Evening star., 1945-05-30
mo. 4 OF 1.SerfeS.1
By CARTER BROOKE JONES.

Estimating the immediate and
ultimate cost of bill to benefit
veterans in one way or another
often is a task that stops expert
computers cold.
There may be SO many variable
factors in what seems simple piece
Of legislation that nobody can make
a helpful guess what it would cost
the Treasury.
1t would, for example, take a sur
vey for which there probably is no
adequate machinery to give a rough
idea of the expense of administer
ing an act proposed by Representa-
tive Beckworth, Democrat, of Texas
to provide pension for certain
physically handicapped veterans of
the two World Wars not at present
eligible for such benefits.
Too Much for Statistician.
Who, similarly, could figure what
1t would cost to carry out a pro-
posal by Representative Voorhis,
Democrat, of California to grant
permanent. and total disability to
veterans suffering from severe in
dustrial inadaptability as a result
of war service?
1t could be calculated to give any
statiStician nervous breakdown to
attempt to determine the cost of
measure authorizing compensation
for partial rVice-connected dis
ability" or another providing that
veterans compensation, pension
or retirement pay shall not be re-
duced during his disqualification or
domiciliary care.
Members of Congress naturally
want to know what particular bill
is likely to cost, however disposed
they may be to give veterans every
benefit a grateful Nation can think
Of. The impossibility Of arriving at
an estimate in many instances and
the ineXactneSS of estimates in other
cases add measurably to the diff
Guilty of legislating for veterans.
800 Bills Pending.
Sometimes the Veterans Admins
tration, which investigates and re-
ports on virtually every bill referred
to a committee, estimates the cost
Of operation during the first year or
the first five years, say, and lets 1t
go at that.
On the other hand, some of the
3,700 pending veterans bills allow
fairly accurate estimates of their
cost.
For example, Chairman Rankin
Of the House Veterans Committee
has introduced a bonus bill-ad-
juSted compensation, he prefers to
call it-authorizing payment of $40
a week for year to any member of
the armed forces who served 80
days or more after September 16,
1910. and was honorably discharged.
On the basis of the present strength
Of the Army and the Navy, this
would cost around S11 900, 100000
1t would be easy to compute the
cost when the Pacific war ends.
Each veteran with the required
length of service would receive
around S1,040
Plan Widely Supported
Mr.. Rankin said his bill expressed
the ideas of "a good many House
members, and he expected it would
receive wide support. He contended
that the provision in the law known
as the CT Bill of Rights providing
$40 a week for unemployed veterans
puts a premium on idleness. His
proposal. he said, would end dis
elimination and deal with all vet
Grams alike
Pending In House or Senate COM
mittees are a number of other bills
granting bonuses to veterans of the
present war. Two of these would
give maximum of $500 for home
service and s4,500 for overseas duty.
Six bills amending the Adjusted
Compensation Act for veterans of
the last war have been offered at
the present session. These would
liberalize eligibility and extend the
time for filing claims.