TO AMEND CHAPTER 5, TITLE 37, UNITED STATES CODE, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY COMPENSATION. United & dates. Congress. House. Л OF THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NINETY-FOURTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION 55-996 JULY 17, 1975 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1975 jale SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY COMPENSATION HEARING ON H.R. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY COMPENSATION, Washington, D.C., Thursday, July 17, 1975. The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10:35 a.m., in room 2212, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Samuel S. Stratton (chairman), presiding. Mr. STRATTON. The subcommittee will come to order. The Chair would like to read an introductory statement. Today, the subcommittee takes up a bill to extend the $100 a month special pay for optometrists and veterinarians who enter the service after July 1, 1975. Present law is such that the special pay continues for those already on active duty. But authority for providing the special pay to newly appointed officers expired June 30. As I mentioned at the time we commenced the DOPMA hearings on June 11, the bill to extend special pay for optometrists and veterinarians was not submitted to Congress by the Department of Defense until May 28; and we will want to hear from the Department witness the reason for the delay in requesting an extension. I have interrupted the DOPMA hearings to call up this bill so that we may move the legislation forward in order to avoid a ctuoff of special pay. The Congress will begin its August recess 2 weeks from today. We, therefore, have a limited time in which to complete House action on the legislation. I am, therefore, hopeful that we can complete the hearing today. There also expired on June 30 the authority for special pay for nuclear-qualified officers in the Navy. In this case also there was considerable delay in the Department of Defense, and a bill to provide a career-incentive program for nuclear officers in the Navy was not submitted to the Congress until June 6. This bill, H.R. 8088, is complex legislation, setting up a whole new incentive-pay system for nuclear officers, and would necessarily require detailed hearings by the subcommittee. Because of the scheduled recess and other committee work, it is impossible to say at this time when the subcommittee could schedule such hearings. Therefore, after conferring with Mr. O'Brien, I am going to recommend to the subcommittee at the completion of today's hearing that we amend H.R. 7642 to extend the present authority for special pay for nuclear officers. This is being done to avoid a cutoff in the authority to provide extra pay for nuclear-trained officers. (1) |