Reports & Studies

THE 1935 SOCIAL SECURITY ACT

REPORT OF THE 1935 HOUSE WAYS & MEANS HEARINGS
This is the full report (1,141 pages) of the hearings held in January and February 1935 by the Ways & Means Committee on the 1935 Social Security Act.

REPORT OF THE 1935 SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE HEARINGS
This is the full report (1,354 pages) of the hearings held in January and February 1935 by the Senate Finance Committee on the 1935 Social Security Act.

HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE REPORT ON THE BILL (1935)
Following its consideration of the Administration's bill, the Ways and Means Committee made a Report to the House as it sent the bill forward. This is that report.

 

ADVISORY COUNCIL REPORTS

REPORTS OF THE COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC SECURITY
The Committee on Economic Security (CES) was commissioned by President Roosevelt and its research formed the basis of the legislative proposal the President sent to Congress in January 1935. The material produced by the CES was thus the blueprint for what would become the Social Security Act. Indeed, it was the intellectual and academic case for Social Security in America.

UNPUBLISHED REPORT ON HEALTH INSURANCE OF THE 1935 COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC SECURITY
This report was part of the work of the Committee on Economic Security but it was not included in the published documents, and has, in fact, never before been published. It represents the work of the CES on the issues of health insurance and disability benefits, which were not ultimately included in the published reports because FDR thought that their inclusion might jeopardize the Administration's legislative proposal.

REPORT OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON MEDICAL CARE TO THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE TO COORDINATE HEALTH AND WELFARE ACTIVITES
Following the conclusion of the CES' work in August 1935, President Roosevelt desired to keep the topic of health care alive and so he appointed an inter-agency group to coordinate a long-term study of issues related to health and welfare. This group--the Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare--in turn appointed a Technical Committee on Medical Care, which issued a report in February 1938. The first part of that report, entitled The Need For a National Health Program, was released at the time, and that document is reproduced here.

REPORT OF THE 1938 ADVISORY COUNCIL ON SOCIAL SECURITY
This is the report issued by the 1938 Advisory Council which led to the pivotal 1939 Amendments, which are second in importance only to the original 1935 Act in shaping the Social Security program.

REPORT OF THE 1948-49 ADVISORY COUNCIL ON SOCIAL SECURITY
These are the reports issued by the 1948-49 Advisory Council which led to the 1950 Amendments, which were a turning point in the development of the Social Security program.

REPORT OF THE 1957-59 ADVISORY COUNCIL ON SOCIAL SECURITY
This Council studied the financing of the program and focused its entire report on issues related to financing.

REPORT OF THE 1965 ADVISORY COUNCIL ON SOCIAL SECURITY
This milestone report recommended, among other important changes, the adoption of the Medicare program--which became a reality later that same year.

THE REPORT OF THE 1994-1996 ADVISORY COUNCIL ON SOCIAL SECURITY
The report of the final Social Security Advisory Council offers three very different prescriptions for addressing the long-range financing of Social Security.


TRUST FUNDS

ANNUAL TRUSTEES REPORTS
Each year the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds issue a report of the current status and projected performance of the funds for the short and long terms. These are the reports on the Social Security Trust Funds. We are publishing here for the first time anywhere the complete set of Trustees Reports all the way back to the first report in 1941.

1988 PUBLIC TRUSTEES SYMPOSIA ON THE BUILD-UP OF THE TRUST FUNDS
In 1988, the two Public Trustees managing the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds convened two symposia of experts in the field to discuss the implications of the rapid build-up in the assets of the Trust Funds following the financing changes of the 1983 Amendments. A portion of the materials from these two symposia are now available here.


PROGRAMS

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE DISABILITY PROGRAM 1935-1974
House Ways & Means Committee legislative history of the disability program up through 1974.

SOCIAL SECURITY U.S.A.--1964
Illustrated account of the Social Security program--with an emphasis on administration--as it stood in September 1964.

THE EVOLUTION OF MEDICARE . . . FROM IDEA TO LAW (1969)
This highly-readable Research Report provides a survey of the development of the Medicare program in a larger historical context.

REPORT OF THE PANEL OF EXPERTS ON SSI MODERNIZATION (1992)
In 1990, SSA commissioned a group of outside experts, headed by Arthur Flemming, to study the SSI program and recommend programmatic modernization. Their report was issued in August 1992 and is reproduced here in full.

SSA PROGRAM MANAGEMENT REPORTS
A set of internal-produced reports on various aspects of SSA's programmatic responsibilities


REFORM COMMISSIONS

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON SOCIAL SECURITY (1981)
The National Commission on Social Security was created by Congress in December 1977 and was instructed to undertake a "fundamental, long-term, comprehensive consideration for change in the entire Social Security system." This was the first time that a Commission composed entirely of private citizens has been chartered by Congress to do such a study. The nine-member bipartisan Commission issued its final report in March 1981.

