There matters stood for nearly a year, while studies were being made by the Hospital Division of the Bureau of the Budget, particularly directed to the relationship between the Institute and other Federal medical agencies, including those already located at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
In the course of that year, the Department of Defense had come into existence and, as one of the first fruits of that coordination of effort, the Army Institute had become the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, serving all the Armed Forces— a change of status as well as a change of name, which was recognized in the proposed amendment to Public Law 626. In addition to the change of name, the proposed amendments called for location of the new building at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and a reduction in the amount requested for planning from $600,000 to $350,000.
On 11 October 1949, the Bureau of the Budget gave its approval to the submission of the amendment to the Congress, provided that the plans for the new building should be changed so as to eliminate facilities which might duplicate existing medical research work, and to bring about a closer coordination between the new Institute and the Army Medical Center.
One week after this clearance by the Bureau of the Budget, the desired amendments were introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Carl Vinson of Georgia, as H.R. 6478, and in the Senate by Senator Richard B. Russell of Georgia (for Senator Millard E. Tydings of Maryland), as S. 2737. On the next day, 19 October 1949, the first session of the 81st Congress ended, without action on the bills. 5[1]
Congressional Hearings
The House moved first in acting on the amendment to the enabling act when, on 3 February 1950, a subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee held hearings on H.R. 6478. At these hearings, General Dart forcefully depicted the plight of the Institute, with its broad new responsibilities but its old limited and insufficient space. "The greatest handicaps to the further development of the institute," he said, "are the lack of space and the complete absence of experimental facilities in the existing obsolete building. Researches are, therefore, confined to pathologic anatomy and statistical analysis, which sharply limits full utilization of the collection of pathologic material."
As to the relation between the Institute and other Federal medical agencies, General Dart pointed out that the hospital capacity of the agencies which relied
- ↑ 5 (1) Ibid., pp. 25, 26. (2) Congressional Record, 81st Congress, 1st session. Senate, 18 October 1949, p. 14828, volume 95. part 11. (3) Ibid., House, p. 14964.
