CONGRESSIONAL. RECORD - HOUSE February 23

House for 1 minute and to revise and

extend my remarks.

The SPEAKER. Is there objection to

the request of the gentleman from Ohio?

There was no objection. Mr. HAYS of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I

would like to read two short paragraphs

from yesterday's Washington Post, quoting a teacher in the District of Columbia

schools:

"There is not a week goes by that I don't

find 5 to 10 children in need of shoes," she

says. "Each week, we feed lunch and milk

to countless numbers. It may seem strange

but many of our families can't afford the

luxury of milk, even under the school's penny

milk program.

"This talk of a mild recession usually is

thought of in terms of a slight decline in

business, not in terms of human beings in

need. I have been a principal for several

years and emergency needs today are more widespread than I have ever seen them."

This is in face of the fact that we are supposed to have a surplus of milk and

dairy products. The reason we have a surplus is because we do not have the

proper way to get these products into

the hands of the people who need them

and at a price they can afford to pay.

CLAIMS FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES

OF THE BUREAU OF PRISONS,

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE-VETO

MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT OF

THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO.

334)

The SPEAKER. The unfinished busi- ness is further consideration of the veto

message of the President on the bill

(H. R. 395) to confer jurisdiction upon the United States Court of Claims with

respect to claims against the United

States of certain employees of the Bu- reau of Prisons, Department of Justice.

The objections of the President will be

spread at large upon the Journal.

The Chair recognizes the gentleman

from Illinois [Mr. REED].

Mr. REED of Illinois. Mr. Speaker,

I move that the bill and message be re- ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary and ordered printed.

The motion was agreed to.

FOR THE RELIEF OF MRS. ANNA

HOLDER-VETO MESSAGE FROM

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED

STATES (H. DOC. NO. 335)

The SPEAKER laid before the House

the following veto message from the

President of the United States:

To the House of Representatives: I return herewith H. R. 3733, for the

relief of Mrs. Anna Holder.

This measure, in directing the payment to Mrs. Anna Holder of the sum of

$10,000, would provide a special legis- lative settlement of her claim that she

is entitled to that amount from the Government as the beneficiary named in two

$5,000 policies of National Service Life

Insurance.

These policies matured in May 1945.

Mrs. Holder, the sole surviving desig- nated beneficiary, thereupon claimed the

proceeds. She established that the

deceased serviceman, an orphan, had

been reared from early childhood by her

parents, and that she occupied a de facto

relationship of sister for many years.

The Veterans' Administration denied her

claim, ruling that she did not come

within the permitted classes of beneficiaries prescribed in the National Service Life Insurance Act of 1940, as

amended. The correctness of the ruling

of the Veterans' Administration under

the applicable law is not disputed.

The Congress imposed specific limitations on the classes of beneficiaries permitted to be named under National

Service Life Insurance maturing before

August 1, 1946. Similarly, the Congress

did not vest in the Veterans' Administration authority to grant exceptions from

the general rule.

Therefore, it seems to me irrevelant

and unwise to accept as justification for

this bill, the fact that Mrs. Holder could

now qualify as a beneficiary under existing law, which was not made retroactive.

On the other hand, I believe that it is

relevant to take fully into account several other factors of great importance

in connection with the national service

life insurance program as it existed up

to 1946. The insurance was issued at

peacetime rates which it was recognized

would provide but a small fraction of

the cost of the program if the United

States should become involved in a war.

Consequently, provision was made that

all benefits payable because of deaths

due to the extra hazard of military

service would, in effect, be paid from appropriated funds. This was done by reimbursing the trust fund for such costs.

Under these circumstances, it was considered desirable to restrict those eligible

for benefits to the categories of persons

to whose support the veteran might be

obligated to contribute.

Finally, I cannot overlook considerations of equity to all beneficiaries as contrasted with the individual case in which

the deceased veteran named an ineligible

person as the beneficiary of his insurance. I have expressed the view, on other occasions, that uniformity and

equality of treatment to all who are

similarly situated must be the steadfast

rule if the Federal programs for veterans and their beneficiaries are to be operated successfully. Otherwise, inequities are compounded, as is fully revealed

by statistics reported by the Veterans'

Administration. More than 3,200 claims

of designated beneficiaries for the proceeds of national service life insurance

have been denied because they were not

within the prescribed classes of beneficiaries. A great number of them involved relationships which appear to

have been just as close and as real as that

claimed by Mrs. Holder.

In my judgment, this is not a case in

which the circumstances are so unique

or exceptional as to justify a waiver of

the law. I, therefore, withhold my approval from the bill.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER.

THE WHITE HOUSE, February 23, 1954.

The SPEAKER. The objections of the

President will be spread at large upon

the Journal.

And without objection, the bill and

message will be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and ordered

printed.

There was no objection.

RESIGNATION FROM COMMISSION

ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

The SPEAKER laid before the House

the following communication, which was

read by the Clerk:

FEBRUARY 18; 1954.

Hon. JOSEPH W. MARTIN,

Member of Congress, Speaker of the

House of Representatives, United

States Capitol Building, Washington, D. C.

My DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I herewith tender

my resignation as a member of the Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

With kind personal regards, I am,

Very sincerely,

N. M. MASON.

The SPEAKER. Without objection,

the resignation is accepted.

There was no objection.

SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1954

Mr. TABER. Mr. Speaker, I move that

the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State

of the Union for the consideration of

the bill (H. R. 7996) making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year

ending June 30, 1954, and for other

purposes.

Pending that motion, I ask unanimous

consent that general debate be limited

to 30 minutes, one-half to be controlled

by the gentleman from Missouri [Mr.

CANNON] and one-half by myself.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, that is

entirely satisfactory on this side.

The SPEAKER. Is there objection to

the request of the gentleman from New

York?

There was no objection.

The SPEAKER. The question is on

the motion.

The motion was agreed to.

Accordingly the House resolved itself

into the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill H. R. 7996, with

Mr. NELSON in the chair.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

By unanimous consent, the first reading of the bill was dispensed with.

The CHAIRMAN. Under the consent

agreement general debate will continue

not to exceed 30 minutes to be equally

divided and controlled by the gentleman

from New York and the gentleman from

Missouri.

.The gentleman from New York is

recognized.

Mr. TABER. Mr. Chairman, this bill

carries appropriations totaling $25,785,-

000. Of the total involved $5,500,000

is for judgments and adjudicated claims.

We are anxious to get this through because it stops the flow of interest out

of the Treasury on these claims. . Four million eight hundred thousand

dollars is for the Treasury, and there is a

transfer provision involving $7,620,000

out of Air Force funds to be used by the

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