April 23, 1959

Dean W. Roberts, M.D.
Executive Director
National Society for
Crippled Children and Adults
2023 West Ogden Avenue
Chicago 12, Illinois

Dear Doctor Roberts:

Your letter of April 8 with further regard to
my bill, H.R. 1119 has been received and I have delayed
replying until I could go into the matter of the questions
you have raised rather thoroughly. Needless to say I am
most appreciative of your comments concerning the language
of H.R. 1119 as it pertains to Title II, Workshops and
Other Rehabilitation Facilities.

With regard to the term “Public and Other Non-
Profit", I am advised this is one used in a number of
laws setting up grant and aid programs, that for instance,
it appears in Section Iv(a)(1) of Public Law 565 (Research
and Demonstration), Section XI(a)(8) of Public Law 565,
which defines facilities that may be established from basic
vocational rehabilitation funds, and in Section 621 of the
Hospital Survey and Construction Act, under which our nation-
wide program of hospital construction has beencarried on.
It is my understanding the term has an established legal
meaning and can be used with confidence in the way it will
be interpreted, and it is considered appropriate to convey
the purpose for which funds are appropriated under this
title shall be used since it was the intention that grants
could be made both to state agencies or to voluntary agencies.

It is considered that in a program of this kind there
must be a state authority of some kind to approve projects
since it is necessary to assure that facilities develop ac-
cording to an accepted pattern based upon the needs of an
entire state and it is not likely that Congress would establish
Dean W. Roberts, M. D. - 2 - April 23, 1959

such a program without a provision of this kind. With respect
to facilities to be used chiefly in the vocational rehabilita-
tion of the handicapped, it appears that the state rehabilita-
tion agency would be the proper agency to exercise this super~
vision. In a sense, it may appear that this could sometimes
make this agency both "judge and jury,” but apparently there

is no way to avoid this, since the principle of state control
of these programs is essential. Incidentally, I am told, this
has not been a problem in the Hospital Survey and Construction
Act, under which comparable state authorities, usually adminis-
tered in Public Health Departments, have had responsibility
for proving applications for grants for hospitals, and, more
recently, for rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, chronic
illness hospitals, and diagnostic centers.

What the reaction to a suggestion that a requirement
of priority to voluntary organizations be included in the bill
would be,I do not know, since Congress usually leaves these
decisions to the states with as little restriction as possible,
and it appears state rehabilitation agencies, in general, seem
little inclined to operate their own rehabilitation facilities,
possibly preferring that they be operated by voluntary organiza-
tions.

While I believe the basic principles of my legislation
is sound, it is certainly not my position that H.R. 1119 cannot
be improved and I feel that the hearings may bring out facts
that will result in many revisions. Your expression of interest
in this legislation is most encouraging and I am always pleased
to have your views and comments.

, Kindest regards,

Sincerely,

John E. Fogarty
Member of Congress