library heading

library heading

Friday, September 30, 2011

Is it True that No Republican Voted for the Social Security or Medicare Acts?



“I wanted to confirm some information. I have been told on more than one occasion that no Republican voted for the Social Security Act in the 1930s or the Medicare Act under President Lyndon Johnson. Is that correct?” The staff of the Newton Falls Public Library enjoys answering such straightforward questions.

Typing the keywords “republicans voted social security 1930s” in a Google search we found the website for Social Security Online History which includes archival documents. “Final Congressional action on the bill took place when the Conference Report was passed by voice vote on August 8, 1935 in the House and on August 9th in the Senate. On August 14, 1935 President Roosevelt signed the bill into law at a ceremony in the White House Cabinet Room.” Vote tallies by party are:
v  House
Ø  Yes – 284 Democrats, 81 Republicans, 1 Farm Labor, 6 Progressive/Other
Ø  No – 15 Democrats, 15 Republicans, 2 Farm Labor, 1 Progressive/Other
Ø  Not Voting – 20 Democrats, 4 Republicans, 0 Farm Labor, 1 Progressive/Other
Ø  Present - – 0 Democrats, 2 Republicans, 0 Farm Labor, 0 Progressive/Other
v  Senate
Ø  Yes -– 60 Democrats, 16 Republicans, 1 Farm Labor, 0 Progressive/Other
Ø  No  – 1 Democrats, 5 Republicans, 0 Farm Labor, 0 Progressive/Other
Ø  Not Voting – 8 Democrats, 4 Republicans, 0 Farm Labor, 0 Progressive/Other

We did a similar keyword search for medicare resulting in the appropriate information also being found at Social Security Online History. “The reconciled version . . . went to final passage in the House on July 27th and final passage in the Senate the following day. President Johnson signed the bill into law at a special ceremony in Independence, Missouri on July 30, 1965.” Vote tallies by party are:
v  House
Ø  Yes – 237 Democrats, 70 Republicans
Ø  No – 48 Democrats, 68 Republicans
Ø  Not Voting – 8 Democrats, 2 Republicans
v  Senate
Ø  Yes – 57 Democrats, 13 Republicans
Ø  No – 7 Democrats, 17 Republicans
ØNot Voting – 4 Democrats, 2 Republicans

No comments: