323 Opinion of the Court. The part of § 12 on which the Government supports the Commission's recognition of a veteran's absolute retention preference without regard to comparative length of service of veterans and nonveterans follows immediately after that section's language on which petitioner relies, and reads: . . Provided further, That preference employees whose efficiency ratings are 'good' or better shall be retained in preference to all other competing employees and that preference employees whose efficiency ratings are below 'good' shall be retained in preference to competing nonpreference employees who have equal or lower efficiency ratings . . . .' The Government interprets this proviso as a special withdrawal of the proviso-defined classes of veterans from the general terms of the first clause of § 12 relating to "length of service." It views this proviso as the congressional creation of classes of veterans' "preference employees" who "shall," if they have the defined efficiency ratings, "be retained in preference to all other competing employees" without regard to length of service as between veterans and non veterans. Thus, under the government's interpretation, length of service would be given the "due effect" required by the first clause of § 12 by its consideration in the determination of retention preferences as between veteran and veteran and as between nonveteran and nonveteran. This interpretation of the proviso and the section, it is argued, would give meaning to all the language used in them, is plainly called for by the language, and harmonizes this portion of the Act with all its other parts and with the Act's broad purposes. The interpretation is compelled, so the The Act not only provides preferences for veterans but under certain circumstances grants preferences to veterans' wives, widows and mothers. § 2, 5 U. S. C. § 851, as amended by 62 Stat. 3. See H. R. Rep. No. 1289, 78th Cong., 2d Sess. 3. Opinion of the Court. 334 U.S. Government argues, by the Act's legislative history, particularly when the proviso and preceding clauses in the section are viewed in the light of a long series of prior congressional enactments and authorized executive orders granting preferences in government employment to veterans and their close relatives. We agree with the Government that in the light of the foregoing factors no other interpretation of the pertinent parts of the section can fairly be reached. In 1876, seventy-two years ago, Congress passed a law which required any executive department when making "any reduction of force" to "retain those persons who may be equally qualified who have been honorably discharged from the military or naval service of the United States, and the widows and orphans of deceased soldiers and sailors." 19 Stat. 143, 169; 5 U. S. C. § 37.5 In 1912 Congress greatly strengthened the old 1876 policy by providing that "in the event of reductions being made in the force in any of the executive departments no honorably discharged soldier or sailor whose record in said department is rated good shall be discharged or dropped, or reduced in rank or salary." 37 Stat. 360, 413. There is nothing ambiguous about this 1912 provision. It was an absolute command that no governmental department should discharge, drop, or reduce in rank any honorably discharged veteran government employee with a rating of "good." Length of service in no way qualified the 5 Disabled veterans had been granted employment preferences in 1865. 13 Stat. 571. This statutory policy was expressly preserved by 87 of the Civil Service Act of 1883, 22 Stat. 403, 406, 5 U. S. C. § 638, was carried forward in other Acts, and has been repeated in a most comprehensive manner in § 2 of the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944. It is of interest that this legislative expression, like the one before us, was a proviso in a section, and that the section as a whole had to do with the manner in which the Civil Service Commission should provide for efficiency ratings in relation to promotions, demotions and dismissals of civil service employees. 323 Opinion of the Court. preference given the veteran. And subsequent executive orders not only recognized this provision as giving veterans an absolute preference,' but also extended the preference to veterans in the field service and to positions not under civil service." 8 Executive Order 4240 of June 4, 1925, as amended by Executive Order 5068 of March 2, 1929, provided, as does Subgroup A-1 here, an absolute retention preference for veterans over nonveterans where the veterans' efficiency ratings were "good," and a similar absolute preference over nonveterans whose ratings were less than good if the veterans' ratings were equal to those of the nonveterans. And at the time of passage of the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944, there were 1943 Civil Service Regulations outstanding 10 which granted veterans with permanent tenure and with a rating of "good" or higher, precisely the same absolute retention preference over nonveterans which is now afforded by Subgroup A-1, here attacked as invalid. Consequently, a holding that veterans with a rating of "good" no longer have a retention preference over nonveterans with longer service, would mean that passage of the Veterans' Preference Act in 1944 narrowed the long-existing scope of veterans' preferences in case of reduction in force of government personnel. The purpose of that Act's sponsors and of Congress in passing it appears to have been precisely the opposite-to broaden rather than narrow the preference. 