Major Decisions in the House and Senate on Social Security: 1935-2000

Publication Date: March 2001

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Banking and finance

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Abstract:

Since its enactment in 1935, Social Security has been amended hundreds of times. Consequently, this paper is not fully comprehensive. Instead, it briefly summarizes discussions on individual major amendments. These summations do not capture the range of motivations behind Social Security votes; rather they record the arguments expressed at the time and, by so doing, attempt to give the reader the tone and context of the debate on major Social Security issues brought before the House and Senate chambers.

This report is intended to respond to the many inquiries that CRS gets for Social Security vote information, which range from requests for general information about legislative action over the years to requests for information about specific floor amendments. Thus, it is intended to be a reference document on the major statutory decisions taken by Congress on the Social Security program. A detailed table of contents and a summary table of the legislation discussed are provided to aid the reader.