FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-9263
February 3, 1999
No. SS-3
Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., (R-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a third day in a hearing series on Social Security's role in reducing poverty and protecting minorities, surviving families, and individuals with disabilities. The hearing which began on Tuesday, February 2, 1999, will be continued on Wednesday, February 10, 1999, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include Social Security program experts and representatives of interested groups. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
Our nation's Social Security program was enacted in 1935 to help reduce poverty among the elderly. Poverty rates among the elderly fell from 35.2 percent in 1959 to only 10.5 percent in 1997 -- a 235 percent reduction just since reliable poverty statistics began being kept. Further, today's senior poverty rate is among the lowest for all age groups on the basis of income, and when the value of housing is considered, seniors have the lowest poverty rate of any age group at only 5.6 percent. In addition, numerous inflation adjustments, benefit expansions, and tax base increases have contributed to enhanced protections for low-income workers, including many minorities. The total number of persons removed from poverty in 1996 due to social insurance programs (chiefly Social Security) was almost 18 million -- or 1 in 15 Americans.
Many Americans think of Social Security as a retirement program, but program expansions after 1935 extended Social Security's protections to surviving widows and children (in 1939) and individuals with disabilities (in 1950 and 1956). Today, nearly one-third of beneficiaries are the survivors of workers who died prematurely or people with disabilities and their families. For 4.5 million beneficiaries and their families, Social Security disability benefits not only help to replace income lost due to the inability to work; eligibility for this program also provides a gateway to other services and benefits, including Medicare and vocational rehabilitation.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Shaw stated: "Social Security is the number one weapon in our Nation's arsenal against poverty, having successfully freed millions of seniors and families threatened with financial insecurity due to death, disability, or retirement from the clutches of poverty. Members and the public need to better understand how Social Security has achieved this record of success, and how Social Security can be strengthened as reforms are considered to protect our Social Security safety net for generations to come."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The third hearing day in a series on the impacts of the Social Security program will focus on how Social Security protects workers and families against risks such as disability, death, and retirement. The hearing also will focus on how Social Security affects minority families, who face disproportionate risk of low income, disability, and premature worker death.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, February 24, 1999, to
A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Social Security office, room B-316 Rayburn House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities.
If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or
202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is
requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general
(including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be
directed to the Committee as noted above.