Q: Which party took Social Security from an independent fund and put it in the general fund so that Congress could spend it?
a: It was Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.
FALSE
These articles should help to clear up the misconceptions.
From the Cato Institute http://www.socialsecurity.org/ SSP Report No. 24 p. 6
"All of those proposals reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the
nature of the trust fund. Social Security payroll taxes are currently
bringing in more revenue than the program pays out in benefits, a surplus
that is projected to continue until approximately 2016. Thereafter, the
situation will reverse, with Social Security paying out more in benefits
than it brings in through taxes. The surplus is used to purchase special
issue Treasury bonds. The Social Security surplus used to purchase the
bonds becomes general revenue and is spent on the governments annual
general operating expenses. What remains behind in the trust fund is the
bonds, plus an interest payment attributed to the bonds (also paid in
bonds, rather than cash). Government bonds are, in essence, a form of IOU.
They are a promise against future tax revenue. When the bonds become due, the government will have to repay them out of general revenue."
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98jul/socsec.htm
"The Social Security Trust Fund is an accounting fiction.
The Social Security tax has been raising more money than is needed to pay
for current benefits, in order to build up a surplus to help finance the
retirement of the Baby Boom generation. All of this surplus is lent to the
U.S. Treasury when the Social Security Trust Fund buys bonds from it. The
money is then used to finance the federal deficit, just like any other
money the government borrows. The bonds held by the fund pay the same
interest as bonds held by the public. These bonds are every bit as real
(or as much of a fiction) as the bonds held by banks, corporations, and
individuals. Throughout U.S. history the federal government has always
paid its debts. As a result, government bonds enjoy the highest credit
ratings and are considered one of the safest assets in the world. Thus the
fund has very real and secure assets."
http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/departments/2002/news/0405_news_1.html
"Trust Funds: A Healthy Picture
Although "trust fund" is the term generally used, there are actually four
trust funds - two for Social Security and two for Medicare. At the last
accounting, they held assets totaling almost $1.3 trillion. The
Congressional Budget Office projects they will grow by $2.5 trillion over
the next decade. Their holdings consist of U.S. securities currently
earning 6.9 percent."
These are the 4 Funds: It is in Public Law No: 104-121.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c104:1:./temp/~c1040uihHp:e30331:
H.R.3136
Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 (Enrolled as Agreed to or
Passed by Both House and Senate)
SEC. 107. PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE TRUST FUNDS.
(a) IN GENERAL- Part A of title XI of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following
new section:
`PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE TRUST FUNDS
`SEC. 1145. (a) IN GENERAL- No officer or employee of the
United States shall--
`(1) delay the deposit of any amount into (or delay the credit of any amount to) any Federal fund or otherwise vary from
the normal terms, procedures, or timing for making such deposits or
credits,
`(2) refrain from the investment in public debt
obligations of amounts in any Federal fund, or
`(3) redeem prior to maturity amounts in any
Federal fund which are invested in public debt obligations for any purpose
other than the payment of benefits or administrative expenses from such
Federal fund.
`(b) PUBLIC DEBT OBLIGATION- For purposes of this section,
the term `public debt obligation' means any obligation subject to the
public debt limit established under section 3101 of title 31, United
States Code.
`(c) FEDERAL FUND- For purposes of this section, the term
`Federal fund' means--
`(1) the Federal Old-Age and Survivors
Insurance Trust Fund;
`(2) the Federal Disability Insurance Trust
Fund;
`(3) the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund;
and
`(4) the Federal Supplementary Medical
Insurance Trust Fund.'.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendment made by this section shall
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
Lyndon Johnson had a profound affect on the benefits received. He pushed and signed the legislation for Medicare benefits. He went to Independence Missouri, Harry Truman's home town, to sign it. LBJ signed Harry's card as the first recipient. These are some of his words: www.ssa.guv/history/lbjstmts.html
Remarks With President Truman at the Signing in Independence of the
Medicare Bill--July 30, 1965
"PRESIDENT TRUMAN. Thank you very much. I am glad you like the President.
I like him too. He is one of the finest men I ever ran across.
