Comprehensive Social Security Reform Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Comprehensive Social Security Reform Act of 1979 - Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to remove the ceiling on the amount of earnings which may be counted for social security benefit and tax purposes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that taxes payable for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance shall not be imposed with respect to wages received by or paid to an individual during any calendar year to the extent that such wages do not exceed $4,000. Increases the primary insurance amount under title II. Decreases to 55 the age at which an individual may become entitled to full benefits under title II, if such individual is a member of an identifiable group within the general population whose members have actuarially determined life expectancies which are significantly lower than the average actuarially determined life expectancy of all residents of the United States. Repeals the earnings test under title II. Decreases from 20 to 5 the number of years a divorced woman must have been married to an insured individual in order for her to qualify for wife's or widow's benefits on his wage record. Authorizes appropriations to specified trust funds from which amounts are paid under title II and title XVIII (Medicare) under this Act in order to place such funds in the same position at the end of a fiscal year as the position in which they would have been if this Act had not been enacted.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 10, 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 April 10, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- 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?
LOUIS STOKES (D-OH) introduced it on April 10, 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 April 10, 1979, 17368 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17368 days ago, on April 10, 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