As introduced, it permits the Secretaries of the respective Departments to make payments for the benefit of the individual concerned when a duly constituted board of medical officers has surveyed the case and decided he is in fact mentally incompetent or as the result of a cerebral hemorrhage or other paralysis is physically incapable of signing the necessary papers, and so on.

The bill is, as I say, a departmental bill, has the approval of the Bureau of the Budget.

In the House of Representatives, when an identical bill was considered, they made three amendments to their bill and then reported it to the House. It is presently on the calendar of the House.

That bill differs in three particulars from the bill which we are considering here in the Senate. If the committee decides to enact the legislation, it is suggested that we may desire to consider the three amendments in the House bill, adopt the same ones in the interest of having uniform legislation in both Houses.

In the amendments made by the House they simply provide that the board of medical officers include one person who is specially trained in mental disorders.

It further provides as a second amendment that in the event the amount involved exceeds $1,000, there be an appropriate bond put up by the person designated by the Secretary.

In addition to that, no matter what the amount is, the Secretary shall be given proper assurances that any funds paid will be used completely for the benefit of the mentally incompetent person.

As originally introduced there is strong language that a determination by the Secretary or Government officials would be final in all cases. That covers the question of sanity itself. The House amendment was to make the determination as to payments final, but to leave the question of sanity up to further study or court action, if the case required it.

Senator BYRD. Are there any questions?

Senator SALTONSTALL. Mr. Chairman, how does this work out with the laws of the various States? Assume, for instance, one of these people is in a mental hospital in Massachusetts. Presumably, it would be a Federal hospital, but it might be a State hospital. Does this cover the State laws?

Mr. CHAMBERS. There is nothing in this measure and I am reading from the letter of the Secretary of Defense on this matter—which would preclude the appointment of legal representatives.

Moreover, where a proper committee, guardian, or other legal representative has been appointed, payments would be made to them and not to any person designated solely by the head of the department concerned.

In other words, they are not attempting to change or interfere with any local laws on the matter, but they are setting up a procedure where within the scope of the local laws expeditious action could be taken.

Senator KEFAUVER. What is the factual situation that makes this necessary? Has there been some delay on the part of States in doing something about these cases?

Mr. CHAMBERS. Mr. Chairman, I understand from the information I have that there have been many cases where there has been considerable delay-a month, 2 months, 4 months-in getting guardians

appointed, so that payments could be made for the use of the incompetent person.

This would permit a more expeditious handling. However, I believe Captain McDill, of the Navy, was formerly in charge of this for the Navy, and he can probably give us further information.

STATEMENT OF CAPT. A. S. McDILL, JUDGE ADVOCATE
GENERAL'S OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

Captain MCDILL. Cases are not frequent, but from time to time we do have a paymaster who has to pay somebody a small sum of money, and before he can handle the money, he must find an appointed guardian or committee. This procedure would allow the Secretary to investigate the situation and make the appointment solely for purposes of clearing up the pay account.

Senator KEFAUVER. You do not think you might run into situations where the State may refuse to appoint a guardian on the theory that the services would take care of it themselves?

Captain MCDILL. We do not anticipate that because the civil process is always available to the individual and there often is other property which requires a civil court-appointed guardian.

Senator KEFAUVER. How about personnel out of the country? Captain MCDILL. That is one distinct advantage to this bill, sir. There are sometimes incompetents outside of the country, and due to delays in return to the United States, it is advantageous, in order to have the payments continue in the absence of allotments, to have the Secretary appoint a guardian.

Senator KEFAUVER. What if you made payments under the provisions of this bill and the State proceedings should follow and you get into a conflict of claims? How will the interests of the Government be protected?

Captain McDILL. The bill provides that the payment of amounts would be final up to a point that the court-appointed guardian was presented to the Secretary, at which time the State-appointed guardian would take over.

Senator KEFAUVER. That is all, Mr. Chairman.

Senator SALTONSTALL. I move we report the House version of the bill, the bill as amended.

Senator KEFAUVER. You agree with the House amendment?
Mr. CHAMBERS. That is correct, sir.

There is one other point, Mr. Chairman.

We have received from the representatives of the osteopaths association a proposed amendment which would permit an osteopath to serve on this board which passes on the competency of the individuals.

The American Osteopathic Association presented this amendment to the House, where it was not adopted. However, since that time they have received a letter from Mr. Vinson stating they had not completely understood all the facts in the case and that in the event the Senate saw fit to accept such an amendment, they would be perfectly willing to accept it in the House.

The amendment that would be necessary would change the words "doctors of medicine" to "medical officers," which would bring the osteopaths into the purview of the act.

Now, Mr. Gourley, who is legal counsel of the American Osteopathic Association, is here if the committee desires to hear from him.

Senator BYRD. Would the committee desire further information? Senator KEFAUVER. What if we got into passing different bills in the two Houses? Is there a likelihood that no bill will be passed? Mr. CHAMBERS. Mr. Vinson has indicated they would accept that amendment. I have seen that letter which Mr. Gourley has in his possession.

Senator KEFAUVER. Doctors of medicine-what else does that include besides osteopaths?

Mr. CHAMBERS. That is a point, sir, which I will have to get some advice on from Captain McDill.

Would that expand coverage to include any other than osteopaths? Senator KEFAUVER. Would it include chiropractors?

Captain McDILL. I do not believe the services have such medical men in service now. In the case of the osteopaths, I understand the Federal Security Administrator and the Public Health Service have some medical officers who are doctors of osteopathy. The Navy has none. If the language of the bill were changed from "three doctors of medicine" to "three medical officers," that term is all-inclusive and covers all services, and it is a term well understood, and "competent medical authority" would be that type of medical authority competent to determine mental capacity, and with the further restriction that a medical officer skilled in psychiatric disorders be on the board to determine competence-changing it to read "medical officers" would probably remove the objection the American Osteopathic Association has of feeling it is possibly discriminatory against doctors of osteopathy.

Senator BYRD. The motion has been made that the bill be reported. Senator KEFAUVER. You mean with the amendment that is proposed here?

Captain McDILL. A committee amendment could be made which
would change the words "doctors of medicine" in H. R. 5920, the
House-reported version of the bill, to read "medical officers."
Senator KEFAUVER. Do you recommend that?

Captain MCDILL. I recommend that.
Senator KEFAUVER. Is that satisfactory?
Mr. GOURLEY. That is satisfactory; yes, sir.
Senator BYRD. What is the amendment?

Mr. CHAMBERS. The amendment is on the House bill, H. R. 5920, in front of you, on page 5, line 3.

Change the language "doctors of medicine" to "medical officers." Senator BYRD. Page 5, line 3?

Mr. CHAMBERS. Yes, sir.

Senator BYRD. It now reads "three qualified of medicine." Mr. CHAMBERS. And will now read "three medical officers." Senator BYRD. That would open it up, then, to chiropractors? Mr. CHAMBERS. Captain McDill has indicated that would not be the case. It would cover osteopaths. Apparently the military services do not have medical officers who are osteopaths, but there are some in the Federal Security Agency, there may be some in the medical services in the future. It is an amendment which the military services have no objection to because it has no practical effect on them at the present time.

Senator KEFAUVER. You said the Public Health Service has some? Mr. CHAMBERS. That is right, Federal Security Agency, Public Health Service.

Senator KEFAUVER. This does not apply to all the Federal Security Agency, does it?

Mr. CHAMBERS. No, sir, but those persons in the Coast Guard and Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Public Health Service that are covered in the title of the bill are serviced by the Public Health Service doctors and then, of course, there are times when Public Health Service doctors may be servicing military personnel in time of emergency.

Senator KEFAUVER. Does that mean that doctors of osteopathy would be passing on the question of sanity?

Mr. CHAMBER. It means that doctors of osteopathy could serve on the board of three qualified medical officers, one of whom would have to be specially qualified in the treatment of mental disorders, for the purpose of determining the competency of the individual. Senator KEFAUVER. Mr. Chairman, could we ask some questions of the representative of the Osteopathic Association?