Mr. President, Mrs. Johnson, distinguished guests:
You have done me a great honor in coming here today, and you have made me a very, very happy man.
This is an important hour for the Nation, for those of our citizens who
have completed their tour of duty and have moved to the sidelines. These
are the days that we are trying to celebrate for them. These people are
our prideful responsibility and they are entitled, among other benefits,
to the best medical protection available.
Not one of these, our citizens, should ever be abandoned to the indignity
of charity. Charity is indignity when you have to have it. But we don't
want these people to have anything to do with charity and we don't want
them to have any idea of hopeless despair.
Mr. President, I am glad to have lived this long and to witness today the
signing of the Medicare bill which puts this Nation right where it needs
to be, to be right. Your inspired leadership and a responsive
forward-looking Congress have made it historically possible for this day
to come about.
Thank all of you most highly for coming here. It is an honor I haven't had
for, well, quite awhile, I'll say that to you, but here it is:"
THE PRESIDENT. "The people of the United States love and voted for Harry
Truman, not because he gave them hell--but because he gave them hope.
I believe today that all America shares my joy that he is present now when
the hope that he offered becomes a reality for millions of our fellow
citizens.
I am so proud that this has come to pass in the Johnson Administration.
But it was really Harry Truman of Missouri who planted the seeds of
compassion and duty which have today flowered into care for the sick, and serenity for the fearful.
Many men can make many proposals. Many men can draft many laws. But few have the piercing and humane eye which can see beyond the words to the people that they touch. Few can see past the speeches and the political battles to the doctor over there that is tending the infirm, and to the
hospital that is receiving those in anguish, or feel in their heart
painful wrath it the injustice which denies the miracle of healing to the
old and to the poor. And fewer still have the courage to stake reputation,
and position, and the effort of a lifetime upon such a cause when there
are so few that share it.
But it is just such men who illuminate the life and the history of a
nation. And so, President Harry Truman, it is in tribute not to you, but
to the America that you represent, that we have come here to pay our love
and our respects to you today. For a country can be known by the quality
of the men it honors. By praising you, and by carrying forward your
dreams, we really reaffirm the greatness of America.
It was a generation ago that Harry Truman said, and I quote him: "Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve
and to enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security
against the economic effects of sickness. And the time has now arrived for
action to help them attain that opportunity and to help them get that
protection."
Well, today, Mr. President, and my fellow Americans, we are taking such
action--20 years later. And we are doing that under the great leadership
of men like John McCormack, our Speaker; Carl Albert, our majority leader;
our very able and beloved majority leader of the Senate, Mike Mansfield;
and distinguished Members of the Ways and Means and Finance committees of the House and Senate--of both parties, Democratic and Republican. Because the need for this action is plain; and it is so clear indeed that we marvel not simply at the passage of this bill, but what we marvel at is that it took so many years to pass it. And I am so glad that Aime For and is here to see it finally passed and signed--one of the first authors.
There are more than 18 million Americans over the age of 65. Most of them
have low incomes. Most of them are threatened by illness and medical
expenses that they cannot afford.
And through this new law, Mr. President, every citizen will be able, in
his productive years when he is earning, to insure himself against the
ravages of illness in his old age.
This insurance will help pay for care in hospitals, in skilled nursing
homes, or in the home. And under a separate plan it will help meet the
fees of the doctors."
Q: Which party put a tax on Social Security?
A: The Democratic party.
FALSE
Actually, it was Ronald Reagan, a Republican, who signed a bill taxing Social Security benefits.
http://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html
"The 1983 Amendments In the early 1980s the Social Security program faced a serious short-term financing crisis. President Reagan appointed a blue-ribbon panel, known as the Greenspan Commission, to study the financing issues and make recommendations for legislative changes. The final bill, signed into law in 1983, made numerous changes in the Social Security and Medicare programs, including the taxation of Social Security benefits, the first coverage of Federal employees under Social Security and an increase in the retirement age in the next century."
Q: Which party increased the tax on Social Security?
A: The Democratic Party with Al Gore casting the deciding vote.
