# Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3ARL30920 ## Record - **Collection:** Congressional research report - **Document type:** CRS Report - **Published:** January 22, 2025 - **Citation:** RL30920 ## Text Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Updated January 22, 2025 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov RL30920 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Social Security—formally known as Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance—was enacted in 1935 and has been amended numerous times. Lists and summaries of individual major Social Security amendments may illuminate the tone and context of the debate of the program in the House and Senate. Major statutory decisions made by Congress on the Social Security program, vote information, summaries of major legislative actions, and descriptions of floor amendments and congressional debate may be informative to current discussions of the Social Security program. RL30920 January 22, 2025 Tamar B. Breslauer Senior Research Librarian William R. Morton Analyst in Income Security During the 118th Congress, P.L. 118-273 was enacted, repealing two Social Security provisions that reduced Social Security benefits for certain individuals who were in receipt of other pension benefits: the government pension offset, which in various instances reduced Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also received government pensions based on their own earnings not subject to Social Security payroll taxes; and the windfall elimination provision, which in some instances reduced Social Security benefits for individuals who also received a pension or disability benefit based on earnings not subject to Social Security payroll taxes. Congressional Research Service Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chamber Votes................................................................................................................................. 3 P.L. 271—74th Congress, Enactment of the Social Security Act ............................................... 3 House Action....................................................................................................................... 4 Senate Action ...................................................................................................................... 6 Conference Action .............................................................................................................. 7 P.L. 379—76th Congress, Social Security Act Amendments of 1939 ........................................ 7 House Action....................................................................................................................... 8 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 10 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 10 Payroll Tax Freeze, 1942-1947 ............................................................................................... 10 P.L. 492—80th Congress, 1948 Provision for Exclusion of Certain Newspaper and Magazine Vendors from Social Security Coverage (H.R. 5052) and P.L. 642—80th Congress, 1948 Provision to Maintain Status Quo Concept of Employee ........................... 12 House Action..................................................................................................................... 13 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 13 Veto ................................................................................................................................... 13 Veto Override .................................................................................................................... 14 P.L. 734—81st Congress, Social Security Act Amendments of 1950 ...................................... 14 House Action..................................................................................................................... 15 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 16 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 17 P.L. 590—82nd Congress, Social Security Act Amendments of 1952 ..................................... 17 House Action..................................................................................................................... 17 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 18 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 18 P.L. 761—83rd Congress, Social Security Amendments of 1954 ............................................ 18 House Action..................................................................................................................... 19 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 19 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 20 P.L. 880—84th Congress, Social Security Amendments of 1956 ............................................ 20 House Action..................................................................................................................... 21 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 21 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 22 P.L. 85-840, Social Security Amendments of 1958 ................................................................. 22 House Action..................................................................................................................... 22 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 22 House Concurrence ........................................................................................................... 23 P.L. 86-778, Social Security Amendments of 1960 ................................................................. 23 House Action..................................................................................................................... 24 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 24 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 25 P.L. 87-64, Social Security Amendments of 1961 ................................................................... 25 House Action..................................................................................................................... 25 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 26 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 26 Proposed Social Security Amendments of 1964 ..................................................................... 27 Congressional Research Service Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 House Action..................................................................................................................... 27 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 27 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 27 P.L. 89-97, Social Security Amendments of 1965 ................................................................... 28 House Action..................................................................................................................... 28 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 29 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 30 P.L. 89-368, Tax Adjustment Act of 1966 ............................................................................... 31 House Action..................................................................................................................... 31 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 31 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 31 P.L. 90-248, Social Security Amendments of 1967 ................................................................. 32 House Action..................................................................................................................... 32 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 32 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 33 P.L. 91-172, Tax Reform Act of 1969 ..................................................................................... 33 House Action..................................................................................................................... 33 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 34 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 34 P.L. 92-5, Public Debt Limit Increase; Social Security Amendments ..................................... 34 House Action..................................................................................................................... 34 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 35 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 35 P.L. 92-336, Public Debt Limit; Disaster losses; Social Security Act Amendments ............... 35 House Action..................................................................................................................... 36 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 36 House Response to Senate Amendment ............................................................................ 36 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 37 P.L. 92-603, Social Security Amendments of 1972 ................................................................. 37 House Action..................................................................................................................... 38 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 38 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 38 P.L. 93-233, Social Security Benefits Increase ....................................................................... 39 House Action..................................................................................................................... 39 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 39 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 40 P.L. 95-216, Social Security Amendments of 1977 ................................................................. 40 House Action..................................................................................................................... 41 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 43 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 44 P.L. 96-265, Social Security Disability Amendments of 1980 ................................................ 45 House Action..................................................................................................................... 45 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 46 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 46 P.L. 96-403, Reallocation of OASI and DI Taxes ................................................................... 47 House Action..................................................................................................................... 47 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 47 P.L. 96-473, Retirement Test Amendments ............................................................................. 47 House Action..................................................................................................................... 48 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 48 Congressional Research Service Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 House Concurrence ........................................................................................................... 49 Senate Concurrence .......................................................................................................... 49 P.L. 97-35, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 ....................................................... 49 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 50 House Action..................................................................................................................... 50 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 51 P.L. 97-123, Social Security Amendments of 1981 ................................................................. 51 House Action..................................................................................................................... 52 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 52 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 53 P.L. 97-455, An Act Relating to Taxes on Virgin Island Source Income and Social Security Disability Benefits ................................................................................................. 53 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 54 House Action..................................................................................................................... 54 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 55 P.L. 98-21, Social Security Amendments of 1983 ................................................................... 55 House Action..................................................................................................................... 55 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 56 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 57 P.L. 98-460, Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984 .................................... 57 House Action..................................................................................................................... 58 Administrative Action ....................................................................................................... 58 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 59 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 59 P.L. 99-177, Public Debt Limit—Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 .......................................................................................................................... 59 House Action..................................................................................................................... 60 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 60 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 60 S.Con.Res. 32, Proposed COLA Constraints in FY1986 Budget Resolution ......................... 60 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 61 House Action..................................................................................................................... 