In His Own Words
Social Security
President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the challenge of assisting America’s most needy citizens--the elderly, the unemployed, the poor, and the sick--as early as January, 1934, when he formed a Committee on Economic Security to study these issues and recommend legislation. Following publication of the Committee’s report, legislation was considered, debated, and successfully passed through both houses of Congress on August 14, 1935.
As an indirect result of the program’s many expansions over the forty years since its inception, the late 1970s and early 1980s saw the Social Security program facing short and long-term financing crises. President Reagan directed the creation of The National Commission on Social Security Reform, to be chaired by Alan Greenspan and charged with examining the future financial viability of the Social Security Act and with making recommendations to Congress. (1981 Letter)
Dissention among members of this bipartisan Committee escalated as time went by. Some members of the Commission believed that the impending crisis facing Social Security was blown out of proportion. Members were divided about how to resolve various issues, deadlocked on such matters as whether to recommend increasing taxes or reducing benefits. After missing its original deadline and forcing President Reagan to extend the life of the Commission, a compromise was reached that was supported by a majority of the members.
The Commission’s negotiations, however, did little to alter the stalemate in Congress that blocked passage of any bill during the remaining months of 1982. It was at this point that Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) stepped up and led a bipartisan compromise that ultimately allowed passage of the Committee’s recommendations.
On January 3, 1983, after reading a Dole article on Social Security in that morning’s New York Times, Senator Moynihan approached Senator Dole on the Senate floor. Together, the two veteran Senators led a last-ditch, non-partisan effort to break a legislative stalemate and save the Social Security system.
Among the Commissioners’ original recommendations were taxation of Social Security benefits and increasing the retirement age for receiving full benefits. Meeting outside the halls of Congress, the so-called “Gang of Seven” (Dole, Moynihan, three other members of the Greenspan Commission and two Reagan advisors) came up with a timetable of payroll tax increases and spending reforms that legislators of both parties could accept. On April 20, 1983, an appreciative President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law. (March 1983 Letter of Appreciation)
Dole proudly mentioned the reforms in his 1996 Republican Convention speech in which he accepted his party’s nomination for the Presidency. He pointed out, (video link)
"…and I have learned in my own life, from my own experience, that not every man, woman or child can make it on their own. And that in time of need, the bridge between failure and success can be the government itself. And given all that I have experienced, I shall always remember those in need. That is why I helped to save Social Security in 1983 and that is why I will be the president who preserves and strengthens and protects Medicare for America's senior citizens."
Social Security was also mentioned in Dole’s remarks given on June 11, 1996, his last day he served as a United State senator:
“So I remember 1983, and I know Pat Moynihan remembers. We were standing right over in this aisle. We had a bipartisan commission on Social Security. We had met week after week, month after month, and it was about to go down the drain. We'd about given up…Senator Moynihan and I, I think just by chance or fate or whatever, happened to meet in this aisle on my right. And we said, `We’ve got to try one more time to rescue Social Security- one more time.' It wasn't a partisan issue. And we did." (video link)
Dole’s responsibility in passing the 1983 amendments was acknowledged by President Ronald Reagan, who signed the bill into law. He wrote a personal note to Dole dated April 26th, 1983, in which he said,
“I salute you for the leadership role you played in making this landmark legislation possible…This compromise proves that bipartisanship can resolve serious national problems. It is a clear and dramatic demonstration of how effectively our system works when men and women join together for the common good."
More information on the history of the Social Security Act
Content by Katie Cochran, Dole research assistant
