AGREEMENT WITH CANADA CONCERNING GUT DAM CLAIMS (Ex. C, 89th Cong., 1st sess. Ratified August 30, 1965)

This agreement would provide for establishment of a three-member tribunal to receive, determine, and make awards on claims of American citizens for damage to their properties on the shores of Lake Ontario resulting from the construction and maintenance by Canada of Gut Dam in the St. Lawrence River.

VIENNA CONVENTION ON DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

(Ex. H., 88th Cong., 1st sess. Ratified September 14, 1965)

This convention set forth the rights, privileges, and duties of all members of a diplomatic mission, of their families and private servants, and the rights and obligations of the state on whose territory they performed their functions. The convention was accompanied by an optional protocol, signed by the United States, concerning the compulsory settlement of disputes by the International Court of Justice, as a result of which the so-called Connally reservation would not apply in cases in which the United States might become involved relating to application and interpretation of the Vienna Convention.

SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME TAX PROTOCOL WITH BELGIUM

(Ex. G, 89th Cong., 1st sess. Ratified October 22, 1965)

This protocol modified the original 1948 convention, as amended by two protocols in 1952 and 1957, to avoid double taxation and fiscal evasion with respect to income taxes, in order to adjust to the provisions of the new Belgium income-tax law.

TAX PROTOCOL WITH FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

(Ex. I, 89th Cong., 1st sess. Ratified October 22, 1965)

This protocol modified the convention of July 22, 1954, to avoid double taxation with respect to taxes on income.

VETERANS

EXTENDING THE TIME FOR FILING CERTAIN CLAIMS FOR MUSTERING-OUT PAYMENTS

(Public Law 89-50. Approved June 24, 1965)

This law (H.R. 214) (1) extended the statute of limitations for filing for mustering-out payments, and (2) repealed the authority for mustering-out payments, effective July 1, 1966. This law would affect a small group of members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty during the Korean conflict.

INCREASING RATES OF SUBSISTENCE FOR SERVICE-CONNECTED TRAINEES UNDER VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

(Public Law 89-137. Approved August 26, 1965)

This law (H.R. 206) provided a cost-of-living increase in subsistence allowances paid to disabled veterans pursuing vocational rehabilitation training. The estimated cost for the first 5 years would be $8,100,000.

TRAINING OF SERIOUSLY DISABLED VETERANS UNDER THE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAM

(Public Law 89-138. Approved August 26, 1965)

This law (H.R. 208) amended chapter 31 of title 38, United States Code, to extend to seriously disabled veterans the same liberalization of time limits for pursuing vocational rehabilitation training as was authorized for blinded veterans by Public Law 87-591, and to clarify the language of the law relating to the limiting of periods for pursuing such training. The estimated cost for the first 5 years would be approximately $16 million.

GROUP LIFE INSURANCE FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES (Public Law 89-214. Approved September 29, 1965)

This law (S. 2127) amended title 38, United States Code, to provide a group life insurance plan for all members of the uniformed services on active duty on and after the effective date designated by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs. Coverage is automatic with the serviceman being required to take affirmative action to remove himself from the program. The coverage provided is $10,000 or $5,000. Premium rates for the servicemen are expected to be $2 a month for the $10,000 policy and $1 per month for the $5,000 policy, these premiums to be deducted from the pay of the servicemen by the Department of Defense and remitted to the Veterans' Administration. The insurance will be underwritten by private insurance. companies. All costs traceable to extra hazards of servicemen will be borne by the Government, otherwise the program would be selfsustaining. If an individual has a service-connected disability he will be eligible for a commercial policy without medical examination, and in addition, will be eligible for a $10,000 disabled veterans' insurance policy administered by the Veterans' Administration. For the period January 1, 1957, and continuing until the effective date of the group insurance plan, a maximum death gratuity of $5,000 is provided to a widow, child or children, or the parents of individuals who served during this period in one of the branches of the armed services and who lost their lives under certain hazardous conditions as a result of such service.

INCREASING RATES OF SUBSISTENCE UNDER WAR ORPHANS' EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

(Public Law 89-222. Approved September 30, 1965)

This law (H.R. 205) amended chapter 35 of title 38 of the United States Code in order to increase the educational assistance allowances payable under the war orphans' educational assistance program.

VETERANS' COMPENSATION INCREASES

(Public Law 89-311. Approved October 31, 1965)

This law (H.R. 168) amended title 38, United States Code, to provide, among other things, increases, averaging about 10 percent, in the rates of service-connected disability compensation payable to wartime and peacetime veterans, including a 10-percent increase in the additional allowances payable where the veteran is 50 percent or more

disabled and has a wife, child, or dependent parents; increased the additional allowance payable to a veteran 50 percent or more disabled where he has a child or children pursuing a course of instruction at an educational institution; and authorized certain higher statutory awards to service-connected totally blinded veterans where their blindness is associated with various degrees of deafness. The estimated additional cost of the increase in rates for the first year is $136 million for the basic rates and $11.5 million for the additional allowances for depend

ents.

WAR ORPHAN BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN OF THOSE WHO SERVED PRIOR TO SEPTEMBER 1940

(Public Law 89-349. Approved November 8, 1965)

This law (H.R. 227) amended title 38 of the United States Code to entitle the children of certain veterans who served in the Armed Forces prior to September 16, 1940, to benefit under the war orphans educational assistance program. The total cost was estimated not to exceed $400,000.