August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed the “Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996” (PRWORA).
More Social Security history from socialsecurity.gov
On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act.
Later that day, the Washington Post proclaimed that the Social Security Act was the “New Deal’s Most Important Act…Its importance cannot be exaggerated …because this legislation eventually will affect the lives of every man, woman, and child in the country.”
This poster was distributed from November 1936- July 1937 during the initial issuance of Social Security numbers through U.S. post offices and with the help of labor unions.
Source: fdrlibrary.marist.edu
On This Day: The Medicare Bill
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965 which created the Medicare program of health care benefits for those over the age of 65.
LBJ signed the Act at the Truman Library in Independence, MO. Former President Harry S. Truman had long worked towards the goals of the Act, and he participated in the ceremony.
The Trumans were of modest means, and Harry Truman described the event as a “profound personal experience for me.” Harry and Bess received Medicare registration card numbers 1 and 2 in January, 1966.
Source: presidentialtimeline.org
This weekend will be the 76th anniversary of the Social Security Act
On August 14, 1935 legislators and advisors crowded into the White House Cabinet Room to witness the signing of the Social Security Act. News photographers and film crews recorded the moment for history as FDR put his signature on the bill. Standing directly behind the President was the person most responsible for it - Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins. The headline in that day’s Washington Post read “New Deal’s Most Important Act.”
Source: fdrlibrary.marist.edu
