Evening star., 1945-07-27
Legislators Making
|Unannounced Visits
To Veterans Hospitals
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.


Members of the House Veterans
Committee are dropping into veter-
ans hospitals unannounced for in
spections during the House recess in
preparation for resuming the COM
mittee's investigation in the fall. 1t
was learned today. They also are
going into the problems of hospitals
with their managers and medical
officers.
Some members doubt, however
that the inquiry will be pressed
much farther in view of the changes
in the medical setup expected to be
made by the new veterans admins.
traitor, Gen. Omar T. Bradley, who
will succeed Brig. Gen. Frank T
Hines August Is.
These Representatives predict thai
the committees future hearings will
be more to explore legislation de-
signed to improve the medical serv-
ice than to ferret out present
deficiencies. Information uncovered
during the hospital investigation
may have an important bearing or
legislation, it was pointed out.
Favor Medicine Bureau.
Chairman Rankin hopes to take
up when the House returns, early in
October, pending bill to set up a
bureau of medicine and surgery In
the Veterans Administration similar
in scope and authority to the Army
surgeon generals Office and the
Navy Bureau of Medicine and
Surgery. Representative Rogers of
Massachusetts, ranking minority
member of the committee, and a
number of others favor this legisla-
ton in principle.
Gen. Bradley has not expressed
himself on this or any other pro-
posals to reorganize the Veterans
Administration. He merely asked the
committee to defer the bills until he
had a chance to familiarize himself
with the agency's problems.
While some observers have as
sumed that the medical bureau bill
would "militarize" the medical serv'
ice of the Veterans Administrations
others point out that this would no
necessarily occur. The proposed
bureau, 1t is explained, could hav,
a strictly civilian status, while re
serving to its head ample authorit,
to hire the best available physician
and nurses and virtual autonomy
under the administrator, in medica
matters.
Favors Civilian Setup.
Several physicians of nationa
prominence who testified at the hos
pital hearings urged such legisla
ton, but added that the medica
bureau should be strictly civilian
with the staff called doctors anc
not majors or colonels. They fell
the bureau chief should be EN-.
powered to employ his staff without
having to go through civil service
which had failed, they contended
to furnish the Veterans Admins.
tration with competent medical per-
sonnei.
While most Veterans Administra-
ton physicians are in uniform al
present. this merely is a war meas
ure. These doctors were commits
stoned in the Army so that they
could be kept on their present duties
With the close of the war, the
critical personnel problem which
has confronted veterans hospitals Is
expected to be removed, and it viii
be possible for Congress to considel
a long-range program of improve
ment.
Some other House members &C
cused the Veterans Committee o
exploring half-heartedly the charge
of neglect and mistreatment of pa
tients in veterans hospitals ant
have demanded an investigation b,
a special committee, but nothing ha!
come of this move so far. Will,
committee members denied they hat
set out to whitewash the Veterans
Administration. President Truman
appointment of Gen. Bradle,
changed the situation. silencing de
mands in some quarters for shake
up at the agency.
Members of Congress seem inclined
to give Gen. Bradley a free hand ani
his legislative recommendations ar
awaited with interest on Capito
Hill.
Bill Placed on Calendar.
Meanwhile, a bill increasing com
pensation for severe service disabili
ties was placed on the Senate cal
endar today and is expected to b,
brought up as soon as the Senat,
votes on the San Francisco Charter
A similar bill, carrying lower rate
OF increase, was passed by tht
House last week.
The Senate bill, introduced b,