61 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 62 P.L. 99-509, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 ..................................................... 62 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 62 House Action..................................................................................................................... 62 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 63 P.L. 100-203, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 ................................................... 63 House Action..................................................................................................................... 63 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 63 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 64 On December 21, 1987, the Senate passed the conference report by a vote of 61 (18R, 43-D) to 28 (23-R, 5-D).P.L. 100-647, Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 .......................................................................................................................... 64 House Action..................................................................................................................... 64 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 64 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 64 P.L. 101-239, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 ................................................... 65 House Action..................................................................................................................... 65 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 65 Congressional Research Service Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 65 P.L. 101-508, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 ................................................... 66 House Action..................................................................................................................... 66 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 66 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 67 P.L. 103-66, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 ..................................................... 67 House Action..................................................................................................................... 68 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 68 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 68 House Action as Modified ................................................................................................ 69 Senate Action as Modified ................................................................................................ 69 Conference Action as Modified ........................................................................................ 69 P.L. 103-296, Social Security Administrative Reform Act of 1994 ........................................ 70 House Action..................................................................................................................... 70 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 70 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 71 P.L. 103-387, Social Security Domestic Reform Act of 1994 ................................................. 71 House Action..................................................................................................................... 71 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 71 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 71 P.L. 104-121, Senior Citizens Right to Work Act of 1996 ...................................................... 72 House Action..................................................................................................................... 72 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 72 P.L. 106-170, Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 ...................... 73 House Action..................................................................................................................... 73 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 73 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 73 P.L. 106-182, Senior Citizens Right to Work Act.................................................................... 73 House Action..................................................................................................................... 74 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 74 Conference Action ............................................................................................................ 74 P.L. 108-203, Social Security Protection Act of 2004 ............................................................. 74 House Action..................................................................................................................... 76 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 76 House Response to Senate Action..................................................................................... 76 P.L. 111-312, Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 ............................................................................................................ 77 House Action..................................................................................................................... 77 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 77 House Action as Amended ................................................................................................ 77 Senate Action as Amended................................................................................................ 77 House Action Approved Amendment ............................................................................... 78 P.L. 112-78, Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 ....................................... 78 House Action..................................................................................................................... 78 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 78 P.L. 112-96, Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 ...................................... 78 House Action..................................................................................................................... 79 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 79 House Action as Agreed .................................................................................................... 79 Senate Action as Agreed ................................................................................................... 79 Congressional Research Service Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 P.L. 113-270, No Social Security for Nazis Act ...................................................................... 79 House Action..................................................................................................................... 80 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 81 P.L. 114-74, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 ............................................................................ 81 Changes to Social Security’s Filing Rules ........................................................................ 81 Social Security Payroll Tax Reallocation .......................................................................... 83 House Action..................................................................................................................... 83 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 83 P.L. 115-8, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Social Security Administration relating to Implementation of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 ................................ 84 House Action..................................................................................................................... 84 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 85 P.L. 115-59, Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act of 2017 ...................................... 85 House Action..................................................................................................................... 85 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 85 P.L. 115-165, Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 ........ 85 House Action..................................................................................................................... 86 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 86 P.L. 115-243, Tribal Social Security Fairness Act of 2018 ..................................................... 87 House Action..................................................................................................................... 87 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 87 P.L. 115-174, Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act.............. 87 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 88 House Action..................................................................................................................... 88 P.L. 116-250, ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019 .................................................. 88 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 89 House Action..................................................................................................................... 89 P.L. 116-260, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ............................................................ 90 House Action..................................................................................................................... 91 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 91 P.L. 118-273, Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 ................................................................ 91 House Action..................................................................................................................... 92 Senate Action .................................................................................................................... 93 Tables Table 1. Social Security Laws, 1935-2024 ...................................................................................... 1 Appendixes Appendix. List of Acronyms ......................................................................................................... 95 Contacts Author Information........................................................................................................................ 95 Congressional Research Service Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Introduction The Social Security Act of 1935 established a federal old-age pension financed with employeeemployer payroll taxes. Since then, Congress has amended the Social Security program for multiple purposes, including to expand coverage, change the minimum age for retirement benefits, provide an automatic cost-of-living adjustment to benefits, and address concerns about solvency of the Social Security trust funds. This report traces the major decisions affecting the Social Security program, from the earliest enacting legislation through the most recent congressional session. It provides a summary of the provisions and voting records for each bill, focusing on amendments to Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI), which is the formal name of Social Security. A list of abbreviations used in the report can be found in the Appendix. For an overview of the Social Security program, see CRS Report R42035, Social Security Primer, by Barry F. Huston. Table 1 lists major Social Security legislation from 1935 until the most recent version of this report. Table 1. Social Security Laws, 1935-2024 Year Title Public Law Bill Number 1935 Social Security Act P.L. 74-271a H.R. 7260 1939 Social Security Act Amendments of 1939 P.L. 76-379a H.R. 6635 1942 Revenue Act of 1942 P.L. 77-753a H.R. 7378 Joint Resolution Regarding Tariff Act P.L. 78-211a H.J.Res. 171 Revenue Act of 1943 P.L. 78-235a H.R. 3687 Federal Insurance Contributions Act of 1945 P.L. 78-495a H.R. 5564 1945 Revenue Act of 1945 P.L. 79-214a H.R. 4309 1946 Social Security Amendments of 1946 P.L. 79-719a H.R. 7037 1947 Social Security Amendments of 1947 P.L. 80-379a H.R. 3818 1948 Exclusion of Certain Newspaper and Magazine Vendors from Social Security Coverage P.L. 80-492a H.R. 5052 1948 Maintain Status Quo Concept of Employee P.L. 80-642a H.J.Res 296 1950 Social Security Act Amendments of 1950 P.L. 81-734a H.R. 6000 1952 Social Security Act Amendments of 1952 P.L. 82-590a H.R. 7800 1954 Social Security Amendments of 1954 P.L. 83-761a H.R. 9366 1956 Social Security Amendments of 1956 P.L. 84-880a H.R. 7225 1958 Social Security Amendments of 1958 P.L. 85-840 H.R. 13549 1960 Social Security Amendments of 1960 P.L. 86-778 H.R. 12580 1961 Social Security Amendments of 1961 P.L. 87-64 H.R. 6027 1964 Proposed Social Security Amendments of 1964 — H.R. 11865 1965 Social Security Amendments of 1965 P.L. 89-97 H.R. 6675 1966 Tax Adjustment Act of 1966 P.L. 89-368 H.R. 12752 1943 1943 1944 Congressional Research Service 1 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Year Title Public Law Bill Number 1967 Social Security Amendments of 1967 P.L. 90-248 H.R. 12080 1969 Tax Reform Act of 1969 P.L. 91-172 H.R. 13270 1971 Public Debt Limit, Increase; Social Security Act, Amendments P.L. 92-5 H.R. 4690 1972 Public Debt Limit; Disaster Losses; Social Security Act, Amendments P.L. 92-336 H.R. 15390 1972 Social Security Amendments of 1972 P.L. 92-603 H.R. 1 1973 Social Security Benefits, Increase P.L. 93-233 H.R. 11333 1977 Social Security Amendments of 1977 P.L. 95-216 H.R. 9346 1980 Social Security Disability Amendments of 1980 P.L. 96-265 H.R. 3236 1980 Reallocation of OASl and Dl Taxes P.L. 96-403 H.R. 7670 1980 Earnings Test Amendments P.L. 96-473 H.R. 5295 1981 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 