A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act so as to liberalize the conditions governing eligibility of blind persons to receive disability insurance benefits thereunder.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to reduce the requirements for eligibility for disability benefits for blind persons. Requires that a blind individual have at least six quarters of coverage to be eligible for disability benefits. Sets forth a method of computing the average monthly wage of a blind individual for the purpose of determining such individual's primary insurance amount. Provides that in no case shall such amount be less than the amount which would be determined without regard to an individual's blindness. States that no reductions will be made from the benefits to which a person is entitled because of such person's refusal to accept State-approved rehabilitative services under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Continues the payment of such benefits as long as blindness lasts, the amount of an individual's earnings notwithstanding.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 24, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 24, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JAMES QUILLEN (R-TN) introduced it on January 24, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 24, 1979, 17396 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17396 days ago, on January 24, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers