Evening star., 1935-08-09
Private Pension Action Is
Slated at Next Session
Under Compromise.
COMMITTEE is NAMED
FOR INTERIM STUDY
With Measure Already Passed by
House, Approval in Senate
Is Probable Today.
BY J. A. OTEARY.

Confident a method Of preserving
private retirement systems can be
worked out separately at the next ses-
sion of Congress. Senator Clark
Democrat. of Missouri will not oppose
final action in the Senate. probably
this afternoon, on the administrators
vast social security program.
The House late yesterday approved
without debate the decision of the
conferees to eliminate the private
pension amendment, with an under
standing that House and Senate sub
committees would continue to work
toward a solution of that problem
during the recess.
Senator Clark's announcement this
morning that he will not fight the
conference report clears the way for
speedy Senate approval, which will
send to the White House for sigma
ture one of the most far-reaching
pieces of legislation enacted in recent
years.
Features Of Bill.
The bill has three main features:
Ffrst-Outright grants to the States
to help them pay gratuities to needy
persons 65 or over and grants for
variety of other welfare purposes in
cluding home care for dependent chill
dren, care of crippled children, pen
sions for the blind, maternal aid and
public health work generally.
Observation-Disclosures a Federal old
age insurance system for those nov
employed in industry, with tax on
employees and employers, starting ir
1887. The theory of this plan is that
as persons now at work build up their
own old-age annuities, the burden OF
paying the gratuity pensions under the
first heading will diminish gradually
1t was in this part of the bill that
Senator Clark tried to give industries
that have voluntarily built up retire
ment plans. equal to or better than the
Government proposal, the right to re-
main out of the Federal contributory-
tax system.
Third-The bill seeks to induce the
States to enact unemployment insur-
ance laws by levying another pay roll
tax on employers only, and then
allowing them to deduct as much as
90 per cent of this Federal levy if
similar unemployment tax is put
into effect in the State.
$4,000 Pay Limit.
The pay roll taxes paid by en-
ployes and employers under the Fed
eral old-age insurance system would
not apply to that portion of salary
in excess OF $4,000 a year, and the
benefits paid to the employe when
he retires at IS would range from
$40 10 S85 a month, depending on
his pay level and length of service
To make this entire program apply
to Washington Congress still must
pass three separate District bills which
already have gone through the House.
Chairman King of the Senate Dis
trict Committee, who also took an
active part in drafting the national
bill, will call a meeting early next
week to act on the District bills.
Two of tre local bills are to enable
the District to share in the Federal
grants for old-age and blind pen
sions. and these measures virtually are
ready to be reported. The third Dis
trict measure is the Ellenbogen un-
employment insurance plan, which
would make the District law more
drastic than the standards in the
national bill or in any of the half
dozen State laws passed up to now.
The Senate committee is considering
series of amendments to this bill.
Compromise for Speed.
In making known that he would not
resist passage of the national bill to-
day, Senator Clark said the private
and governmental experts who worked
during the past week to reach a COM
promise on the private pension amend
ment were in agreement on the basic
principles of settlement, but in
formed the conferees yesterday they
needed more time to perfect the ac-
tuarial details. They thought they
could do it in another week or 10
days, but, with Congress trying to ad-
journ soon, the conferees decided to
drop the question for the time being.
Chairman Harrison Of the Finance
Committee Immediately named the
following Senate group to work with
a House subcommittee on the private
g. nrNICTONTcS 49, o.