P.L. 97-35 H.R. 3982 1981 Social Security Amendments of 1981 P.L. 97-123 H.R. 4331 1983 An Act Relating to Taxes on Virgin Islands Source Income and Social Security Disability Benefits P.L. 97-455 H.R. 7093 1983 Social Security Amendments of 1983 P.L. 98-21 H.R. 1900 1984 Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984 P.L. 98-460 H.R. 3755 1985 Public Debt Limit—Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 P.L. 99-177 H.J.Res. 372 1985 COLA Constraints in FY86 Budget Resolution — S.Con.Res. 32 1986 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 P.L. 99-509 H.R. 5300 1987 Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 P.L. 100-203 H.R. 3545 1988 Technical and Miscellaneous Act of 1988 P.L. 100-647 H.R. 4333 1989 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 P.L. 101-239 H.R. 3299 1990 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 P.L. 101-508 H.R. 5835 1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 P.L. 103-66 H.R. 2264 1994 Social Security Administrative Reform Act of 1994 P.L. 103-296 H.R. 4277 1994 Social Security Domestic Reform Act of 1994 P.L. 103-387 H.R. 4278 1996 Senior Citizens Right to Work Act of 1996 P.L. 104-121 H.R. 3136 1999 Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 P.L. 106-170 H.R. 1180 2000 Senior Citizens Freedom to Work Act P.L. 106-182 H.R. 5 2004 Social Security Protection Act of 2004 P.L. 108-203 H.R. 743 2010 Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 P.L. 111-312 H.R. 4853 2011 Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 P.L. 112-78 H.R. 3765 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 P.L. 112-96 H.R. 3630 2014 No Social Security for Nazis Act P.L. 113-270 H.R. 5739 2015 Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 P.L. 114-74 H.R. 1314 Congressional Research Service 2 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Year Title Public Law Bill Number 2016 Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the NICS Improvement Act of 2007 P.L. 115-8 H.J.Res 40 2017 Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act of 2017 P.L. 115-59 H.R. 624 2018 Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 P.L. 115-165 H.R. 4547 2018 Tribal Social Security Fairness Act of 2018 P.L. 115-243 H.R. 6124 2018 Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act P.L. 115-174 S. 2155 2020 ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019 P.L. 116-250 S. 578 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 P.L. 116-260 H.R. 133 2024 Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 P.L. 118-273 H.R. 82 Source: Table compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). a. The printed law does not show the number of the Congress that passed it. The number is given here for reference purposes. Chamber Votes P.L. 271—74th Congress, Enactment of the Social Security Act The Social Security Act became law on August 14, 1935, when President Franklin Roosevelt signed H.R. 7260. Title II of the act created a compulsory national old-age benefits program, covering nearly all workers in commerce and industry and providing monthly pensions for insured workers aged 65 or older. A benefit weighted toward lower-paid workers was to be based on cumulative wages and was to be payable beginning in 1942 to persons aged 65 or older who had paid Social Security taxes for at least five years. The benefit was to be withheld from otherwise qualified persons in any month in which they did any work. Under Title VIII of the act, a payroll tax of 1%, each, on employees and employers, payable on earnings up to $3,000 each year, was to be imposed on covered jobs as of January 1, 1937, and was scheduled to rise in steps to 3% each by 1949. Besides old-age benefits, the act provided for a system of federal-state unemployment compensation funded with employer payroll taxes, and for grants to states to help fund assistance payments to certain categories of needy persons (i.e., the aged, the blind, and children under 16 who had been deprived of parental support), child welfare services, and maternal and child health services. When the act was debated in Congress, prominent Republicans in the House and Senate made attempts to delete the provisions creating the old-age pension system. They said they preferred to rely solely on the assistance (i.e., charity/welfare) approach to help the aged. They argued that the payroll tax/insurance mechanism of the old-age benefits provisions might be unconstitutional and that it would impose a heavy tax burden on businesses that would retard economic development. Members of the minority stated, in the Ways and Means Committee’s report to the House, that the old-age benefits program (Title II) and the method by which the money was to be raised to pay for the program (Title VIII) established a “bureaucracy in the field of insurance in competition with private business.” They contended further that the program would “destroy old-age retirement systems set up by private industries, which in most instances provide more liberal Congressional Research Service 3 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 benefits than are contemplated under Title II.”1 Although some party members tried to remove the old-age benefits provisions, the majority of Republicans in both chambers nevertheless did vote for the final Social Security bill. During congressional debate, Democrats generally supported the proposed old-age benefits program, and the vast majority of Democrats voted for the final bill. House Action The Ways and Means Committee began holding executive sessions on the Social Security bill soon after the conclusion of its hearings on it in January and February of 1935.2 The committee reported H.R. 7260 on April 5, 1935, with 17 Democrats voting in favor of the bill and all 7 Republicans voting “present.”3 Debate on the Social Security bill started in the House on April 11 and lasted until April 19, 1935. Approximately 50 amendments were offered, but none passed. According to Edwin Witte, a key player in the development of the Social Security Act, House leaders passed the word that they wanted all amendments defeated.4 Four particularly significant votes were Representative Monaghan’s amendment proposing a revised “Townsend plan” and Representative Connery’s amendment proposing the Lundeen plan, both of which (described below) called for a more generous social insurance system; Representative Treadway’s motion to recommit H.R. 7260 to delete the old-age benefits program and its related taxes; and the vote on final passage of the bill. On April 18, 1935, Representative Monaghan (D-MT) offered an amendment, introduced in its original form by Representative Groarty (D-CA) and referred to as the Townsend plan, which required the federal government to pay a $200-a-month pension to everyone 60 years of age or older, to be financed by a 2% tax on “all financial” transactions (essentially a sales tax). (For more details on the Townsend plan, see discussion of the 1939 amendments below.) Representative Monaghan’s amendment, although less costly than the original Townsend plan, was rejected by a vote of 56 to 206.5 On April 18, 1935, Representative Connery (D-MA) offered an amendment that contained the provisions of a bill sponsored by Representative Lundeen (Farmer-Laborite-MN). The Lundeen bill, which was approved 7-6 by the House Labor Committee, called for the “establishment of a system of social insurance to compensate all workers and farmers, 18 years of age or older, in all 1 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Ways and Means, The Social Security Bill, report to accompany H.R. 7260, 74th Cong., 1st sess., April 5, 1935, H.Rept. 615 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1935), p. 44. 2 Edwin E. Witte, The Development of the Social Security Act (University of Wisconsin Press, 1963), p. 91. (Hereinafter cited as Witte, The Development of the Social Security Act.) 3 A reproduction of the Ways and Means Committee votes on 74 H.R. 7260 appears on p. 283 (PDF p. 293) of U.S. Congress, House Committee on Ways and Means, The Committee on Ways and Means: A Bicentennial History 17891989, 100th Cong., 1st Sess., January 1, 1989, H.Doc. 100-244, at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GPO-CDOC100hdoc244. The reproduction shows that the bill, H.R. 7260, passed committee by a vote of 17 (17-D, 0-R) to 0 (0-D, 0-R). The seven Republican members of the committee voted “present.” One Democratic member of the committee was absent and did not vote by proxy. For a list of committee membership in the 74th Congress by party, see p. 415 (PDF p. 425). 4 Witte, The Development of the Social Security Act, p. 98. 5 Congressional Record, April 18, 1935, House, p. 5958. The vote on the Townsend plan amendment was not taken by roll call, but by division. A division vote is taken as follows: Members in favor of a proposal stand and are counted by a presiding officer; then Members opposed stand and are counted. There is no record of how individual Members voted. The Members voting for the Townsend plan, however, were listed in newspapers. The majority of Members who voted for the Townsend plan were conservative Republicans who opposed the entire Social Security bill. Witte, The Development of the Social Security Act, p. 99. Congressional Research Service 4 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 industries, occupations, and professions, who are unemployed through no fault of their own.... ”6 Representative Lundeen’s plan offered higher benefits than the bill reported out of the Committee on Ways and Means, and it tied benefits to the cost of living. Under the Lundeen proposal, a more generous social insurance program was to be extended to all workers and farmers unable to work because of illness, old age, maternity, industrial injury, or any other disability. This system was to be financed by taxes falling most heavily on persons with higher incomes (by levying additional taxation on inheritances, gifts, and individual and corporation incomes of $5,000 or more per year). There was a division vote of 52 in favor and 204 opposed. Representative Connery asked for tellers. The Connery amendment was rejected by a 40-158 teller vote.7 On April 18, 1935, Representative Treadway (R-MA), the ranking minority Member of the Ways and Means Committee, offered an amendment to strike Title II, the old-age benefit provisions, from the bill. Representative Treadway was opposed to the old-age benefits provision and to the taxing provisions of Title VIII. He said that the financing arrangement was unconstitutional. He indicated that the tax would be particularly burdensome on industry, running up to 6% on payrolls. He said that “business and industry are already operating under very heavy burdens” and maintained that to add a payroll tax to their burden would probably cause more unemployment and more uncertainty.8 Representative Jenkins (R-OH), supporter of the Treadway amendment, stated that making each worker pay 3% of his money for old-age benefits, whether he wanted to or not, and requiring employers to do the same, was clearly unconstitutional. He said, “Why talk about wanting to relieve the Depression, why talk about charity, why talk about all these other things when you are placing a financial lash upon the backs of the people whose backs are breaking under a load of debts and taxes?” He described the old-age benefits system as “compulsion of the rankest kind.”9 The Treadway amendment was defeated by a 49-125 teller vote.10 On April 19, 1935, Representative Treadway made a motion to recommit H.R. 7260, including instructions to the Ways and Means Committee to strike out the old-age and unemployment insurance provisions and to increase the federal contribution for the welfare program of old-age assistance, Title I of the bill.11 Representative Treadway stated that the old-age benefit and unemployment insurance provisions of the bill were not emergency measures and that they “would not become effective in time to help present economic conditions, but, on the contrary would be a definite drag on recovery.” He was opposed to levying a tax against both the employer and the employee. During his remarks on April 12, 1935, he stated that he would “vote most strenuously in opposition to the bill at each and every opportunity.”12 During his April 19, 1935, remarks, Representative Treadway said he was disgusted “at the attitude of business in that it has not shown the proper interest in protecting itself by stating its case before Congress.”13 His motion to recommit was rejected by a vote of 149 (95-R, 45-D, 9-I) to 253 (1-R, 252-D).14 6 Congressional Record, April 18, 1935, House, in floor remarks by Rep. Lundeen, p. 5965. 7 Congressional Record, April 18, 1935, House, p. 5969. In the House, Members would file past tellers and be counted as for or against a measure, but they were not recorded by name. The teller vote has not been used in the House in many years and was never used in the Senate. 8 Congressional Record, April 18, 1935, House, in floor remarks by Rep. Treadway, p. 5990. Also see, Congressional Record, April 12, 1935, House, p. 5531. 9 Congressional Record, April 18, 1935, House, in floor remarks by Rep. Jenkins, p. 5993. 10 Congressional Record, April 18, 1935, House, p. 5994. 11 Congressional Record, April 19, 1935, p. 6068. 12 Congressional Record, April 12, 1935, House, in floor remarks by Rep. Treadway, p. 5531. 13 Congressional Record, April 19, 1935, House, in floor remarks by Rep. Treadway, p. 6053. 