STATEMENT OF L. R. GOURLEY, COUNSEL, AMERICAN

OSTEOPATHETIC ASSOCIATION

Senator KEFAUVER. What is the contention of the Osteopathic Association, that osteopaths are competent and qualified to pass upon mental cases?

Mr. GOURLEY. That is right. There are laws of Congress which authorize their appointment in the medical service as medical officers in the Navy and in the Public Health Service, and they qualify on the exact same basis, take the same examinations, before they enter on the service.

Their training in mental health, neuropsychiatry, pretty well parallels, does parallel, that in the medical schools. This amendment that is proposed does not ask for any special privileges for the osteopathic physician who happens to be a medical officer. It simply says that the Federal Security Administrator or the Secretary of the Army or Navy or Air Force may, if he so desires, appoint a qualified medical officer who is a doctor of osteopathy.

He would have to determine that the doctor of osteopathy, a medical officer, was qualified before he could serve anyway. It does not require their appointment, but it does make them eligible.

The way it is there you would have two medical officers right alongside, qualified, having received equivalent training, one could serve and the other could not. The Secretary might find the osteopathic medical officer had better qualifications.

Senator BYRD. What is the difference between qualified doctors of medicine and medical officers?

Mr. GOURLEY. Qualified doctors of medicine would not permit, sir, the appointment of qualified doctors of osteopathy who are medical officers, because medical graduates get a doctor of medicine degree, and the osteopathic graduates get the degree of doctor of osteopathy. Doctor of Medicine is a degree. They come in on the same basis and

we feel they should be treated the same after they are in there. They qualify exactly the same.

If they are not qualified, if they do not have the qualifications to serve, and the Secretary so finds, he does not appoint them. If he finds they have the qualifications, we do not believe the bill should be so written as to prevent him from exercising that privilege of appointment. As the bill is written now, he could not do it.

Senator BYRD. Does that meet with the approval of the armed services?

Captain MCDILL. We interpose no objection to the bill if the committee desires to pass it.

Senator KEFAUVER. Are you for it?

Captain MCDILL. We would prefer to have it carefully spelled out in accordance with the terms of the bill, as amended by the House. The House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services rewrote the bill to specify clearly doctors of medicine. However, Mr. Chambers has indicated there has been a communication from the chairman of that committee interposing no objection to the position taken by the representative of the Association.

Senator SALTONSTALL. This is just in line with what we did 2 or 3 years ago when we permitted an osteopathic doctor to be a qualified doctor on board ship, just as anybody else. We are giving him the same opportunity here, not distinguishing between an osteopath and a medical doctor, a doctor of medicine, so far as being eligible for selection by the Secretary for service on this board.

Captain McDILL. Your recollection is correct, sir.

Senator SALTONSTALL. He might even pick a United States Senator, if he wanted to, couldn't he?

Captain MCDILL. Might be in better shape, too.

Mr. GOURLEY. We have had no opportunity to present this amendment before the House committee, sir, because the bill they had under consideration was the same bill as 2395. When they reported the bill, it had this definition of competent medical officer. We had no opportunity to present it. This is the first time we have had an opportunity. Senator BYRD. What is the pleasure of the committee?

Senator SALTONSTALL. I renew my motion to report the House version of the bill with the amendment.

Senator BYRD. Let's get the amendment down. What is it? Mr. CHAMBERS. Page 5, line 3, delete the words "doctors of medicine" and substitute in lieu thereof "medical officers.”

Senator BYRD. The amendment will come up first.

(The amendment was passed unanimously.)

Senator BYRD. The motion has been made by Senator Saltonstall that the bill as amended be reported.

(The motion was passed unanimously.)

Senator BYRD. Senator Saltonstall will please make the report.

S. 2857

Senator BYRD. I have a report on S. 2857, a bill to amend section 12 of the Missing Persons Act, as amended, relating to travel by dependents and transportation of household and personal effects. (S. 2857 is as follows:)