DEAR MR. SPEAKER:

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP58-00597A000100230007-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 10, 2004
• Sequence Number: 7
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved For Release 2004/06/23 : CIA-RDP58-00597A000100230007-1
MEDICAL, PERSCIKNEL, PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR
(DOD 83-260)
Approved For Release 2004/06/23 : CIA-RDP58-00597A000100230007-1
 Approved For Release 20Q ,/p lApI DR -j7A000100230007-1
Dear Mr. Speaker:
There is forwarded herewith a draft of legislation, "'To facilitate
the procurement of doctors of medicine and doctors of dentistry for
the armed Forces by providing scholarships for education in medical
and dental professions, and for other purposes."
This proposal is a part of the Department of Defense Legislative
Program for 1954, and it has been approved by the Bureau of the Budget.
The Department of the army has been designated as the representative
of the Department of Defense for this legislation. It is reconL ended
that this proposal be enacted by the Congress.
Purpose of the Legislation
The purpose of the proposed legislation is to facilitate the
long-range procurement of physicians and dentists as career officers
in the military services by providing scholarships for education in
the medical and dental professions to be administered under regulations
prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.
Current methods of procurement of career officers in the fields
of medicine and dentistry are not sufficiently productive to replace
career officers lost by attrition and to reach authorized strengths.
For example, current yearly losses in regular medical officers are
exceeding gains despite the operation of military intern and residency
programs and other active direct procurement programs. At this time
there is an over-all shortage of approximately 2300 regular medical
officers in the three military departments. A comparable situation
exists in respect to regular dental officers. As a result of these
deficiencies the number of these professional personnel in the regular
components of the'military departments is insufficient to insure the
basic necessities of the military medical and dental functions for
the authorized regular military establishment. Another result of this
shortage has been the necessity to bring larger numbers of physicians
and dentists to duty involuntarily through operation of the "doctor
draft" law, not only to compensate for troop strength increases due to
the existing national emergency but in addition to balance the deficit
that should be filled by regular officers. The impact of these levies
in withdrawing professional personnel from civilian pursuits has de-
creased medical and dental services available to civilians throughout
the nation.
The proposed legislation provides a voluntary scholarship plan
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for selected students in medical and dental schools. Participants
would be paid a monthly retainer fee to cover a part of their personal
expenses incident to school attendance. Schools would be paid an
amount to cover the usual tuition, fees and laboratory expensea.
In return for scholarship participation, after graduation each
student is required to serve one calendar year on active duty for each
academic year of participation with a minimum of three years of active
duty, and may obtain a co-mission as a regular medical or dental officer.
The proposed legislation provides that a scholarship participant, upon
reimbursement to the Government of all funds expended in his behalf, may
be released from the scholarship program prior to graduation. Subsequent
to graduation and after serving three years of active duty, he may be
relieved of any additional obligation for active duty agreed to under
this orogra,,1 upon reimbursement to the Government of all funds expended
in his behalf.
Based on allocated strengths and existing shortages of career
medical and dental officers in the military departments, it is tenta-
tively proposed to offer sufficient scholarships through. this means to
provide a maximum of 300 graduates fro.-ii schools of medicine and 126
graduates from schools of dentistry at the end of the second year of
operation of the plan, and the same number of graduates each year there-
after to provide gradual increments until allocated strengths are reached.
It is estimated that under the best of circumstances the program will be
operative for ten years at these numbers.
Cost and Budget Data
To maintain the number of scholarship participants mentioned above
and based upon present tuition rates, it is estimated that the maximum
cost that would result from the enactment of this proposal would be
approximately ?2,542,300 the first year of operation. It is further
estimated that the cost of the second and succeeding years would not
exceed )3,3"9,000 per year. The cost could not be absorbed in presently
planned Department of Defense appropriations.
Sincerely yours,
Inclosure
Honorable Joseph W. Tiartin, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Tepresentatives
Approved For Release 2004/06/23 : CIA-RDP58-00597A000100230007-1