14 Congressional Record, April 19, 1935, House, Roll call no. 56, not voting 29, pp. 6068-6069. Congressional Research Service 5 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 On April 19, 1935, the House passed the Social Security bill by a vote of 372 (77-R, 288-D, 7-I) to 33 (18-R, 13-D, 2-I).15 Senate Action There were also four major votes in the Senate: Senator Long’s (D-LA) proposal to substitute taxes on wealth and property for the payroll tax; Senator Clark’s amendment to exempt from coverage employees in firms with private pensions; Senator Hastings’s motion to recommit; and the vote on final passage of the bill. On June 17, 1935, Senator Long offered an amendment to liberalize the proposed old-age assistance program (Title I of the bill) and delete the payroll tax provisions (Title VIII and IX). In place of the payroll tax, Senator Long recommended that states levy a tax on wealth or property. Senator Long’s amendment was rejected by voice vote.16 On June 19, 1935, Senator Clark (D-MO) offered an amendment to exempt from coverage under the old-age benefits system employees in firms with private old-age pension systems. This idea came from an official of a Philadelphia insurance brokerage firm that specialized in group annuity contracts. Proponents of the amendment stated that employees would benefit from more liberal private annuities that would be in true proportion to earnings and service; joint annuities to protect spouses; earlier retirement for disability; and other factors. Supporters of the amendment also maintained that the government would benefit because the reserves of private annuity plans would increase investment and create more income to tax. The Administration (being opposed to the amendment) argued that the amendment did not provide true retirement income guarantees because private pension programs could be cancelled, or the firm sponsoring them could go out of business. Critics maintained that the amendment discouraged the employment of older men. The Ways and Means Committee rejected the proposal and so did the Finance Committee (by a narrow margin), but when Senator Clark offered it as an amendment on the Senate floor, it was passed by a vote of 51 (16-R, 35-D) to 35 (3-R, 30-D, 2-I).17 On June 19, 1935, Senator Hastings (R-DE) made a motion to strike out the old-age benefits provisions from the bill. Senator Hastings stated that those provisions were an effort to write into law a forced annuity system for a certain group of people. He maintained that the reserve account to take care of people in the future was not a contract and the American public could not depend upon it. He stated that the accumulation of huge sums of money for persons who had not yet reached retirement age would be subjected to many demands and most likely could not be preserved intact. He also said “let us not deceive that youth by making him believe that here is an annuity whereby he is contributing 50% and his employer is contributing 50%, and that it goes to his credit, when as a matter of fact, part of it is taken from him in order that we may take care of the older people of today.”18 Senator Hastings’s amendment was rejected by a vote of 15 (12-R, 3-D) to 63 (7-R, 54-D, 2-I).19 On June 19, 1935, Senator George (D-GA) offered an amendment to encourage formation of industrial pensions as a substitute for Titles II and VIII. Under the amendment, employers were to operate and manage their own plans. The amendment called for a uniform schedule of benefits 15 Congressional Record, April 19, 1935, House, Roll call no. 57, not voting 25, pp. 6069-6070. 16 Congressional Record, June 17, 1935, Senate, pp. 9427-9437. 17 Congressional Record, June 19, 1935, Senate, not voting 9, p. 9631. 18 Congressional Record, June 17, 1935, Senate, in floor remarks by Sen. Hastings, p. 9422. 19 Congressional Record, June 19, 1935, Senate, not voting 17, p. 9648. Congressional Research Service 6 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 nationwide and provided for disability and survivor benefits along with old-age and unemployment benefits. The amendment was defeated by voice vote.20 The Senate passed the bill on June 19, 1935, by a vote of 77 (15-R, 60-D, 2-I) to 6 (5-R, 1-D).21 Conference Action The conferees settled all differences except on the Clark amendments related to employees under private pension plans. The conference committee reported the bill without the Clark amendments, but with an understanding that the chairmen of the Ways and Means and Finance Committees would appoint a special joint committee to study whether to exempt industrial employers with private pension plans from coverage under Social Security and to report to the next Congress.22 On July 17, 1935, the House rejected Representative Treadway’s motion to accept the Clark amendment by a vote of 78 to 268;23 then agreed by a vote of 269 to 65 to a motion by Representative Doughton (D-NC) that the House insist that the Senate drop the Clark amendment.24 On July 17, 1935, the Senate agreed, by voice vote, to Senator Harrison’s motion to insist on keeping the Clark amendment and ask for a further conference.25 On August 8, 1935, the conference report cleared the House by a voice vote.26 On August 9, 1935, the Senate conferees agreed to delete the Clark amendment;27 the Senate then agreed to the conference report by a voice vote.28 P.L. 379—76th Congress, Social Security Act Amendments of 1939 H.R. 6635, the Social Security Act Amendments of 1939, was signed into law on August 10, 1939, by President Franklin Roosevelt. Congress expressly provided in the 1935 Act that the Social Security Board (a three-member panel appointed by the President with advice and consent of the Senate) study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance. An advisory council appointed by the Senate Special Committee on Social Security and the Social Security Board was created in May 1937 to work with the Social Security Board to study amending Titles II and VII of the Social Security Act. Some members of the advisory council represented employees, some represented employers, and others represented the general public. Both the Social Security Board and the advisory council made recommendations on how the old-age benefits program should be changed, and many of their recommendations were the same. President Roosevelt sent the Social Security Board’s 20 Congressional Record, June 19, 1935, Senate, p. 9650. 21 Congressional Record, June 19, 1935, Senate, not voting 12, p. 9646. 22 The issue, however, does not appear to have emerged in subsequent Social Security legislation. It has been said that deferring the Clark amendment was crucial to the passage of the bill (Derthick, Martha, Policymaking for Social Security. The Brookings Institution, 1979, p. 282). (Hereinafter cited as Derthick, Policymaking for Social Security.) 23 Congressional Record, July 17, 1935, House, Roll call no. 132, not voting 83, pp. 11342-11343. 24 Congressional Record, July 17, 1935, House, Roll call no. 133, not voting 95, p. 11343. 25 Congressional Record, July 17, 1935, Senate, p. 11310. 26 Congressional Record, August 8, 1935, House, p. 12760. 27 Congressional Record, August 9, 1935, Senate, pp. 12793-12794. 28 Congressional Record, August 9, 1935, Senate, p. 12794. Congressional Research Service 7 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 recommendations to Congress on January 16, 1939. The 1939 amendments incorporated most of the board’s recommendations. The 1939 amendments extended benefits to dependents and survivors of workers covered by Social Security. Dependents included an aged wife, a child under 16 (under 18 if attending school), a widowed mother caring for an eligible child, an aged widow, and a dependent aged parent if there were no eligible widow or child. Widows would receive 75% of the primary insurance amount (PIA)29 of the worker, and all other dependents would receive 50% of the PIA. The starting date for monthly benefits was accelerated to January 1, 1940, instead of January 1, 1942. Benefits were based on average monthly wages rather than on cumulative wages. In addition, Congress repealed the tax rate increase to 1.5%, scheduled to go into effect in 1940, replacing it with an increase to 2% in 1943-1945. The amendments also modified qualifying provisions, including the definition of insured status, for consistency with other changes in the act.30 Further, people receiving OASI benefits were permitted to earn up to $14.99 monthly: no benefits were to be paid in any month in which the recipient earned $15 or more in covered employment. The system now was called Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI). Congress also changed the old-age reserve account to a trust fund, managed by a board of trustees. House Action On June 2, 1939, following public hearings on the proposed amendments and six weeks of executive sessions, the Committee on Ways and Means reported to the House H.R. 6635, embodying its recommendations for amendments to the Social Security Act. The day before, the House had debated on and voted against the Townsend old-age pension bill. The Townsend plan, embodied in H.R. 6466 introduced by Representative McGroarty (D-CA) in January 1935, was offered as a substitute for H.R. 6635.31 The Townsend plan would have provided a monthly pension of $200 to every citizen aged 60 or older who had not been convicted of a felony. To receive the pension, a person could not earn wages and was required to spend the entire pension within 30 days. The plan would have been financed by a 2% tax on every commercial and financial transaction; the President would have been given discretionary power to raise the tax to 3% or to lower it to 1%. During a 1935 Ways and Means Committee hearing, Representative Townsend stated that his plan was only incidentally a pension plan. He said the principal objectives of the proposal were to solve the unemployment problem and to restore prosperity by giving people purchasing power. He cited Census Bureau data that 4 million people over the age of 60 held jobs in 1930. He reiterated that to be eligible for the proposed pension of $200 a month, those elderly people would have to give up their jobs, which he said meant that 4 million jobs would become available to middle-aged and younger people. In addition, he said that requiring 8 million elderly persons to buy $200 worth of goods and services each month would increase demand and result in more jobs.32 29 The primary insurance amount (PIA) was the basic benefit amount for a worker who began receiving benefits at the age of 65. 30 Benefits can be paid to workers or their dependents or survivors only if the worker is “insured” for these benefits. Insured status is measured in terms of “quarters of coverage.” A person who had one year of coverage for every two years after 1936 and before death or reaching the age of 65 was fully insured. 31 The Townsend movement, led by Francis E. Townsend, a California doctor, began in 1934, survived for some 20 years, and was at its peak in the 1935-1941 period. See Derthick, Policymaking for Social Security, p. 193. 32 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Ways and Means, Economic Security Act, hearings on H.R. 4120, 74th Cong., 1st sess., January 21-31 and February 1, 2, 4-8, and 12, 1935 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1935), p. 680. Congressional Research Service 8 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Representative Sabath (D-IL) said he thought it was “decidedly out of place to bring the Townsend bill to the floor.” He said that the bill “had no chance of passing in the first place; neither was it feasible nor possible of operation.”33 Others branded the bill as “crackpot,” and in general objected because they thought that the Social Security program was a better means of caring for the aged, asserting that any liberalization of pensions should be done within the framework of the Social Security Act. Edwin Witte wrote The members of the House of Representatives at all times took the Townsend movement much more seriously than did the senators. The thousands of letters that the members received in support of this plan worried them greatly. With the exception of probably not more than a half dozen members, all felt that the Townsend plan was utterly impossible; at the same time they hesitated to vote against it.34 The House rejected H.R. 6466, the Townsend plan bill, on June 1, 1939, by a vote of 97 (55-R, 40-D, 2-I) to 302 (107-R, 194-D, 1-I).35 A New York Times editorial reported that “the psychological effect of the presentation of the Townsend bill was to make these liberalized benefits, referring to the provisions in H.R. 6635, seem small. Most of those who voted against the Townsend plan will be eager to vote for these liberalized benefits to show that their hearts are in the right place. The result is that the real cost of the new Social Security scale of benefits is not likely to receive very serious attention.”36 The House took up H.R. 6635 on June 6, 1939. The bill had the general support of the Ways and Means Committee. The minority stated in the committee’s report to the House that “while the bill in no sense represents a complete or satisfactory solution of the problem of Social Security, it at least makes certain improvements in the present law (some of which we have ourselves heretofore suggested) which we believe justify us in supporting it despite its defects.”37 On June 9, 1939, Representative Havenner (D-CA) offered an amendment, endorsed by the American Federation of Labor, to extend Social Security coverage to workers employed in college clubs or fraternities or sororities; employees in nonprofit religious, charitable, or educational institutions; student nurses; and some agricultural workers. The amendment was rejected by voice vote.38 On June 9, 1939, Representative Kean (R-NJ) offered an amendment that required that the money derived from the Social Security payroll tax be invested in one-year marketable U.S. government bonds rather than in special nonmarketable Treasury obligations. Representative Kean remarked that the adoption of the amendment would “prevent the present practice of using old-age taxes for current expenses.” The amendment was rejected by voice vote.39 On June 9, 1939, Representative Carlson (R-KS) offered an amendment to exclude noncitizens from coverage under Social Security. He was opposed to putting foreigners under the U.S. oldage insurance provisions. Opponents of the amendment argued that exemption of such people 33 Congressional Record, June 6, 1939, House, p. 6681. 34 Witte, The Development of the Social Security Act, pp. 95-96. 35 Congressional Record, June 1, 1939, House, Roll call no. 85, not voting 29, pp. 6524-6525. 36 “The Townsend Plan Vote,” New York Times, June 2, 1939, Editorial page. 37 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Ways and Means, Social Security Act Amendments of 1939, report to accompany H.R. 6635, 76th Cong., 1st sess., June 2, 1939, H.Rept. 728 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1939), p. 113. 38 Congressional Record, June 9, 1939, House, p. 6935. 39 Congressional Record, June 9, 1939, House, p. 6936. Congressional Research Service 9 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 would give employers of aliens a competitive advantage over vessels owned and manned by Americans. Representative Carlson’s amendment was rejected 24 to 59 by a division vote.40 On June 10, 1939, Representative Carlson moved to recommit H.R. 6635 to the Committee on Ways and Means. The motion was rejected by voice vote.41 On June 10, 1939, the House passed H.R. 6635 by a vote of 364 (142-R, 222-D) to 2 (2-R).42 Senate Action On July 13, 1939, Senator Downey (D-CA), in the course of his statement on how “unworkable, unjust, and unfair” the Social Security Act was, moved that the bill be recommitted to the Finance Committee for more study of the whole pension and savings field. Senator Downey stated that under H.R. 6635 covered workers in 1942 would receive only one-half as much in old-age benefits as those receiving government subsidies (old-age assistance benefits/cash relief). Under H.R. 6635, the average monthly Social Security benefit was projected at between $19 and $20 for 80% of workers in 1942, whereas the maximum old-age assistance benefit was $40. The motion was rejected by a vote of 18 (12-R, 5-D, 1-I) to 47 (4-R, 41-D, 2-I).43 On July 13, 1939, Senator Reynolds (D-NC) offered an amendment to prohibit non-U.S. citizens from being eligible for Social Security coverage or benefits. Senator Harrison (D-MS) offered additional language to Senator Reynolds’s amendment that allowed benefit payments to aliens if they lived within 50 miles of the United States. The amendment as modified was agreed to by voice vote.44 The Senate passed H.R. 6635 on July 13, 1939, by a vote of 57 (8-R, 45-D, 4-I) to 8 (6-R, 2-D).45 Conference Action The conference report was approved by the House on August 4, 1939, by voice vote,46 and by the Senate on August 5, 1939, by a vote of 59 (14-R, 42-D, 3-I) to 4 (4-D).47 Payroll Tax Freeze, 1942-1947 Between 1942 and 1947, the Social Security payroll tax rate increase was postponed seven times. It was not until 1950 that the 1% Social Security tax rate was allowed to rise to 1.5%. The Revenue Act of 1942, P.L. 753 (H.R. 7378, 77th Congress) was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on October 21, 1942. It provided that for calendar year 1943, the payroll tax rate for old-age and survivors benefits would be frozen at the existing rate of 1% for employees and employers, each, instead of being increased to 2% on each as otherwise would have been required. 40 Congressional Record, June 9, 1939, House, pp. 6937-6939. 41 Congressional Record, June 10, 1939, House, p. 6970. 42 Congressional Record, June 10, 1939, House, Roll call no. 91, not voting 63, pp. 6970-6971. 43 Congressional Record, July 13, 1939, Senate, not voting 31, p. 9023. 44 Congressional Record, July 13, 1939, Senate, p. 9030. 45 Congressional Record, July 13, 1939, Senate, not voting 31, p. 9031. 46 Congressional Record, August 4, 1939, House, p. 11092. 47 Congressional Record, August 5, 1939, Senate, not voting 33, p. 11146. Congressional Research Service 10 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 P.L. 211 (H.J.Res. 171, 78th Congress), a joint resolution regarding the Tariff Act, signed by President Roosevelt on December 22, 1943, froze the payroll tax at the 1% rate until March 1, 1944. The purpose of the resolution was to give Congress time to consider the scheduled payroll tax increase before it went into effect. The Revenue Act of 1943, P.L. 235 (H.R. 3687, 78th Congress), was vetoed by President Roosevelt on February 22, 1944; the veto was overridden by the House on February 24, 1944, and by the Senate on February 25, 1944. The bill deferred the scheduled payroll tax increase (from 1 to 2%) until 1945. P.L. 235 also contained an amendment by Senator Murray (D-MT) that authorized the use of general revenues if payroll taxes were insufficient to meet Social Security benefit obligations. Senator Murray stated that the amendment merely stated in law what had been implied in the Senate committee report. Senator Vandenberg (R-MI) replied that the amendment “has no immediate application, it has no immediate menace, it contemplates and anticipates no immediate appropriation; but as the statement of a principle, I agree with the amendment completely.”48 The amendment passed by voice vote.49 The “Murray-Vandenberg” general revenue provision was repealed in 1950, when the tax rate was increased. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) of 1945, P.L. 495 (H.R. 5564, 78th Congress), signed by President Roosevelt on December 16, 1944, froze the payroll tax rate at 1% until 1946 and scheduled the payroll tax rate to rise to 2.5% for the years 1946 through 1948, and to 3% thereafter. The Revenue Act of 1945, P.L. 214 (H.R. 4309, 79th Congress), signed by President Truman on November 8, 1945, deferred the tax rate increase until 1947. The Social Security Amendments of 1946, P.L. 719 (H.R. 7037, 79th Congress), signed by President Truman on August 10, 1946, deferred the tax rate increase until 1948. The Social Security Amendments of 1947, P.L. 379 (H.R. 3818, 80th Congress), signed by President Truman on August 6, 1947, continued the freeze on the tax rate increase until 1950 and provided that it would rise to 1.5% for 1950-1951 and to 2% thereafter. Members who favored these payroll tax freezes argued that the Social Security reserves were adequate and that benefit payments in the immediate future could be met with the current payroll tax rate. In a 1942 letter to the Senate Finance Committee, President Roosevelt said that “a failure to allow the scheduled increase in rates to take place under the present favorable circumstances would cause a real and justifiable fear that adequate funds will not be accumulated to meet the heavy obligations of the future and that the claims for benefits accruing under the present law may be jeopardized.” He also stated that “expanded Social Security, together with other fiscal measures, would set up a bulwark of economic security for the people now and after the war and at the same time would provide anti-inflationary sources for financing the war.”50 Members who were opposed to the freeze argued that the scheduled payroll tax increase was important for the long-term soundness of the OASI Trust Fund and that postponing the tax increase would mean higher payroll tax rates in the future and perhaps government subsidies to meet obligations. Some proponents of the freeze maintained that the Administration wanted the tax increase to retire the public debt accumulated by wartime expenditures. 48 Congressional Record, January 19, 1944, Senate, in floor statement by Sen. Vandenberg, p. 374. 49 Congressional Record, January 19, 1944, Senate, p. 374. 50 Congressional Record, October 9, 1942, Senate, pp. 7983-7984. Congressional Research Service 11 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Although Senator Vandenberg (R-MI) was the main spokesman for postponing the payroll tax increases, the legislative effort to defer tax increases was bipartisan. “Without regard to party or ideology, elected representatives of the people were not willing to argue for increases in an earmarked tax if a current need for them could not be demonstrated,” one scholar observed.51 P.L. 492—80th Congress, 1948 Provision for Exclusion of Certain Newspaper and Magazine Vendors from Social Security Coverage (H.R. 5052) and P.L. 642—80th Congress, 1948 Provision to Maintain Status Quo Concept of Employee Two pieces of 1948 legislation, H.R. 5052 and H.J.Res. 296, settled the argument of who was considered an employee for purposes of Social Security coverage. The term employee was not defined in the Social Security Act or in the Internal Revenue Code. However, in 1936, the Social Security Board and the Department of the Treasury issued regulations that to a certain extent explained the meaning of the terms employee and employer. In defining employer, both sets of regulations emphasized the concept of “control”—the right to give instructions—but other significant factors, such as the right to discharge, the furnishing of tools, and a place to work, were also mentioned in the regulations. During the next few years, the Social Security Board and the Department of the Treasury issued numerous rulings to clarify the boundaries of the employee-employer relationship and a number of court cases established generally applicable precedents. The common-law meaning of employee, however, was very unclear in cases of outside salesmen.52 On December 31, 1946, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in the case of Hearst Publications, Inc. v. The United States, ruled that newspaper vendors should be considered employees rather than independent contractors. H.R. 5052, introduced in 1948, proposed to treat newspaper and magazine vendors as independent contractors rather than employees and thereby to exclude them from Social Security coverage. In addition, in 1948, Congress addressed the broader issue of who was to be considered an employee by passing H.J.Res. 296, a resolution to maintain the status quo of treating newspaper vendors as independent contractors, by stating that Congress, not the courts or the Social Security Administration (SSA), should determine national policy regarding Social Security coverage. It was reported that H.J.Res. 296 was introduced primarily to prevent the release of new federal regulations defining the meaning of employee along the lines interpreted by the Supreme Court in three cases decided in June 1947.53 H.J.Res. 296 excluded from Social Security coverage (and unemployment insurance) any person who was not considered an employee under the commonlaw rules. In effect, H.J.Res. 296 said that independent contractors (e.g., door-to-door salesmen, insurance salesmen, and pieceworkers) were not to be considered employees. H.R. 5052 and H.J.Res. 296 were vetoed by President Truman. Congress overrode both vetoes. In his veto of H.R. 5052, President Truman asserted that the nation’s security and welfare demanded that Social Security be expanded to cover the groups excluded from the program: “Any step in the opposite direction can only serve to undermine the program and destroy the confidence of our people in the permanence of its protection against the hazards of old age, premature death, 51 Derthick, Policymaking for Social Security, p. 237. 52 Wilbur Cohen and James L. Calhoon, “Social Security Legislation. January-June 1948: Legislative History and Background,” Social Security Bulletin, vol. 11, no. 7, July 1948, pp. 3-11, at https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/ v11n7/v11n7p3.pdf. 53 Ibid. Congressional Research Service 12 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 and unemployment.”54 The action taken on H.R. 5052 illustrated the controversial issues involved in determining who should be covered under Social Security. House Action On March 4, 1948, Representative Gearhart (R-CA) asked unanimous consent for immediate consideration of H.R. 5052. He stated that “until the rendition of the federal court decisions I have referred to were rendered the status of the newspaper and magazine vendors was considered by everyone, and as this Congress clearly intended, to be that of independent contractors since they bought their periodicals at a low price and sold them at a higher price, deriving their livelihood from the profit in the operation.” Under the court decisions55 “these vendors were arbitrarily declared to be employees and therefore subject to the payroll taxes though the money they receive is not wages, as generally understood, but profits derived from an independent business operation of their own.” Under the court decisions, newspaper and magazine vendors were in essence employees of all of the newspaper and magazine companies with which they had an arrangement. H.R. 5052 excluded newspaper and magazine vendors from coverage under the Social Security Act. Representative Gearhart stated in his remarks that “when newspaper vendors are covered into the Social Security system—and I believe they will be by act of Congress before this session ends—they will be brought in as the independent contractors which they are, as the self-employed.... ” The House passed H.R. 5052 on March 4, 1948, by unanimous consent.56 On February 27, 1948, H.J.Res. 296 was passed by a vote of 275 to 52.57 Senate Action On March 23, 1948, the Senate passed by unanimous consent H.R. 5052 in form identical to that passed by the House.58 On June 4, 1948, H.J.Res. 296 was passed, after public assistance amendments increasing federal assistance to states were added, by a vote of 74 to 6.59 Although there was no conference on H.J.Res. 296, the House concurred with the Senate amendments on June 4, 1948, by voice vote.60 Veto On April 6, 1948, in the veto message on H.R. 5052, President Truman stated that some vendors work under arrangements, “which make them bona fide employees of the publishers, and, consequently, are entitled to the benefits of the Social Security Act.” President Truman further stated that “It is said that news vendors affected by this bill could more appropriately be covered by the Social Security laws as independent contractors when and if coverage is extended to the self-employed. Whether that is true or not, surely they should continue to receive the benefits to which they are now entitled until the broader coverage is provided. It would be most inequitable 54 Congressional Record, April 6, 1948, House, p. 4134. 