TRUE
Since the statement does not mention any specific bill that Al Gore cast
the deciding vote, it led to an exhaustive search. As a Vice President,
he could have exercised his constitutional powers to break a tie vote in
the Senate.
I did find as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, the
VP did cast a vote in the Senate to break a tie. This Act was a huge bill
that covered everything from agricultural commodities, licensing of radio
spectrum, luxury automobile taxes, fuels, banking, medicare, etc., etc.
The bill passed in the House by a vote of 218-216 and in the Senate by
51-50. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d103:HR02264:|TOM:/bss/d103query.html|
H.R. 2264 Latest Major Action: 8/10/1993 Became Public Law No: 103-66. This is section 13215: SEC. 13215. SOCIAL SECURITY AND TIER 1 RAILROAD RETIREMENT BENEFITS. (a) ADDITIONAL INCLUSION FOR CERTAIN TAXPAYERS- (1) IN GENERAL- Subsection (a) of section 86 (relating to social security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
`(2) ADDITIONAL AMOUNT- In the case of a taxpayer with respect to whom the amount determined under subsection (b)(1)(A) exceeds the adjusted base amount, the amount included in gross income under this section shall be equal to the lesser of--
`(A) the sum of-- `(i) 85 percent of
such excess, plus
`(ii) the lesser of the amount determined under paragraph (1) or an amount equal to one-half of the difference between the adjusted base amount and the base amount of the taxpayer, or
`(B) 85 percent of the social
security benefits received during the taxable year.'
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- Subsection (a) of
section 86 is amended--
(A) by striking `Gross' and
inserting:
`(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in
paragraph (2), gross', and
(B) by redesignating paragraphs
(1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively.
(b) ADJUSTED BASE AMOUNT- Section 86(c) (defining base
amount) is amended to read as follows:
`(c) BASE AMOUNT AND ADJUSTED BASE AMOUNT- For purposes of
this section--
`(1) BASE AMOUNT- The term `base amount' means
`(A) except as otherwise provided
in this paragraph, $25,000,
`(B) $32,000 in the case of a
joint return, and
`(C) zero in the case of a
taxpayer who--
`(i) is married as
of the close of the taxable year (within the meaning of section 7703) but
does not file a joint return for such year, and
`(ii) does not live
apart from his spouse at all times during the taxable year.
`(2) ADJUSTED BASE AMOUNT- The term `adjusted
base amount' means--
`(A) except as otherwise provided
in this paragraph, $34,000,
`(B) $44,000 in the case of a
joint return, and
`(C) zero in the case of a
taxpayer described in paragraph (1)(C).'
(c) TRANSFERS TO THE HOSPITAL INSURANCE TRUST FUND-
(1) IN GENERAL- Paragraph (1) of section 121(e)
of the Social Security Amendments of 1983 (Public Law 92-21) is amended by--
(A) striking `There' and
inserting:
`(A) There';
(B) inserting `(i)' immediately
following `amounts equivalent to'; and
(C) striking the period and
inserting the following: `, less (ii) the amounts equivalent to the
aggregate increase in tax liabilities under chapter 1 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 which is attributable to the amendments to section 86 of such Code made by section 13215 of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993.
`(B) There are hereby appropriated to the hospital insurance trust fund amounts equal to the increase in tax liabilities described in subparagraph (A)(ii). Such appropriated amounts shall be transferred from the general fund of the Treasury on the basis of estimates of such tax liabilities made by the Secretary of the Treasury.Transfers shall be made pursuant to a schedule made by the Secretary of the Treasury that takes into account estimated timing of collection of such liabilities.'
(2) DEFINITION- Paragraph (3) of section 121(e)
of such Act is amended by redesignating subparagraph (B) as suparagraph (C), and by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:
`(B) HOSPITAL INSURANCE TRUST
FUND- The term `hospital insurance trust fund' means the fund established
pursuant to section 1817 of the Social Security Act.'.
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Paragraph (2) of
section 121(e) of such Act is amended in the first sentence by striking
`paragraph (1)' and inserting `paragraph (1)(A)'.
(4) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS- Paragraph (1)(A) of
section 121(e) of such Act, as redesignated and amended by paragraph (1), is amended by striking `1954' and inserting `1986'.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by subsections (a)
and (b) shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1993.
