Part: 12         Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536         Page 595596597598599600601602603604605606607608610611612613614615616617618619620621622623624625626 of 1143

Administration was spending for medical care. In the mid '50s it was about 700 million dollars, as I recall it. (Jane, would you check this?”

This includes all the Veterans Hospitals.

Yes, the cost of care in 130 hospitals.

And I asked how much was being spent for medical research, and there was only 5 million dollars out of this whole thing that was being spent for medical research. Now, this seemed to me ludicrous. A lot of this was spent for research work in isotopes. There was no attack on the major things that were killing and crippling veterans. The amount of money being spent for cancer or for heart disease was minimal.

Well, we decided that we would try to arrange for hearings before the subcommittees on appropriations which had to do with veterans' affairs. In the House it's an independent office with Albert Thomas of Texas as the Chairman. Albert Thomas proved to be a problem; even although he himself later developed cancer of of the prostate, he's never been what you would call really in favor of medical research. He has dominated the funds for the Veterans Hospitals totally, and what we were able to do has been very small compared with what the needs and usefulness could have been.

However, we did get a hearing before him. Mike Gorman worked on this and Florence was helpful in talking to Senator Magnusson, who was the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee on the Senate