FULL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM [GREENSPAN COMMISSION] (1983)
This report formed the basis of the 1983 Amendments to the Social Security Act. Many features of the current program have their origins in this report, including: taxation of benefits; coverage of federal employees; increase in the age for full retirement from 65 to 67; and the build-up of a large Trust Fund reserve to partially pre-fund the retirement of the baby-boomer generation.

REPORT OF THE BIPARTISAN COMMISSION ON ENTITLEMENT AND TAX REFORM (the Kerrey-Danforth Commission) (1994)
This is the report of an effort to design a fairly complete set of reforms to various federal entitlement programs, including, but not limited to, Social Security and Medicare.

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY (2001)
Full report and extensive documentation of the Commission appointed by President George W. Bush in May 2001 to recommend to the President ways to modernize and reform the Social Security system.

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND REFORM (2010)
Report and supporting documents from the "Obama Fiscal Commission"

 

SPECIAL ISSUES

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL RESOURCES PLANNING BOARD (1942)
In 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt tasked a small federal agency--the National Resources Planning Board--with crafting a blueprint for the future direction of the nation's domestic social welfare programs (including Social Security). This report, published in early 1943, is a classic in the documentation of the development of America's social welare programs.

REPORTS ON INDEPENDENT AGENCY ISSUE (1981-1994)
The Social Security Administration became an independent agency again as a result of legislation in 1994. This collection of materials documents the development of the issue of independence for SSA.

REPORTS OF THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT (1986/1994)
The former Congressional Office of Technology Assessment issued reports on technology issues for Congress, and completed two major studies of computer technology at SSA.

BRIEF SSA-PREPARED FACTSHEET ON THE "NOTCH"
An easy-to-understand "one-pager" on the Notch issue.

FINAL REPORT ON THE SOCIAL SECURITY "NOTCH" ISSUE (1994)
The report of a Congressionally sponsored commission on the history and policy issues involved in the controversial "notch."

REPORT OF THE BOSKIN COMMISSION ON THE CPI (12/96)
This report discusses the issue of whether the Consumer Price Index overstates inflation, and it analyzes the impact any potential overstatement might have on Social Security benefits.

WHITE HOUSE REPORT ON WOMEN AND RETIREMENT SECURITY (10/98)
This report by the National Economic Council Interagency Working Group on Social Security analyzes the role of Social Security and retirement security in general for women.

THE DEVELOPMENT AND HISTORY OF THE POVERTY THRESHOLDS
In the late 1960s an SSA employee named Mollie Orshansky devised a methodology to measure poverty. Her ideas became the basis of the official federal poverty measure in use ever since. This article by Gordon Fisher recounts the history and development of the federal poverty measure and the role Mollie Orshansky played in its development.

1960 DEPARTMENT OF HEW STUDY OF THE RETIREMENT EARNINGS TEST (RET)
Congressionally-mandated study of the background of and proposed changes in the RET.

REPORT OF THE CONSULTANT PANEL ON SOCIAL SECURITY (1976)
In 1976 the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee jointly sponsored a study of the potential effects of using wage vs. price indexing in computing initial Social Security benefit levels.

REPORT TO CONGRESS ON SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES (10/95)
Commission study of the issues involved in providing SSI disability benefits to children.

REPORT TO CONGRESS ON OPTIONS FOR ENHANCING THE SOCIAL SECURITY CARD (1997) .
In 1997 SSA released to Congress its report on potential changes to the Social Security card to make it more secure.

FIRST WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL SECURITY (12/98)
Materials from the first White House Conference on Social Security held in Washington, D.C. on December 8-9, 1998.

BRIEF LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE RET (1999)
Quick summary of major legislative changes in the operation of the RET.

THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY RET (1999)
Study focused on the narrow issue of the rationale for inclusion of the RET in the original 1935 law.

STUDIES ON THE POVERTY INDEX (2011)
Collection of studies and reports on the measurement of poverty (HHS website)


LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES

CRS REPORT: MAJOR DECISIONS IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE CHAMBERS ON SOCIAL SECURITY: 1935-1985 (12/86)Summary of major Congressional policy proposals regarding Social Security.

CRS REPORT: SUMMARY OF MAJOR CHANGES IN THE SOCIAL SECURITY CASH BENEFITS PROGRAM (12/96) Summarizes the major changes to the Social Security program 1935-1996.

THE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY RET (1999)
Study focused on the narrow issue of the rationale for inclusion of the RET in the original 1935 law.

 

HISTORIAN'S OFFICE STUDIES AND REPORTS

RESEARCH NOTES AND SPECIAL STUDIES BY THE HISTORIAN'S OFFICE
A collection of brief Research Notes and longer Special Studies by the SSA Historian's Office.