55 United States v. Silk (67 S. Ct. 1463), Harrison v. Grayvan Lines, Inc. (67 S. Ct. 1463), and Bartels v. Birmingham (67 S. Ct. 1547). 56 Congressional Record, March 4, 1948, House, p. 2143. 57 Congressional Record, February 27, 1948, House, Roll call no. 18, not voting 103, pp. 1908-1909. 58 Congressional Record, March 23, 1948, Senate, p. 3267. 59 Congressional Record, June 4, 1948, Senate, not voting 16, p. 7134. 60 Congressional Record, June 4, 1948, House, p. 7215. Congressional Research Service 13 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 to extinguish their present rights pending a determination as to whether it is more appropriate for them to be covered on some other basis.”61 On June 14, 1948, President Truman vetoed H.J.Res. 296, saying that “If our Social Security program is to endure, it must be protected against these piecemeal attacks. Coverage must be permanently expanded and no employer or special group of employers should be permitted to reverse that trend by efforts to avoid the burden which millions of other employers have carried without serious inconvenience or complaint.”62 Veto Override The House overrode President Truman’s veto of H.R. 5052 and passed the bill on April 14, 1948, by a vote of 308 (207-R, 101-D) to 28 (2-R, 24-D, 2-I).63 On April 20, 1948, the Senate overrode the President’s veto and passed H.R. 5052 by a vote of 77 (48-R, 29-D) to 7 (7-D).64 On June 14, 1948, President Truman’s veto of H.J.Res. 296 was overridden in the House by a vote of 298 to 7565 and in the Senate by a vote of 65 (37-R, 28-D) to 12 (2-R, 10-D).66 P.L. 734—81st Congress, Social Security Act Amendments of 1950 H.R. 6000, the Social Security Act Amendments of 1950, was signed by President Truman on August 28, 1950. H.R. 6000 broadened the Social Security Act to cover roughly 10 million additional persons, including regularly employed farm and domestic workers; self-employed people other than doctors, lawyers, engineers, and certain other professional groups; certain federal employees not covered by government pension plans; and workers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. On a voluntary group basis, coverage was offered to employees of state and local governments not under public employee retirement systems and to employees of nonprofit organizations. Dependent husbands, widowers, and, under certain circumstances children of insured women were also made eligible for benefits (before, such benefits were not generally available to children of female workers). In addition, Congress raised benefits by about 77%; raised the wage base from $3,000 to $3,600; raised employer and employee taxes gradually from 1.5% to an ultimate rate of 3.25% each in 1970 and years thereafter; set the OASI tax rate for the self-employed at 75% of the combined employer-employee rate; eased requirements for eligibility for benefits by making 1950 the starting date for most people in determining the quarters of coverage needed; permitted recipients to have higher earnings ($50 a month) without losing any OASI benefits (i.e., those aged 75 or older could now earn any amount without losing OASI benefits); and gave free wage credits of $160 for each month in which military service was performed between September 16, 1940, and July 24, 1947.67 61 Congressional Record, April 6, 1948, House, p. 4134. 62 Congressional Record, June 14, 1948, House, p. 8188. 63 Congressional Record, April 14, 1948, House, Roll call no. 44, not voting 93, p. 4432. 64 Congressional Record, April 20, 1948, Senate, not voting 12, p. 4594. 65 Congressional Record, June 14, 1948, House, Roll call no. 105, not voting 57, p. 8191. 66 Congressional Record, June 14, 1948, Senate, not voting 19, p. 8093. 67 Several subsequent pieces of legislation during the early 1950s extended these wage credits to periods of service up to December 31, 1956. The 1967 amendments gave military wage credits of $300 per calendar quarter of service after 1967 (amended in 1972 to be effective in 1957). The 1977 amendments gave wage credits of $100 per $300 of basic pay, up to a maximum of $1,200 credit per year, beginning in 1978. Congressional Research Service 14 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 House Action On August 22, 1949, the Committee on Ways and Means reported H.R. 6000. H.R. 6000 did not include President Truman’s recommendations for health insurance or his request to lower the OASI eligibility age to 60 for women, but it did include disability protection for both Social Security and public assistance recipients. It also extended coverage to farm and domestic workers. All 10 Republicans on the committee (including 7 who voted to send H.R. 6000 to the floor) filed a minority report stating that OASI coverage and benefits should be limited so as to provide only a “basic floor” of economic protection. The minority report opposed the disability insurance provision, saying that aid to the disabled should be limited to charity aid provided under the proposed public assistance program for the permanently and totally disabled.68 The Committee on Rules at first refused to send H.R. 6000 to the floor, but, after much debate, a closed rule barring floor amendments was granted. A number of Members opposed the rule because they said it foreclosed their right to improve the bill through floor amendments. On October 4, 1949, Representative Sabath (D-IL) offered a resolution for four days of debate, with only the Committee on Ways and Means having the right to offer amendments, and with only a motion to recommit being in order. Those favoring the resolution stated that the Ways and Means Committee had devoted six months to considering the bill, had heard testimony from 250 witnesses and thus knew best how to improve the program. Those opposing the closed rule said the bill was very controversial and that the whole House should settle difficult questions of policy. They said the closed rule negated the importance of other House Members and usurped their rights. The House agreed to the resolution for a closed rule by a vote of 189 (12-R, 176-D, 1-I) to 135 (123-R, 12-D) on October 4, 1949.69 On October 5, 1949, Representative Mason (R-IL) moved to recommit H.R. 6000, and offered H.R. 6297 (a bill that carried out the minority view on H.R. 6000) as its substitute. H.R. 6297, introduced by Representative Kean (R-NJ) on October 3, 1949, held the wage base to $3,000; recommended greater coverage for domestic workers so that those who were less regularly employed would be included; exempted teachers, firemen, and policemen with their own pension systems from coverage; confined disability payments to the public assistance program; and recommended that Congress establish an independent Social Security system in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other possessions rather than include them in the existing OASI program. The motion to recommit was defeated by a vote of 113 (112-R, 1-D) to 232 (29-R, 202-D, 1-I).70 Immediately following the rejection of the motion, H.R. 6000 was passed in the House by a vote of 333 (R-130, D-202, 1-I) to 14 (R-12, D-2).71 68 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Ways and Means, Social Security Act Amendments of 1949, report to accompany H.R. 6000, 81st Cong., 1st sess., August 22, 1949, H.Rept. 1300 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1949), pp. 157165. 69 Congressional Record, October 4, 1949, House, Roll call no. 215, not voting 106, p. 13819. 70 Congressional Record, October 5, 1949, House, Roll call no. 217, not voting 84, pp. 13972-13973. 71 Congressional Record, October 5, 1949, House, Roll call no. 218, not voting-84, pp. 13973-13974. Congressional Research Service 15 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Senate Action Since Congress adjourned shortly after the House action, the Senate did not consider H.R. 6000 until 1950. The Senate Finance Committee held extensive hearings and adopted many amendments to H.R. 6000. The committee stated that the chief purpose of the bill was to strengthen the OASI system so that OASI would be the primary method of offering “basic security to retired persons and survivors,”72 with public assistance (particularly old-age assistance) playing strictly a supplementary and secondary role. The Finance Committee version of the bill did not include the disability insurance provision passed by the House nor the provision providing federal grants to states for needy persons who were permanently and totally disabled, nor President Truman’s health insurance proposal. The bill was reported to the Senate on May 17, 1950, and debate began on June 12, 1950. On June 14, 1950, following a Senate Republican Policy Committee meeting, Senator Millikin (R-CO) and Senator Taft (R-OH) indicated that Republicans would support H.R. 6000 but favored a study to determine whether the OASI and old-age assistance programs eventually should be united in a universal pay-as-you-go system. Under this proposal, all elderly persons in the United States would become eligible for subsistence-level pensions at the age of 65, with pension amounts the same for all (rather than varied to reflect earnings during the work career), and financed from current revenues rather than a trust fund.73 An amendment offered by Senator Myers (D-PA) to add a disability insurance program to OASI was rejected by a voice vote.74 On June 20, 1950, another amendment offered by Senator Myers to boost the OASI wage base from $3,000 to $4,200, closer to what President Truman had requested (instead of $3,600 specified in the George amendment—see below), was rejected 36 (9-R, 27-D) to 45 (27-R, 18D).75 On June 20, 1950, Senator Long (D-LA) introduced an amendment to provide federal grants to States for needy disabled persons. The amendment was rejected by a vote of 41 (4-R, 37-D) to 42 (33-R, 9-D).76 On June 20, 1950, Senator George’s (D-GA) amendment to increase the basic wage base from $3,000 to $3,600 was agreed to by voice vote.77 On June 20, 1950, by a voice vote, the Senate adopted S.Res. 300, authorizing a study of a universal pay-as-you-go old-age pension system.78 The Senate passed H.R. 6000 on June 20 by a vote of 81 (35-R, 47-D) to 2 (2-R).79 72 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Finance, Social Security Act Amendments of 1950, report to accompany H.R. 6000, 81st Cong., 2nd sess., May 17, 1950, H.Rept. 1669 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1950), p. 2. 73 Congress and the Nation: 1945-1964, Washington, Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1965, p. 1243. 74 Congressional Record, June 20, 1950, Senate, p. 8904. 75 Congressional Record, June 20, 1950, Senate, not voting 15, p. 8883. 76 Congressional Record, June 20, 1950, Senate, not voting 13, p. 8889. 77 Congressional Record, June 20, 1950, Senate, p. 8883. 78 Congressional Record, June 20, 1950, Senate, p. 8878. 79 Congressional Record, June 20, 1950, Senate, not voting 13, p. 8910. Congressional Research Service 16 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Conference Action Conferees dropped the disability insurance proposal, but retained the public assistance program for the permanently and totally disabled (i.e., the so-called charity approach). The conference report was submitted to the House on August 1, 1950. On August 16, 1950, Representative Byrnes (R-WI) moved to recommit the conference report on H.R. 6000. He stated that his main reason for doing so was to prevent any attempt to remove from the bill a Senate floor amendment by Representative Knowland (R-CA) to reduce federal control over state-administered unemployment insurance. Representative Doughton (D-NC) moved the previous question on the motion to recommit.80 The motion on the previous question was passed by a vote of 188 (120-R, 68-D) to 186 (20-R, 165-D, 1-I). The motion to recommit the conference report was rejected. The conference report passed the House on August 16, 1950, 374 (140-R, 234-D) to 1 (1-R);81 and the Senate on August 17, 1950, by voice vote.82 P.L. 590—82nd Congress, Social Security Act Amendments of 1952 H.R. 7800, the Social Security Amendments of 1952, was signed into law on July 18, 1952, by President Truman. The amendments increased OASI benefits for both present and future recipients (by an average of 15% for those on the rolls), permitted recipients to earn $75 a month (instead of $50) without losing OASI benefits, extended wage credits of $160 for each month in which active military or naval service was performed during the period from July 24, 1947, through December 1953, and provided for a disability “freeze,” which in principle preserved the Social Security benefits of qualified workers who became permanently and totally disabled before retirement by averaging the person’s wages only over his or her working years. (See following conference action section for more details.) House Action In the House, debate centered largely on a so-called disability freeze proposed by the Committee on Ways and Means. Under the provision, if a person became permanently and totally disabled, the period of disability was to be excluded in computing the number of quarters of coverage he or she needed to be eligible for benefits, and in computing the average earnings on which the benefits would be based. The provision, in effect, preserved benefit rights while a person was disabled. Medical examinations by doctors and public institutions would be designated and paid for by the Federal Security Agency (FSA). The American Medical Association (AMA) claimed that this arrangement would lead to socialized medicine. Representative Reed (R-NY), the minority leader of the Ways and Means Committee, was the primary spokesman for Members who endorsed the AMA position. On May 19, 1952, when H.R. 7800 was brought to the floor under suspension of the rules procedure—requiring a two-thirds vote for passage and barring amendments—the majority of Republicans voted against it because of the disability provision, and it was rejected by a vote of 151 (52-R, 98-D, 1-I) to 141 (99-R, 42-D), failing to win a two-thirds vote.83 80 A motion for the previous question, when carried, has the effect of stopping all debate and amendments, forcing a vote on the pending matter. This parliamentary maneuver is used only in the House. 