Evening star., 1935-06-25
king PERMITTED
10 MAKE CHANGES
IN PENSION BILL
Senate Reconsiders Action.
Hearing Tomorrow on Re-
mainder of Program.
ELLENBoeEN MEASURE
CHANGE TO BE STUDIED
Testimony Will Be Received on
0ld.Age and Job-1nsurance
Legislation.
BY J. A. O'LEARY.


trict Committee to make minor
changes to conform to the national
social security bill, under which the
Federal Government will contribute
toward these pensions. Reconsidera-
ton leaves the bill pending in the
Senate, but it is expected to pass
again without difficulty as soon as the
corrections are made.
Meanwhile, a special Senate sub
committee announced it will hold a
hearing at 3 pm. tomorrow on the
remainder of the local social security
program, the old-age pension and un-
employment insurance bills. This sub
committee, composed of Senators
Copeland of New York and Capper
of Kansas, will consider several pro-
posed changes In the unemployment
insurance bill.
The unemployment insurance bill
Is expected to take up most OF the
time, with the subcommittee consid-.
ering several proposed changes in
the Ellenbogen plan as it passed the
House. One question Is to allow
credit to employers by reducing the
pay, roll tax when a good record is
shown for keeping men steadily at
work. The House bill would increase
the tax on an employer with poor
record, without allowing any reduc-
ton for a good showing. Another
question is whether the District gov
ernment should pay tax in addition
to the employer tax.
Residence, Requirement.
Z As the blind pension measure passed
the Senate late yesterday it con-
tains q residential requirement for
pensioners slightly different from the
fesidence-rule laid down in the ma
tional social security bill, as a condi-
tion which must be met before the
Federal Government would make
grants to match -the local blind pen
sion. 1t passed the House in the same
form sometime ago
Federal aid for pensioning the blind
was added to the national bill in the
Senate, and the details of the amend
ment are still subject to settlement in
conference. As in the case of Federal
grants for old age assistance, the bill
provides that the Social Security
Board must approve the State Tor
District) plan of pension before the
Federal contribution will be made.
And, in the section dealing with
blind pensions, the national bill states.
among other things, that the board
shall not approve plan if 1t excludes
any resident who has resided in the
State Five years during the nine years
Immediately preceding the application
for aid and has resided therein con-
tinuously for one year Immediately
preceding the application"
The local bill requires only one year
of residence to become eligible if the
applicant becomes blind while resi-
dent of the District, but if the blind
ness originated outside the District,
the person would have to be a bona
fide resident of the District for five
years Immediately preceding the filing
of his application for aid hereunder"
The national bill would seem to
make an applicant eligible who had
lived here few years, moved away
for few years, and then returned for
q year or more, provided the local
residence amounted to five years out
Of the nine.
While there probably would be few
actual cases where the circumstances
would give rise to this residential
factor, the question is whether the
Security Board could approve a local
plan which contained this difference
in definition.
The local bill leaves the amount
of blind pension to be fixed by the
Board of Public welfare. Under the
national bill the Federal Government
would match the local payment up
to $15,f In other words, the United
States would pay half Of $50 pension.
There Is one limitation in amount
in the local bill. namely, that in the
case Of a dependent child living with
its parents the compensation shall
not exceed $50 per month.
The measure outlines the examina-
ton to be made by the Welfare Board
before approving an application and
also prohibits those. on the pension
list from publicly soliciting aims.
S75,O00 for ID. c. Share.
The bill authorizes $4,000 to cover
the Districts share Of the pensions
for the first year. The committee
reported that while there are prob
ably 400 blind persons in the District,
between 200 and $50 would be eligible
for pensions.
"As the amount of benefit to be paid
IN every case Is left to the Board
of Public Welfare, with an estimated
average Of $400 per year, 1t is prob
able the maximum cost would be about
e75, 900 per annum," the committee
stated.
Meanwhile, Senator Wagner, DEM
ocrat, Of New York, co-author of the
national security bill, declared 1t
N5ould be contrary to the spirit of the
national program for q State which |
now pays $50 .old-age pension to
reduce its payment by the amount of
the Federal grant. The national bill
provides that the Government would
match o local pension up to SIS, but
leaves the State free to add to the
fetal by giving more than SIS as its
share. In "A letter to Representative
Better, Democrat Of New York, Wag-
ner wrote In part:
eThere Is nothing in the social Sc
curity bill which requires any State |
10 maintain It's present rate of old
age assistance in order to receive the
Federal subsidy. never said there
what did say was that any
etate which used the fact that the |
FedsTai Government was going to
give them help as an excuse for re-
ducing their own efforts would be