Evening star., 1950-05-21


and benefits to veterans and
servicemen-brought to the fore
by congressional investigations
of alleged irregularities at the
Army Finance Center in st.
Louis, Mo-, is an age-old
Government problem.
In fact. it is said that even
some of George Washington's
sturdy lads got a few overpay-
ments here and there. though
funds were scarce in those days.
But it wasn't until the World
Wars, with millions of armed
forces and many millions more
dependents, that the Govern
ment's check-writing machines
got into the overpayment busi-
ness at a fast pace and on a
grand scale. Congress, loath to
draft men in the first place. was
eager to see that loved ones were
adequately cared for the mean
while, and wrote into the laws
that dependency checks must
go out fast and without oues-
ton. That is where most of the
Army's trouble at st. Louis lies.
Some Recovery Made
The same lawmakers wanted
to make sure that the returning
servicemen-especially after the
last war-had the opportunity to
obtain benefits with the mimi
mum of delay and red tape.
That is where the Veterans
Administrations headache lies.
Both the Army, in handing
out dependency checks at a
mile-a minute rate during the
war, and the VA, in dashing off
payments to veterans after VI
day at an equally accelerated
rate, overpaid vast sums in the
process. Both report a compar-
atively remarkable rate of re-
covery.
The Army told a House sub
committee last week that in
paying out $19 billion in a
71a-year period to dependents,
it had overpaid $157 million.
but of that amount $83 million
had been recovered in cash. $25
million had been labeled "un-
collectible" and SIS million had
been forgiven because of hard
ships Of the persons involved.
The "uncollectible" $25 mil
lion, Assistant Secretary Karl
Bendetsen said, are cases which
should be" collected but which
the Finance Center was unable
to follow up because it lacked
the collection facilities. These
cases, he said, have been turned
over to the General Accounting
Office for collection.
Dividend Helped
Payment of the National
Service Life Insurance dividend
this year was a boon to both the
Veterans Administration and,
to a lesser extent. to the Army.
in it's efforts to get back what
it had overpaid.
Before the dividend was de-
clared, the VA carried some 5000
million as overpayments. which
had been in subsistence checks
to ex-GIs attending schools and
colleges. Much of these overpay-
ments came about as a result
of a 1948 law which provided
maximum amounts which might
be paid the students. dependent
on, income from other sources.
There were several months when
the VA continued to pay the
students at the old rate, pending
receipt of the individuals state
ments as to earnings.
But on March 81. largely as
a result of withholding insur-
ance dividends. VA was able to
report that it had cut its sub
sistence overpayments to $28,-
857, ,496, paid to 228, $50 veterans.
Officials now estimate that at
least an additional SIS million
will be recovered through the
dividends.
The VA also has overpaid
veterans in several other fields.
On March 81, disability and
death benefits and pensions to
20,976 veterans and dependents
had been overpaid by S4,609 .091.
Unemployment payments to a.
846 veterans had been overpaid
by $7,470,865.
OF the s40.997 ,452 overpay-
ments to 294,172 veterans now
outstanding, the VA hopes to
collect from $25 million to $40