81 Congressional Record, August 16, 1950, House, Roll call no. 242, not voting 55, p. 12673. 82 Congressional Record, August 17, 1950, House, p. 12718. 83 Congressional Record, May 19, 1952, House, Roll call no. 79, not voting 139, pp. 5483-5484. Congressional Research Service 17 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 On June 16, 1952, Democratic leaders brought H.R. 7800 to the floor under suspension of the rules. An amended version of the revised bill empowered the FSA to make disability determinations but omitted the language specifying how the FSA administrator should do so. Representative Reed said “... let no person on this floor be deceived. You have the same old H.R. 7800 here before you. While the socialized medicine advocates pretend to remove the specific instructions to the Administrator, they now give him more powers under general provisions of the law than he had before. You have socialized medicine here stronger in this bill than was H.R. 7800, heretofore defeated.”84 Representative Reed later contended that because of the approaching election, many Members chose to go on record in favor of the other OASI provisions and so voted for the amended version of H.R. 7800. The bill was approved 361 (165-R, 195-D, 1I) to 22 (20-R, 2-D) on June 17, 1952.85 Senate Action When the bill came to the Senate Finance Committee, it dropped the disability freeze provision. The Finance Committee said there was inadequate time to study the issue properly. The committee amendment, offered by Senator George (D-GA), to drop the disability freeze provision, was passed by voice vote on June 26, 1952.86 H.R. 7800 (without the disability freeze provision) was passed in the Senate by a voice vote on June 26, 1952.87 Conference Action The conferees retained the disability freeze provision, in principle. The compromise terminated the freeze provision on June 30, 1953; at the same time, it did not allow an application to be accepted before July 1, 1953. Thus, the disability freeze provision was made inoperative unless Congress, in subsequent legislation, were to take action to remove the bar. The stated intent in making the provision inoperative was to permit “the working out of tentative agreements with the States for possible administration of these provisions.”88 In addition, the conferees gave responsibility for determining whether an applicant was disabled to appropriate state agencies (such as public assistance, vocational rehabilitation, or workmen’s compensation), instead of the FSA. The Federal Security administrator would be able to overturn a ruling by the state agencies that a person was disabled, but would not be able to reverse a ruling by the state agencies that a person was not disabled. The conference report was agreed to July 5, 1952, by voice votes in both chambers.89 P.L. 761—83rd Congress, Social Security Amendments of 1954 H.R. 9366, the Social Security Amendments of 1954, was signed by President Eisenhower on September 1, 1954. In his 1953 State of the Union Message, the President recommended that “OASI should promptly be expanded to cover millions of citizens who have been left out of the 84 Congressional Record, June 16, 1952, House, p. 7293. 85 Congressional Record, June 17, 1952, House, Roll call no. 106, not voting 46, p. 7387. 86 Congressional Record, June 26, 1952, Senate, p. 8141. 87 Congressional Record, June 26, 1952, Senate, p. 8155. 88 U.S. Congress, Conference Committee, 1952. Social Security Act Amendments of 1952, conference report to accompany H.R. 7800, 82nd Cong., 2nd sess., July 5, 1952, H.Rept. 2491 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1952), p. 9. 89 Congressional Record, July 5, 1952, House, p. 9670. Also see, Congressional Record, July 5, 1952, Senate, p. 9523. Congressional Research Service 18 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Social Security system.” The Social Security Amendments of 1954 extended mandatory coverage to, among others, some self-employed farmers, engineers, architects, accountants, and funeral directors, all federal employees not covered by government pension plans, and farm and domestic service workers not covered by the 1950 amendments, and it extended voluntary coverage to ministers and certain state and local government employees already covered by staff retirement systems. The bill also raised the wage base for the OASI tax to $4,200; raised the tax rate to 3.5%, each, for employers and employees beginning in 1970, and to 4.0%, each, beginning in 1975, with the tax rate for the self-employed continuing at 1.5 times the employee rate (or 75% of the combined employee-employer rate). OASI benefits for recipients were raised by roughly 15%, with the maximum individual benefit rising from $85 to $98.50 a month, and a revised benefit formula was provided for future retirees that increased benefits by roughly 27%, with the maximum benefit rising from $85 a month to $108.50. The bill also put the disability freeze into effect (see discussion of House action on the 1952 amendments below), with disability determinations to be made by the appropriate State agencies, permitted a recipient to earn up to $1,200 a year without deductions, eliminated the earnings test for people aged 72 or older, and dropped the five years of lowest earnings from average monthly wage determinations for benefit computation purposes. House Action On June 1, 1954, Representative Smith (D-VA) and other farm area Democrats objected to bringing H.R. 9366 to the floor under a closed rule because coverage of farmers was included in the bill. Representative Smith stated, “I object to the feature of this bill that prohibits you from offering any amendment. I think that requires a little discussion and a little understanding. We all agree that on an ordinary tax bill it is not feasible or practical to write it on the floor of the House, and therefore we have adopted the theory that we have closed rules on tax bills ... all we asked for in the Rules Committee was that the individual members of this House be given an opportunity to offer amendments to designate what classifications of persons should be included.”90 On June 1, 1954, by a vote of 270 (171-R, 98-D, 1-I) to 76 (5-R, 71-D),91 debate of the closed rule was cut off, and the closed rule was then adopted by voice vote. The House bill also included provisions extending mandatory coverage to all self-employed professionals but doctors (dentists and other medical professionals would have been covered).92 The House passed H.R. 9366 on June 1, 1954, by a vote of 356 (181-R, 174-D, 1-I) to 8 (2-R, 6D).93 Senate Action H.R. 9366 as reported by the Finance Committee included the coverage of farm and domestic service workers, ministers, state and local government employees covered by a retirement system, and a small number of professionals. It also increased the earnings test threshold to $1,200 a year; reduced the age at which the earnings test no longer applied to 72; and increased the lump-sum 90 Congressional Record, June 1, 1954, House, in floor remarks by Rep. Smith, p. 7423. 91 Congressional Record, June 1, 1954, House, Roll call no. 77, not voting 87, p. 7425. 92 The American Dental Association and the American Medical Association (AMA) strongly opposed Social Security coverage for their groups. The AMA said it was incompatible with the free enterprise system. Congressional Record, August 13, 1954, Senate, in floor remarks by Sen. Millikin (R-CO), p. 14422. 93 Congressional Record, June 1, 1954, House, Roll call no. 78, not voting 68, p. 7468. Congressional Research Service 19 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 death benefit from $255 to $325.50. During the Senate debate on H.R. 9366, nine amendments were adopted, six were rejected, and six were presented and then withdrawn.94 Among the amendments adopted on the floor by the Senate was a provision by Senator Long (DLA) to require the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to study the feasibility and costs of providing increased minimum benefits of $55, $60, and $75 a month under the Social Security program. On August 13, 1954, Senator Long’s amendment was agreed to by voice vote.95 Among the amendments defeated were the Johnston (D-SC) amendment to reduce the Social Security eligibility age to 60; the Stennis (D-MS) amendments that would have left the coverage of farm workers unchanged; and the Humphrey (D-MN) amendment to increase the widow’s benefit to 100% of the primary insurance amount. On August 13, 1954, Senator Johnston’s amendment was rejected by voice vote.96 On August 13, 1954, the Stennis amendments were rejected en bloc by voice vote.97 On August 13, 1954, Senator Humphrey’s amendment was rejected on a division vote.98 Among the amendments that were presented and then withdrawn was an amendment by Senator Lehman (D-NY) to extend Social Security coverage, increase benefits, add permanent and total disability and temporary disability Social Security benefits, and to make other changes.99 On August 13, 1954, the Senate passed H.R. 9366, by voice vote.100 Conference Action The conferees, among other things, accepted a provision mandatorily covering self-employed farmers, accountants, architects, engineers, and funeral directors, but excluding lawyers, doctors, dentists, or other medical professionals, and extended coverage to federal employees not covered by staff retirement systems. Both chambers agreed to the conference report without amendments by voice vote on August 20, 1954, the last day of the session.101 P.L. 880—84th Congress, Social Security Amendments of 1956 H.R. 7225, the Social Security Amendments of 1956, was signed by President Eisenhower on August 1, 1956. The amendments provided benefits, after a six-month waiting period, for permanently and totally disabled workers aged 50 to 64 who were fully insured and had at least 5 years of coverage in the 10-year period before becoming disabled; to a dependent child 18 years or older of a deceased or retired insured worker if the child became disabled before age 18; to female workers and wives at the age of 62, instead of 65, with actuarially reduced benefits; reduced from 65 to 62 the age at which benefits were payable to widows or parents, with no 94 Wilbur J. Cohen, Robert M. Ball, and Robert J. Myers, “Social Security Act Amendments of 1954: A Summary and Legislative History,” Social Security Bulletin, vol. 17, no. 9, September 1954, pp. 3-18, at https://www.ssa.gov/policy/ docs/ssb/v17n9/v17n9p3.pdf. 95 Congressional Record, August 13, 1954, Senate, p. 14442. 96 Congressional Record, August 13, 1954, Senate, p. 14433. 97 Congressional Record, August 13, 1954, Senate, p. 14435. 98 Congressional Record, August 13, 1954, Senate, p. 14444. 99 Congressional Record, August 13, 1954, Senate, p. 14419. 100 Congressional Record, August 13, 1954, Senate, p. 14446. 101 Congressional Record, August 20, 1954, House, p. 15544. Also, Congressional Record, August 20, 1954, Senate, p. 15414. Congressional Research Service 20 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 reduction; extended coverage to lawyers, dentists, veterinarians, optometrists, and all other selfemployed professionals except doctors;102 increased the tax rate by 0.25% on employer and employee each (0.375% for self-employed people) to finance disability benefits (thereby raising the aggregate tax rate ultimately to 4.25% each for employees and employers); and created a separate Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund. The Social Security program now consisted of OASDI. House Action Major House Ways and Means Committee provisions provided benefits to disabled persons aged 50 or older and reduced the age at which women could first receive OASI benefits to 62. Although some Members maintained that not enough time was spent in working out the details of these two controversial provisions, H.R. 7225 was brought to the floor under suspension of the rules, which barred floor amendments and required a two-thirds vote for passage. H.R. 7225 was passed by the House on July 18, 1955, by a vote of 372 (169-R, 203-D) to 31 (23-R, 8-D).103 Senate Action At Senate Finance Committee hearings on the House-passed bill, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Marion Folsom stated that the Administration was opposed to reducing the retirement age to 62 for women and providing disability benefits. According to Congress and the Nation, Senator Folsom said that OASI had stayed actuarially sound without excessive taxes because it had been restricted to one purpose with “predictable costs”: providing income for the aged.104 Spokesmen for the AFL-CIO and several other groups maintained that union experience with welfare plans and federal studies dating back to 1937 showed that disability insurance was both administratively and financially sound. On June 5, 1956, the Senate Finance Committee reported H.R. 7225 after eliminating the Disability Insurance program and the tax increase to pay for it and limiting retirement benefits at age 62 to widows only. On July 17, 1956, Senator George (D-GA) offered an amendment reinstating the DI program and the tax increase to finance it. The amendment provided for a separate DI Trust Fund (instead of operating the new program out of the OASI Trust Fund). The amendment was passed by a vote of 47 (6-R, 41-D) to 45 (38-R, 7-D).105 Also, on July 17, 1956, the Senate agreed to Senator Kerr’s (D-OK) amendment to permit women to receive benefits at age 62 at actuarially reduced rates. The amendment passed by a vote of 86 (40-R, 46-D) to 7 (5-R, 2-D).106 On July 17, 1956, the Senate passed H.R. 7225 by a vote of 90 (45-R, 45-D) to 0.107 102 P.L. 881-84th Congress, the Servicemen’s and Veterans’ Survivor Benefit Act (H.R. 7089), extended coverage of the Social Security system to members of the uniformed services on active duty on a permanent contributory basis beginning in 1957. It was signed into law on August 1, 1956. 