Q. Which party decided to give money to immigrants?
A: That's right, immigrants moved into this country at 65 and got SSI
Social Security. The Democratic Party gave that to them although they
never paid a dime into it.
FALSE
http://www.ssa.gov/history/pdf/ssi.pdf
1972
Public Law 92-603, enacted October 30
"Other Eligibility Provisions Citizenship and Residence
The individual must reside within one of the 50 states or the District of
Columbia and be a citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent
residence or permanently residing in the United States under color of law.
Persons living outside the United States for an entire calendar month lose
their eligibility for such a month."
The SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and the automatic annual COLA (Cost of Living Adjustments) based on the Consumer Price Index were pushed, signed, and implemented during the Nixon administration. So immigrants first received SSI under the Republican administration of President Richard M. Nixon. (Republican) It was actually Bill Clinton that signed legislation barring immigrants from receiving SSI as part of The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. This changed the following year with the signing of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
http://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html
"SSI In the 1970s, SSA became responsible for a new program, Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In the original 1935 Social Security Act, programs were introduced for needy aged and blind individuals and, in 1950, needy disabled individuals were added. These three programs were known as the "adult categories" and were administered by State and local governments with partial Federal funding. Over the years, the State programs became more complex and inconsistent, with as many as 1,350 administrative agencies involved and payments varying more than 300% from State to State.
In 1969, President Nixon identified a need to reform these and related
welfare programs to "bring reason, order, and purpose into a tangle of
overlapping programs." In 1971, Secretary of Health, Education and
Welfare, Elliot Richardson, proposed that SSA assume responsibility for
the "adult categories." In the Social Security Amendments of 1972,
Congress federalized the "adult categories" by creating the SSI program
and assigned responsibility for it to SSA.
SSA was chosen to administer the new program because of its reputation for successful administration of the existing social insurance programs. SSA's nationwide network of field offices and large-scale data processing and record-keeping operations also made it the logical choice to perform the major task of converting over 3 million people from State welfare programs to SSI."
http://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html
"The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of
1996.
This "welfare reform" legislation, signed by the President on 8/22/96,
ended the categorical entitlement to AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent
Children) that was part of the original 1935 Social Security Act by
implementing time-limited benefits along with a work requirement. The law
also terminated SSI eligibility for most non-citizens. Previously,
lawfully admitted aliens could receive SSI if they met the other factors
of entitlement. As of the date of enactment, no new non-citizens could be
added to the benefit rolls and all existing non-citizen beneficiaries would eventually be removed from the rolls (unless they met one of the exceptions in the law.) Also effective upon enactment were provisions eliminating the "comparable severity standard" and reference to "maladaptive behavior" in the determination of disability for children to receive SSI. Also, children currently receiving benefits under the old standards were to be reviewed and removed from the rolls if they could not qualify under the new standards.
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997
This bill passed the House on 7/30/97 by a vote of 346 to 85, and passed the Senate the next day on a vote of 85 to 15. This law restored SSI eligibility to certain cohorts of non- citizens whose eligibility otherwise would be terminated under the "welfare reform" of 1996. It also extended for up to one year the period for redetermining the eligibility of certain aliens who may ultimately not be eligible for continued benefits."
These are the present requirements for SSI eligibility:
http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/cfda/p96006.htm
"96.006 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: The eligibility of an individual who has attained
age 65 or who is blind or disabled is determined on the basis of an
assessment of the individual's monthly income and resources, citizenship
or alien status, U.S. residency, and certain other eligibility
requirements. In determining a month's income, the first $20 of Social
Security or other unearned income is not counted. An additional $65 of
earned income ($85 if the person had no unearned income) received in a
month plus one-half of the remainder above $65 (or $85) also is not
counted. If, after these (and other) exclusions, an individual's countable
income, effective January 2002, is less than $545 per month ($817 for a
couple, both of whom are aged, blind or disabled) and countable resources are less than $2,000 ($3,000 for a couple), the individual may be eligible for payments. The values of household goods, personal effects, an automobile, life insurance, and property needed for self support
