commissioned status, and cadet time before they were given enlisted status.

Mr. WAMPLER. Why aren't you interested in this other being included along with that at this time?

Commander PORTER. Well, principally because we are trying to equalize between Reserves and Regulars. We are trying to correct an existing inequity, rather than add something new.

Currently, if an aviation cadet, commissioned, we will say, about 1942, before September 1942, were to be integrated into the Regular Navy, he could count that time spent as a cadet, that 3 years before 1952. But if he were to remain a Reserve officer and try to count that as a Federal service and retire under Public Law 810, he couldn't do it. Which doesn't seem fair.