Vocational Education and Civilian P113-36 HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION SEVENTY-FIRST CONGRESS THIRD SESSION ON H. R. 12901 TO EXTEND THE PROVISIONS OF CERTAIN LAWS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND CIVILIAN REHABILITATION IN PORTO RICO MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1930 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee this day met, Hon. Daniel A. Reed (chairman), presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. The purpose of this meeting is to consider H. R. 12901, introduced by Mr. Davila, Commissioner from Porto Rico, on June 11, 1930. (The bill referred to is as follows): [H. R. 12901, Seventy-first Congress, second session] A BILL To extend the provisions of certain laws relating to vocational education and civilian rehabilitation to Porto Rico Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Porto Rico shall be entitled to share in the benefits of the act entitled "An act to provide for the promotion of vocational education; to provide for cooperation with the States in the promotion of such education in agriculture and the trades and industries; to provide for cooperation with the States in the preparat.on of teachers of vocational subjects; and to appropriate money and regulate its expenditure," approved February 23, 1917, and any act amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, upon the same terms and conditions as any of the several States. There is authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1932, and annually thereafter, the sum of $105,000, to be available for allotment under such act to the island of Porto Rico: Provided, That of the sum authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this act, the sum of $30,000, if expended, shall be expended for the salaries of teachers of agricultural subjects; the sum of $30.000, if expended, shall be expended for the salaries of teachers of home-economics subjects; the sum of $30,000, if expended, shall be expended for the salaries of teachers of trade and industrial subjects; and the sum of $15,000, if expended, shall be expended for the maintenance of teacher training, including supervis on. SEO. 2. Porto Rico shall be entitled to share in the benefits of the act entitled "An act to provide for the promotion of vocational rehabilitation of persons disabled in industry or otherwise and their return to civil employment," approved June 2, 1920, and any act amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, upon the same terms and conditions as any of the several States. There is authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1932, and annually thereafter, the sum of $15,000, to be available for allotment under such act to the island of Porto Rico. The CHAIRMAN. I wish to have inserted at this point the expression of the Federal Board for Vocational Education, and also a letter from J. Clawson Roop, of the Bureau of the Budget. 1 (The letters referred to are as follows): FEDERAL BOARD FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, Hon. DANIEL A. REED, Chairman Committee on Education, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. REED: I inclose herewith a copy of a letter received to-day from the Director of the Bureau of the Budget. The amendment recommended would appear to be desirable in view of the fact that the civilian vocational rehabilitation act of June 9, 1930, is effective until June 30, 1933. The amended bill for Porto Rico to conform with the principal act would therefore appear to harmonize in a desirable way with existing legislation. Very truly yours, E. T. FRANKS, Vice Chairman. BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, December 5, 1930. MY DEAR MR. SECRETARY: I have your letter of November 22, 1930, with regard to H. R. 12901, Seventy-first Congress, second session, a bill to extend the provisions of certain laws relating to vocational education and civilian rehabilitation to Porto Rico. If section 2 of H. R. 12901 be amended so as to authorize an appropriation of $15,000 for each of the fiscal years ending June 30 1932, and June 30, 1933, the expenditures contemplated by the legislation proposed in this bill would not be in conflict with the financial program of the President. The act approved June 9, 1930, amending the act of June, 2, 1920, authorizes annual appropriations for the three fiscal years, 1931, 1932, and 1933 so that the amendment above mentioned would bring the legislation proposed in H. R. 12901 into conformity with the act of June 9, 1930. Very truly yours, J. CLAWSON ROOP, Director. The honorable the SECRETARY OF LABOR, and CHAIRMAN FEDERAL BOARD FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. Mr. TARVER. Why was Porto Rico omitted from the law originally? There must have been some reason or supposed reason. The CHAIRMAN. The question was before the committee and no one realized the importance of it at that time. It was an oversight. We will be very glad at this point to hear from Mr. Roosevelt, Governor of Porto Rico. STATEMENT OF HON. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, GOVERNOR OF PORTO RICO Governor ROOSEVELT. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, our problem in Porto Rico is a very old one. It has its origin in the past. There has been a great deal of talk to the effect that Porto Rico was put into the very desperate condition she is in because of the hurricane. That is not so. The hurricane precipitated conditions but the conditions were always there. Our three great adversaries with which we have struggled in Porto Rico are poverty, ill health, and insufficient or, perhaps, wrongly directed measures in education. The basis of the whole thing is poverty. That is the original trouble because poverty rests on the fact that we have a very bad economic condition. With a very bad economic condition. we can not release the money necessary to fight the diseases which are devastating our people, and we can not release the money necessary to extend our educational system in the fashion we would. |