Actions in Congress-

Following enactment of the disability freeze in 1954, proponents of expanding Social Security benefits to include disability once again began to push for cash benefits for the disabled.

The problems involved in operating a disability program are significant and the dilemma disability presents really did not change from the earliest days of its consideration by the Committee on Economic Security until Congress and President Eisenhower made the final decision to add disability to Social Security's package of protection. On the one hand, you have the economic security need that disability benefits address. On the other, you have legitimate concerns about costs, potential disincentives to rehabilitation, and the difficulty of making disability determinations. Both sets of concerns were well articulated in the debates leading up to passage of the ‘56 Amendments.

The House Ways & Means Committee included a disability provision, and their Report makes the case for its inclusion. The Senate Finance Committee declined to include such a provision, and their Report makes the case for not doing so. As it happened, the Ways & Means Committee's recommendation was accepted in the House, but the Finance Committee was overruled on the Senate floor as the Senate did adopt a disability provision. The two slightly differing versions were reconciled in Conference and President Eisenhower signed the bill into law on August 1, 1956.

The House passed its version of the legislation on July 18, 1955--and that is the vote reflected below.

The Senate passed it alternative version of the legislation almost exactly one year later on July 17, 1956--and that vote on initial passage is recorded below.

The Conference Report was again passed by the two houses a day apart--by the House on July 26, 1956 and by the Senate on July 27, 1956. Neither vote was a recorded vote, so the only recorded vote is on initial passage in the two chambers.

Recorded Vote Tallies on House & Senate Passage

HOUSE VOTE- July 18, 1955

SENATE VOTE- July 17, 1956