Statement on Signing Two Bills Providing for Improvement of Veterans Benefits.

I AM signing into law S. 3072, the Veterans Disability Compensation and Survivor Benefits Act of 1974, and S. 3398, providing a temporary extension of the GI bill eligibility period.

The compensation bill illustrates what can be done in behalf of our Nation's veterans when the Congress and the executive branch work together. Less than 3 months ago, I invited the Veterans' Affairs Committees of the Congress to collaborate upon needed improvements in the veterans and survivors compensation programs. I am gratified that within this period the Congress has responded to my proposals to lift basic benefits by an amount which recognizes increases in the cost of living. While this bill does not include my proposal to provide for future increases in the cost of living through an automatic adjustment in benefits, I hope that the Congress may yet confer this further benefit upon disabled veterans and their families.

I am pleased that S. 3072 brings compensation benefits fully abreast of increases in living costs. It increases disability compensation rates by a range of 15 percent to 18 percent. Furthermore, it increases the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for widows and children by about 17 percent. These rate increases approximate the rise in the Consumer Price Index since these benefits were last increased.

This is the fourth opportunity I have had during my Administration to sign into law increases in disability compensation or indemnity compensation. These benefit increases will soon be helping approximately 2 1/2 million of our most deserving men and women veterans disabled in the service of our country and the survivors of men and women who died of service connected causes.

Beyond the increases authorized by S. 3072, I am pleased to announce that in fulfillment of my pledge to the Congress last March, the Veterans Administration is developing proposals which will raise compensation benefits for veterans who have been shown to be under compensated. These proposals will be based on an in-depth survey of the earnings impairment of service-disabled veterans. We will shortly be sending these proposals to the Congress for appropriate review.

In my radio address of March 31, I called attention to the need to intensify the Nation's efforts to assist Vietnam veterans in finding their rightful place in the civilian economy. An increase in educational benefits under the GI bill should be adopted now, consistent with the cost of living rise since the last change. This will enable us to provide veterans the kind of financial support they need to enter and stay in training.

To finance these bills and the pledged improvements in veterans services, I will shortly submit to the Congress supplemental appropriation requests. I urge the Congress to take speedy action on these requests so that our veterans and their families can quickly receive the higher benefits and improved services authorized by this legislation.