108th Congress 

2nd Session 

Committee Print WMCP: 

108-6 

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

__________ 

2004 GREEN BOOK 

BACKGROUND MATERIAL AND DATA ON THE 

PROGRAMS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE 

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 

 

March 2004 

Prepared for the use of the Members of the Committee on 

Ways and Means by members of its staff. This document has 

not been officially approved by the Committee and may not 

reflect the views of its Members. 
ii 

COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

__________ 

ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH CONGRESS 

WILLIAM M. THOMAS, CALIFORNIA, Chairman 

__________ 

ALLISON H. GILES, Chief of Staff 

This document was prepared by the majority staff of the Committee on Ways 

and Means and is issued under the authority of Chairman William M. Thomas. 

This document has not been reviewed or officially approved by the Members of 

the Committee. 
iii 

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 

__________ 

House of Representatives, 

Committee on Ways and Means, 

Washington, DC, March 2004

The Honorable William M. Thomas 

Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

Dear Chairman Thomas: 

Since 1981, the Committee on Ways and Means has published the 

Green Book, which presents background material and statistical data on the 

major entitlement programs and other activities within the Committee's 

jurisdiction. Information on major social programs outside the Committee's 

jurisdiction is also included. 

The Green Book has become a valuable resource for Members of 

Congress, various legislative agencies, the executive departments, as well as 

scholars and citizens interested in government social programs. The document 

was prepared by the Committee staff with assistance from the following 

organizations, to which the staff extends its sincere thanks: Congressional 

Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress; Congressional Budget 

Office; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of 

Labor; Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; Social Security Administration; 

Joint Committee on Taxation; and the Railroad Retirement Board Staff. 

Many members of the Committee’s staff made major contributions to the 

preparation and publication of this document. In particular, I wish to call your 

attention to the work of the Subcommittee on Human Resources staff: Matt 

Weidinger, Staff Director, assisted by Margo Smith and Christine Devere, along 

with editorial assistance and coordination provided by Risa Salsburg. 

On behalf of all those who worked on this, the 18th edition, I am pleased 

to transmit the 2004 Green Book to you and other Members of the Committee on 

Ways and Means. 

Sincerely, 

 Allison H. Giles, 

 Chief of Staff
iv 

P R E F A C E

After 17 previous editions, the Green Book has become a standard 

reference source on American social policy. It is widely used by Members of 

Congress and their staffs, analysts in congressional and administrative agencies, 

members of the media, scholars, and citizens interested in the Nation's social 

policy. 

This edition of the Green Book follows the basic pattern of previous 

editions. The volume is divided into two parts, Program Descriptions and 

Appendices. In the Program Description part, separate sections are devoted to 

the major programs under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and 

Means: Social Security; Medicare; Supplemental Security Income; 

Unemployment Compensation; Earned Entitlements for Railroad Employees; 

Trade Adjustment Assistance; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; Child 

Support Enforcement; Child Care; Title XX Social Services Block Grant; Child 

Protection, Foster Care, and Adoption Assistance; Social Welfare Programs in 

the Territories; Tax Provisions Related to Retirement, Health, Poverty, 

Employment, Disability, and Other Social Issues; and the Pension Benefit 

Guaranty Corporation. A final section summarizes major social programs not 

under the jurisdiction of the Committee (including food stamps, Medicaid, the 

State Children’s Health Insurance Program, Federal housing assistance, School 

Lunch and Breakfast Programs, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for 

Women, Infants, and Children, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the 

Workforce Investment Act, Head Start, the Low-Income Home Energy 

Assistance Program, veterans benefits and services, and workers’ 

compensation). 

The Appendices include information directly related to the programs 

under the Committee’s jurisdiction, including: health care of the elderly; longterm care expenditures; Medicare reimbursements for hospitals and physicians; 

the Medicare+Choice Program; data on employment, earnings, and 

unemployment; data on families and poverty; Federal budget tables; benefits 

available to noncitizens; spending on income-tested benefits in recent decades; a 

review of studies of the effects of welfare reform; and information about 

nonmarital births and Federal strategies to reduce nonmarital pregnancies. 

For the first time individual chapters of the Green Book have been posted 

on the Committee’s website as they are completed, prior to the publication of the 

book as a whole. This is designed to speed the availability of data to those who 

access the Green Book, enhancing its utility to policymakers and others. 
v 

CONTENTS Page 

Letter of Transmittal iii 

Preface iv 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS 

 Start End 

Section 1 Social Security: The Old Age, 

Survivors, and Disability Insurance 

Programs 

1-1 1-82 

Section 2 Medicare 2-1 2-155 

Section 3 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 3-1 3-70 

Section 4 Unemployment Compensation 4-1 4-36 

Section 5 Earned Entitlements for Railroad 

Employees 

5-1 5-28 

Section 6 Trade Adjustment Assistance 6-1 6-16 

Section 7 Temporary Assistance for Needy 

Families (TANF) 

7-1 7-98 

Section 8 Child Support Enforcement Program 8-1 8-107 

Section 9 Child Care 9-1 9-62 

Section 10 Title XX – Social Services Block Grant 

Program 

10-1 10-12 

Section 11 Child Protection, Foster Care, and 

Adoption Assistance 

11-1 11-140 

Section 12 Social Welfare Programs in the 

Territories 

12-1 12-15 

Section 13 Tax Provisions Related to Retirement, 

Health, Poverty, Employment, 

Disability, and Other Social Issues 

13-1 13-75 

Section 14 The Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation 

14-1 14-16 

Section 15 Other Programs 15-1 15-150 

APPENDICES 

Appendix A Data on the Elderly A-1 A-14 

Appendix B Health Status and Expenditures of the 

Elderly, and Background Data on 

Long-Term Care 

B-1 B-47 

Appendix C National and International Health Care 

Expenditures and Health Insurance 

Coverage 

C-1 C-48 

Appendix D Medicare Payment Policies D-1 D-56