7 § 7, Executive Order 3567, October 24, 1921. 8 Executive Order 3801, March 3, 1923. "Departmental Circular 146, U. S. Civil Service Comm'n, October 22, 1936. 10 5 Code Fed. Reg. (Supp. 1943) §§ 12.301-12.313. These regulations, like those attacked here, separated all civil service employees into different categories according to their tenure, with permanent mployees having the highest retention status. Thus all permanent mployees, regardless of veterans' preference and of efficiency rating, enjoyed priority over all employees with limited tenures. Opinion of the Court. 334 U.S. 99 11 A The Senate Civil Service Committee was told by the congressional sponsor of the measure that "this bill takes away no existing veterans' preference, either by statute or Executive order, but it does strengthen, broaden, and implements the veterans' preference policy heretofore in effect," and that it would "give legislative sanction to existing veterans' preference, to the rules and regulations in the executive branch of the Government member of the Civil Service Commission in explaining the bill to the Senate Committee called the proviso here involved the "heart of the section," 12 and stated that it was "substantially the same" as the 1912 Act, 13 which, as before pointed out, provided for an absolute veterans' retention preference without regard to length of service." And in explaining the Bill on the floor of the House, the sponsor and active proponents of the measure explained 14 11 Hearings before Senate Committee on Civil Service on S. 1762 and H. R. 4115, 78th Cong., 2d Sess. 8-9. 12 Id. at 29. 13 Id. at 27, 29. 14 Three veterans' organizations collaborated with the legislative sponsors in drafting the Act. Hearings before Senate Committee on Civil Service on S. 1762 and H. R. 4115, 78th Cong., 2d Sess. 8. A representative of one of these organizations stated to the Committee: "This measure gives to honorably discharged veterans of World War I and World War II, their widows, and the wives of disabled veterans who themselves are not qualified, preference in employment where Federal funds are disbursed. It provides, by law, a definite preference both in appointment and retention in Federal positions. While such a preference in many instances now exists by virtue of Executive orders and Civil Service Commission regulations, this bill gives such preference a permanent standing that cannot be changed except by congressional action. The bill, likewise, does not take away from the veteran any rights previously granted under any existing law, Executive order, civil-service rule, or regulation of any department of the Government, but prescribes by law additional preferences and confirms many now existing by regulation." Id. at 41-42. it as strengthening and broadening veterans' preferences then embodied in statutes and executive orders.15 Not only did the friends of the Veterans' Preference Act explain to the Senate Committee on Civil Service and to the Congress the broad preferences the Act would grant. Hostile witnesses graphically pointed out to the Senate Committee what they deemed would be the unfairness of the Act's effect if passed as written. One such witness representing the Civil Service Reform League said: "I think you ought to give consideration to . . . retention of veterans in civil service regardless of length of service. I do not think it is fair, a veteran be retained in service who has been in the service 6 months as against a person who has been in the service 25 years. I believe some distinction might be made, otherwise you would do a grave injustice to those people who have long years of service in civil service." 16 And another witness against the Bill pointed out that under it nonveterans would "be the first to be laid off and the last to be taken on." 99 17 Thus Congress passed the bill with full knowledge that the long standing absolute retention preferences of veterans would be embodied in the Act. Petitioner makes an appealing argument against this policy. But it is a policy adopted by Congress, and our responsibility is to interpret the Act, not to overrule the congressional policy.18 MR. JUSTICE REED, concurring. Affirmed. I agree with the conclusion reached by the Court in this case. My disagreement with the opinion is limited 15 90 Cong. Rec. 3502, 3503, 3505. 16 Hearings before Senate Committee on Civil Service on S. 1762 and H. R. 4115, 78th Cong., 2d Sess. 33-34. 17 Id. at 63, 65. 18 It is worthy of note, however, that Congress, in recognition of hardships resulting from replacement of older government employees |
