[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 135 (Friday, August 11, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S12518]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 165, a resolution 
commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Social Security Act, 
submitted earlier today by Senators Packwood and Moynihan; that the 
resolution and preamble be agreed to; that the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, en bloc; further, that any statements on this 
measure appear in the Record at the appropriate place as though read.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  So the resolution (S. Res. 165) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:
                              S. Res. 165

       Whereas on August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
     signed the Social Security Act, which represents one of the 
     most significant legislative achievements of the 20th 
     century;
       Whereas the Social Security Act represents a national 
     commitment between the American Government and the people;
       Whereas Social Security is one of our Nation's most popular 
     and effective programs with a 60-year track record;
       Whereas 141,000,000 persons, along with their employers, 
     pay into the Social Security system;
       Whereas Social Security is an earned benefit for workers 
     and their families when a wage earner retires, becomes 
     disabled, or dies;
       Whereas over 44,000,000 persons, including 3,000,000 
     children, receive Social Security benefits that are 
     automatically adjusted for inflation;
       Whereas over 95 percent of those age 65 and over are 
     eligible for Social Security benefits, 4 out of 5 workers 
     have worked long enough so that they could get Social 
     Security benefits if they become severely disabled, and 98 
     percent of today's children would receive a monthly Social 
     Security benefit if a working parent died;
       Whereas Social Security benefits provide a financial base 
     for retirement, to be supplemented by private savings and 
     pensions;
       Whereas Social Security is the Nation's most successful 
     antipoverty program, saving 15,000,000 people from poverty;
       Whereas Social Security is viewed by the public as one of 
     the most important Government programs and as a pillar of 
     economic security;
       Whereas Social Security benefits help to maintain the 
     independence and dignity of all who receive such benefits;
       Whereas the American public has rejected cutting Social 
     Security to reduce the deficit;
       Whereas Social Security is a self-financed program that in 
     1994 had over $436,000,000,000 in reserves;
       Whereas reforms of Social Security benefits historically 
     have been made only to strengthen the program's long-term 
     integrity and solvency; and
       Whereas Congress recently enacted legislation establishing 
     the Social Security Administration as an independent agency 
     so as to strengthen its ability to better serve 
     beneficiaries: Now, therefore, be it
           Resolved, That the Social Security Act is hereby 
     commended on its 60th anniversary.

  Mr. PACKWOOD. Mr. President, today, with Senator Moynihan, I am 
submitting a resolution commending the 60th anniversary of the signing 
of the 1935 Social Security Act.
  President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on 
August 14, 1935. The act, in addition to provisions for general welfare 
programs, created a social insurance program to pay retired workers, 
age 65 or older, an income after retirement from the work force.
  In signing the Social Security Act, President Roosevelt said:

       We can never insure one hundred percent of the population 
     against one hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes 
     of life, but we have tried to frame a law which will give 
     some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his 
     family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden 
     old age . . .

  In saluting this 60th anniversary, Senator Moynihan and I emphasize 
the economic security that this measure of protection has brought to 
millions of Americans. Our attention will continue to be focused on 
maintaining the solvency of the Social Security trust funds so that 
these earned benefits will continue to be provided to working Americans 
in the future.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, Monday August 14 marks the 60th 
anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act by President 
Franklin Roosevelt in the Cabinet Room of the White House. I am pleased 
to introduce today, along with Senator Packwood, a resolution honoring 
this event.
  As we celebrate this occasion we marvel at the confidence of 
President Roosevelt and his advisers who, in the midst of the despair 
of the Great Depression, could conceive of a Social Security program 
for the United States. President Roosevelt, a former Governor of New 
York, appointed a Committee on Economic Security chaired by Francis 
Perkins also of New York. And as the senior Senator from New York, I 
take pride in the fact that a third New Yorker--Senator Robert Wagner--
introduced the Economic Security Act in 1935 which resulted in the 
Social Security Act that President Roosevelt signed 5 months later. And 
from that moment the program evolved along a natural course.
  In 1995, as a result of this evolutionary process:
   141 million persons will work in employment covered by Social 
Security; 95 percent of persons aged 65 and over as either receiving 
retirement benefits or eligible to receive benefits; 98 percent of 
children under 18 are eligible for survivor benefits if a working 
parent dies; and 80 percent of men and women aged 21 to 64 are eligible 
for benefits in the event of prolonged disability.

  To continue this success story into the next century requires a 
Social Security program that is soundly financed, boldly administered, 
and widely supported.
  The best way to maintain a strong Social Security program is by 
maintaining public support for the program. And here we need to pay 
attention to what is happening and why.
  Polls consistently show that a majority of nonretired adults have 
little or no confidence in Social Security. And no wonder why. Despite 
the fact that we pay into the Social Security system every week we 
never hear from them. Or at least that was the case until now.
  As result of legislation that I first introduced in 1988 and that was 
subsequently included in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, 
the Social Security Administration, this year, began sending out annual 
benefit statements to future Social Security recipients.
  These personal earnings and benefit estimate statement [PEBES] 
provide estimates of benefits that individuals may be eligible to 
receive, including retirement, survivors, disability, and dependents 
benefits.
  Sixty years ago President Roosevelt and his advisers--in the midst of 
a depression--could look forward with confidence as they built a Social 
Security system.
  Today our economy is eight times larger than the 1935 economy--and on 
a per-capita basis we are four times richer. Clearly we can afford 
Social Security.
  As needed, the system will be modified to reflect changing 
demographics and labor markets. But those changes must be guided by a 
simple principle enunciated in the 1983 report of the National 
Commission on Social Security Reform--the Greenspan Commission on which 
I proudly served:

       The National Commission believes that changes in the Social 
     Security program should be made only for programmatic 
     reasons, and not for the purposes of balancing the budget.
     

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