Created by congress to replace the patchwork system of federal grants to states for aid to the aged, blind, or disabled. Introduced to help those who have not earned enough income to qualify for Social Security still afford a basic level of income.
The original Social Security Act of 1935 included provisions called Old-Age Assistance, Aid to the Blind, and Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (added in 1950). These three programs were known as the “adult categories” and were administered by state and local governments with partial Federal funding. As time went by these programs became more on more complex with as many as 1,350 administrative agencies involved and payments varying more than 300% from State to State. 1
Under President Nixon, the Social Security administration (SSA) proposed that they assume responsibility for the “adult categories.” In the Social Security Amendments of 1972, Congress federalized the “adult categories” by creating the SSI program and assigned responsibility for it to SSA, centralizing services throughout the country. 1
The program also “reversed” federal and state roles with regard to adult assistance. In other words, SSI would provide a uniform Federal income amount while optional State programs supplemented that amount.
For more information, see here.
For the full text of the bill, see here.
Endnotes