Evening star., 1955-06-14
Senate Clashes
Mark Hearing
On Vaccine
Continued From First Page

sought to ask Mrs. Hobby OF
DR.. Scheele about the vaccine
Itself, the difficulties experienced
in the production and testing
work and other matters not deal
ing directly with the two bills
under present consideration.
| Committee Chairman Hill
Democrat, of Alabama ruled
however, that such questions
were pertinent because Congress
could not intelligently or safely
Authorize funds for vaccine dis
Itribution without being assured
that the vaccine itself was good
and that a mass inoculation pro-
gram was practical.
Mrs. Hobby warned that what
she described as 'an all or Moth
ing" proposal for Federally f.
nanced free polio vaccination OF
all children would be unneces-
isary and unwise. She contended
that it might discriminate
against some States and COM
munities and would set a ques-
tionable precedent that eventu-
ally could create demands for
free vaccine of all kinds.
The plan for an estimated
$3.50 million in Federal grants to
States for free vaccination of ap-
proXimately SIT million children
through the age of 10 is spon.
sored by Senator Hill and backed
by his Democratic colleagues on
the committee.
Offers Amendments
| Mrs. Hobby urged instead that
Congress adopt an administra-
tion-recommended bill for $35
million in Federal grants to
States to provide free vaccine
for approximately II million
children whose parents could not
afford to pay for it. This bill
originally suggested $28 million
in such grants, Mrs. Hobby Of
fered several proposed amend
ments to raise the amount to $35
million and "allow an ample
margin in applying a formula
for distributing vaccine in a CO.
operative arrangement in States.
"These changes" she ex-
planned, "are designed to make
it clear that the bill will not
require or encourage States to
establish a separate vaccination
program for children from low
income families or to employ
any means test to determine
eligibility for free vaccination
programs.
The Hill Bill, she said, would
be "short-sighted" and a prob
able obstacle to Federal-State
programs for distribution and
use Of the vaccine.
1T is not required either for
reasons of nancial need or as a
means of avoiding discrimina-
tory policies or practices" she
Icontended.
Hits Registry" Aspect
I'm our opinion it is both prac-
ticable and desirable to permit
States and localities to apply
established policies and pro-
cedures concerning other types
Iof vaccine) to- their programs
for polio vaccination. If they
wish to adopt special programs
for this purpose they should
have that privilege. But we see
no reason 70 rthe Federal Gov
Iernment to require or promote a
separate and different local
policy against immunization for
one particular disease.
I'VE believe this bill would re-
suit in an undesirable degree of
rigidity in the program as a
whole. Because of emphasis on
community wide free vaccina,-
ton programs, its provisions
would permit determinations
among States and communities
which we believe are inequitable
and unwiSe. We believe that
such an all-or-nothing policy is
unnecessary and undesirable in
any Federal-State cooperative
program"
: Mrs. Hobby objected also that
the Hill bill seems to assume that
states and local communities as
well as private citizens would fail
to show initiative in taking ad-
vantage of new public health ad-
Vances such as the Salk develop
ment. She contended that the
appropriate role of the Federal
Government is to provide sup
Elementary funds to States
which otherwise might be seri-
ously inconvenienced by sudden
demands on their public health
programs
Quizzed on Field Tests
Some committee members
turned to other aspects of the
polio vaccine situation in their
questioning. Senator Ives, Re-
publican. of New York, asked the
witnesses whether the PHS had
any responsibility for the vac
cine field tests last year and
n