Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-02-11
Local Social Security Bills.

Representative Ellenbogen of Penn
sylvania has just introduced a local
unemployment insurance bill in the
House and Senator Wagner of New
York, one of the leading advocates
of national social security legislation,
has in hand a measure which he
proposed for the District last year but
which never received committee at
tention. Old-age pension legislation
for the District, which received favor
able report from both District COM
mittees during the last Congress, has
same form.
Committees on both sides of the
Capitol are now studying the national
social security legislation proposed by
the President 1t is not yet definitely
known what the final form of the
bills will be, but their passage at this
session in some shape is a foregone
conclusion. 1t is probable that enact
ment of the national laws may be
expedited by the fact that most of
the State Legislatures will withhold
action on the State bills until the
final form of national legislation be-
comes known.
Detailed consideration of a local
unemployment insurance-or unem-
ployment reserve-bill and an old-age
pension bill should of course await
the enactment Of national legislation,
as national legislation is being devised,
in both cases, to enable full participa-
ton by the States in making the plans
effective. The same thing will be true
as far as the District of Columbia is
concerned. But it does not seem too
early to suggest that the subject OF
local social security legislation lends
itself well to the proposal by Senator
King, last year, for occasional joint
meetings of the House and Senate
District Committees.
One or a series of joint meetings OF
the two committees would provide for
the thorough discussion by the Com
missioners and the groups of local
citizens who have interested them
selves in such legislation that should
precede decision on the form that the
local legislation will take. Otherwise,
there is some danger of conflicting
measures in the two Houses that will
require ironing out in conferences
process seldom as satisfactory as agree
ment at the outset on the form the
legislation should take. Certainly
there is an advantage in avoiding two
sets of hearings which will cover the
same ground.
The principle of the national legis-
lation is to provide for Federal pay
roll tax Gin the case of unemploy-
ment reserves) with credit up to 80
per cent for the amount the employer
contributes under local law. In the
case of old-age pensions, the National
Government proposes to meet, on
f1fty-f1fty basis, the State or local
pension up to SIS month-that is,
the maximum pension would be $50
q month. The Federal revenues will
be supplied from another tax on pay
rolls. The source of local contribu-
lions to old-age pensions will be borne.
presumably, out of general revenues.
Last year the cost of old-age pensions
for the first year in the District was
tentatively estimated at about $250000.
Federal participation in the cost, TO-
gether with the anticipated savings
which might be effected in institu-
tionalized care of the aged, may
reduce this estimate.
The District is naturally DESTROYS
of model" laws on social security,
but the tendency should be to avoid
the extremes which are sometimes
confused with perfection in the dis
cussion of measures for the unrepre-
scented District of Columbia. The
Commissioners and local citizens
might well begin now the study of
the form of social security legislation
that would be applicable to the Dis
trict, to be prepared in advance for
discussion of the bills at the appro-
pirate time.