103 Congressional Record, July 18, 1955, House, Roll call no. 119, not voting 29, pp. 10798-10799. 104 Sen. Folsom stated that until the ultimate costs were known, whether it was possible to make disability determinations good enough to avoid “fraudulent’ claims for benefits, and whether disability pensions might discourage individual rehabilitative efforts, adding disability insurance to OASI would risk “overburdening and thus wrecking” the Social Security system. Congress and the Nation: 1945-1964, p. 1251. 105 Congressional Record, July 17, 1956, Senate, not voting 4, p. 13056. 106 Congressional Record, July 17, 1956, Senate, not voting 3, p. 13073. 107 Congressional Record, July 17, 1956, Senate, not voting 6, p. 13103. Congressional Research Service 21 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 Conference Action The House on July 26, 1956,108 and the Senate on July 27, 1956,109 cleared the conference report on H.R. 7225 without amendments by voice votes. P.L. 85-840, Social Security Amendments of 1958 H.R. 13549, the Social Security Amendments of 1958, was signed by President Eisenhower on August 28, 1958. The amendments raised recipients’ benefits an average of 7%, with benefits ranging from $33 to $127 per month for future recipients; increased maximum family benefits from $200 to $254; raised the wage base from $4,200 to $4,800 a year; increased the tax rate by 0.25% on employers and employees each and 0.375% for the self-employed; provided benefits to dependents of workers receiving disability benefits; and permitted the aged dependent parents of an insured deceased worker to receive survivors’ benefits even if the worker’s widow or dependent widower or child were alive and also eligible for benefits. House Action Most of the controversy over H.R. 13549 pertained to public assistance programs. There was relatively little controversy over the proposed OASDI provisions. During debate on H.R. 13549, Representative Reed (R-NY) stated that the bill would strengthen the actuarial soundness of the Social Security program.110 On July 31, 1958, the House passed H.R. 13549 by a vote of 374 to 2.111 Senate Action On August 15, 1958, Senator Yarborough (D-TX) offered an amendment to increase benefits by 10%, rather than 7% as proposed in H.R. 13549. Senator Yarborough stated that in many states old-age public assistance payments were higher than the “Social Security payments the people have earned by putting their money into the Social Security fund.”112 Proponents of the amendment mentioned that a 10% increase would alleviate erosion of benefits due to inflation. Opponents of the amendment argued that many persons getting Social Security also received income from other sources. Some opponents of the amendment maintained that it would jeopardize the enactment of the bill. Senator Yarborough’s amendment was rejected by a vote of 32 (6-R, 26-D) to 53 (33-R, 20-D).113 On August 16, 1958, Senator Kennedy (D-MA) offered an amendment to increase Social Security benefits by 8% (rather than 7%). The Kennedy-Case amendment was rejected by voice vote.114 108 Congressional Record, July 26, 1956, House, p. 14828. 109 Congressional Record, July 27, 1956, Senate, p. 15107. 110 Congressional Record, July 31, 1958, House, p. 15740. 111 Congressional Record, July 31, 1958, House, Roll call no. 149, not voting 54, pp. 15775-15776. 112 Congressional Record, August 15, 1958, Senate, p. 17798. 113 Congressional Record, August 16, 1958, Senate, not voting 11, pp. 17971-17972. 114 Congressional Record, August 16, 1958, Senate, p. 17985. Congressional Research Service 22 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 On August 16, 1958, Senator Morse (D-OR) offered an amendment to increase Social Security benefits by 25%, provide health insurance, and make other changes. Senator Morse’s amendment was rejected by voice vote.115 On August 16, 1958, Senator Humphrey (D-MN) offered an amendment to provide health insurance. (Senator Morse’s amendment was based in part on this Humphrey amendment.) Senator Humphrey withdrew his amendment.116 On August 16, 1958, Senator Kennedy offered an amendment for himself and Senator Smathers (D-NJ) to eliminate the dollar ceiling of $255 on the lump-sum death benefit and restore the 3-to1 ratio between the death benefit and the regular monthly benefit. The amendment was rejected by voice vote.117 On August 16, 1958, Senator Revercomb (R-WV) offered an amendment to provide full Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, for both men and women. Senator Revercomb’s amendment was rejected by voice vote.118 The Senate passed H.R. 13549 on August 16, 1958, by a vote of 79 (37-R, 42-D) to 0.119 House Concurrence On August 19, 1958, the House by a voice vote agreed to the Senate amendments.120 P.L. 86-778, Social Security Amendments of 1960 H.R. 12580, the Social Security Amendments of 1960, was signed by President Eisenhower on September 13, 1960. Health care for the aged was the primary issue in 1960. At the crux of the debate was the question of whether the federal government should assume major responsibility for the health care of the nation’s elderly people, and, if so, whether medical assistance should be provided through the Social Security system or through the public assistance programs (i.e., charity approach). The 1960 amendments provided more federal funds for old-age assistance (OAA) programs so that states could choose to improve or establish medical care services to OAA recipients. In addition, the legislation known as “Kerr-Mills” established a new voluntary program (under jurisdiction of the OAA program) of medical assistance for the aged, under which states received federal funds to help pay for medical care for persons aged 65 or older who were not recipients of OAA but whose income and resources were insufficient to meet their medical expenses. The 1960 amendments also contained a number of OASDI provisions. The amendments made disability benefits available to workers under the age of 50; established a new earnings test whereby each dollar of yearly earnings between $1,200 and $1,500 would cause only a 50-cent reduction in benefits with a dollar-for-dollar reduction in benefits for earnings above $1,500; liberalized requirements for fully insured status so that to be eligible for benefits a person needed only one quarter of covered work for every three calendar quarters (rather than one for every two 115 Congressional Record, August 16, 1958, Senate, p. 18005. 116 Congressional Record, August 16, 1958, Senate, p. 18008. 117 Congressional Record, August 16, 1958, Senate, p. 17986. 118 Congressional Record, August 16, 1958, Senate, p. 17982. 119 Congressional Record, August 16, 1958, Senate, not voting 17, p. 18014. 120 Congressional Record, August 19, 1958, House, p. 18540. Congressional Research Service 23 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 quarters, as under the old law), elapsing after 1950 and before retirement, disability, or death; and raised the survivor benefit of each child to 75% of the parent’s PIA. House Action H.R. 12580 as reported by the Ways and Means Committee contained two medical care provisions for elderly people. The first provision provided the states with additional funding to improve or to establish medical care programs for old-age assistance recipients. The second provision established a new federal-state program (under a new title of the Social Security Act) designed to assist aged persons who were not eligible for public assistance but who were unable to pay their medical bills. The Ways and Means Committee rejected H.R. 4700, introduced by Representative Forand (DRI), which would have provided insurance against the cost of hospital, nursing home, and surgical services for OASDI recipients, by a vote of 17 to 8.121 Proponents of H.R. 12580 said that it provided medical assistance for every aged person in any state that implemented a medical assistance program. Representative Thompson (D-NJ), a supporter of the Forand bill stated that under H.R. 12580 people would be “denied the opportunity of contributing to their old-age health insurance coverage while employed and would be forced to rely upon charity after their working days were over.”122 He contended further that “even this charity ... is contingent upon the action of the separate states.”123 The House passed H.R. 12580 on June 23, 1960, by a vote of 381 (137-R, 244-D) to 23 (7-R, 16D).124 Senate Action The Senate deleted the bill’s new title, and instead adopted an amendment by Senator Kerr (DOK) and Senator Frear (D-DE) that amended Title I of the Social Security Act to provide medical services for medically needy aged persons. On August 20, 1960, Senator Javits (R-NY) offered an amendment to provide federal matching grants to states to enable them to give health care to needy persons aged 65 or older. (This proposal was more generous than the provisions—also based on the public assistance, i.e., charity approach—already in the report by the Finance Committee.) On August 23, 1960, Senator Javits’s amendment was rejected by a vote of 28 (28-R) to 67 (5-R, 62-D).125 Also on August 20, 1960, Senator Anderson (D-NM) offered an amendment to use Social Security as well as the public assistance program for the aged to provide health care to the elderly. On August 23, 1960, Senator Anderson’s amendment was rejected by a vote of 44 (1-R, 43-D) to 51 (32-R, 19-D).126 121 See Social Security Administration (SSA), “Chronology: 1960s,” March 31, 1960, at http://www.ssa.gov/history/ 1960.html. 122 Congressional Record, June 22, 1960, House, in floor remarks by Rep. Thompson, p. 13846. 123 Congressional Record, June 22, 1960, House, in floor remarks by Rep. Thompson, p. 13845. 124 Congressional Record, June 23, 1960, House, Roll call no. 143, not voting 24, pp. 14054-14055. 125 Congressional Record, August 23, 1960, Senate, Roll call no. 305, not voting 5, p. 17176. 126 Congressional Record, August 23, 1960, Senate, Roll call no. 307, not voting 5, p. 17220. Congressional Research Service 24 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 On August 23, 1960, the Senate passed by voice vote Senator Byrd’s (D-WV) amendment to permit men to retire at the age of 62 with actuarially reduced benefits. (The amendment was later dropped in conference.)127 The Senate passed H.R. 12580 on August 23, 1960, by a vote of 91 (31-R, 60-D) to 2 (1-R, 1-D).128 Conference Action The conferees agreed to the medical care provisions in the Senate-passed bill (i.e., no new title for a program for aged persons not eligible for OAA benefits). The medical provisions became known as the Kerr-Mills program, named for Senator Robert Kerr (D-OK) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Wilbur Mills (D-AR). The House agreed to the conference report on August 26, 1960, by a vote of 369 (132-R, 237-D) to 17 (8-R, 9-D).129 The Senate agreed to the conference report on August 29, 1960, by a vote of 74 (31-R, 43-D) to 11 (1-R, 10-D).130 P.L. 87-64, Social Security Amendments of 1961 H.R. 6027, the Social Security Amendments of 1961, was signed into law on June 30, 1961, by President Kennedy. In general, the amendments made many of the changes in the Social Security program recommended by President Kennedy in his February 2, 1961, message to Congress, in which he outlined a program to restore momentum to the national economy.131 The amendments raised the minimum benefit to $40 per month; permitted men to claim retired worker’s benefits at the age of 62, instead of 65, with actuarially reduced benefits; liberalized the insured status requirement so that, subject to the 6-quarter minimum and the 40-quarter maximum, an individual was fully insured if he had one quarter of coverage for every calendar year that elapsed between January 1, 1951, or age 21, whichever was later, and the year before he died, became disabled, or reached retirement age; increased benefits to a surviving aged widow, widower, or dependent parent of an insured deceased worker from 75 to 82.5% of the benefit the worker would have been entitled to if alive; changed the earnings test so that an aged recipient had no benefits withheld if earnings were $1,200 a year or less, $1 withheld for each $2 earned between $1,200 and $1,700, and a $1 reduction in benefits for each additional dollar of earnings above $1,700; and raised the employer and employee tax rates by 0.125% and the self-employed tax rate by 0.1875%.132 House Action In the House, the principal point of dissension was the provision in H.R. 6027 that lowered the eligibility age for men from 65 to 62. Several Republicans opposed the provision on the basis that 127 Congressional Record, August 23, 1960, Senate, p. 17234. 128 Congressional Record, August 23, 1960, Senate, Roll call no. 309, not voting 7, p. 17235. 129 Congressional Record, August 26, 1960, House, Roll call no. 197, not voting 44, p. 17893. 130 Congressional Record, August 29, 1960, Senate, Roll call no. 314, not voting 15, p. 18096. 131 Wilbur J. Cohen and William L. Mitchell, “Social Security Amendments of 1961: Summary and Legislative History,” Social Security Bulletin, vol. 24, no. 9, September 1961, p. 8, at https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v24n9/ v24n9p3.pdf. 132 Congress and the Nation: 1945-1964, p. 1255. Congressional Research Service 25 Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935 it would likely start a trend toward “compulsory retirement” at age 62. Speaking for himse [Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.] --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3ARL30920. Public record. Not legal advice.