BEFORE the first session of the 82d Congress adjourned in October, the bill for federal support of medical education came in for a final flurry of activity. It was trussed up with a debilitating amendment, interred in Committee, and at the last minute exhumed without the amendment and placed on the Senate calendar—for consideration on another day.
The Senate bill (S.337), originally introduced by Senator Murray (Montana), had bipartisan support in the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare and was reported out of committee by unanimous consent of its members. In the hope of bringing it added support, its sponsors emphasized its importance as a measure to strengthen national defense through aid to medical, dental, nursing, public health, osteopathic and allied technical schools. Under provisions of the bill, money would be granted by formula to these schools based on the number of students normally enrolled, with additional money for those in excess of normal enrollment. As originally written, each medical school would receive $500 for each medical student through normal enrollment, and $1000 for each student in excess of normal enrollment. The bill also provided $10,000,000 annually for five years to enable the Surgeon General to make grants for construction and equipment of both existing and new schools.
Federal Support of Schools of Public Health
