BACKGROUND MATERIAL AND DATA COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS FEBRUARY 18, 1982 Prepared for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means by its staff 89-458 O U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1982 COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS DAN ROSTENKOWSKI, Illinois, Chairman SAM M. GIBBONS, Florida J. J. PICKLE, Texas CHARLES B. RANGEL, New York FORTNEY H. (PETE) STARK, California RICHARD A. GEPHARDT, Missouri CECIL (CEC) HEFTEL, Hawaii JAMES M. SHANNON, Massachusetts MARTY RUSSO, Illinois DON J. PEASE, Ohio KENT HANCE, Texas ROBERT T. MATSUI, California DON BAILEY, Pennsylvania BERYL ANTHONY, JR., Arkansas BARBER B. CONABLE, JR., New York GUY VANDER JAGT, Michigan JAMES G. MARTIN, North Carolina JOHN H. ROUSSELOT, California JOHN J. SALMON, Chief Counsel JOSEPH K. DOWLEY, Assistant Chief Counsel (II) PREFACE This document has been prepared for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means by its staff in conjunction with its consideration of possible revisions in the various programs under the jurisdiction of the committee. The book is divided into four parts: Part 1-Description of programs providing benefits or services to individuals within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. Part 2-Description of trust funds for which the Committee on Ways and Means has revenue jurisdiction. Part 3-Revenues. Part 4-Other matters within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means including public debt, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, and capital construction funds. Within part 1, there are summary tables indicating the relative size and recent growth of the individual programs. For each of the programs, there is extensive information on: (a) Who is eligible for the program; (b) How is the payment actually computed; (d) Characteristics of individuals served by the program, and For the programs described in part 2, a brief legislative history, the current financing mechanism, and the financial status of the trust fund is presented. Finally, the document contains 11 appendices setting out in detail: (a) Certain commonly cited statistical data concerning levels of income and poverty in the United States; (b) National health expenditures and health care expenditures of the elderly; (c) A brief summary of all legislative changes enacted during 1981 to spending programs within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and means; (d) A short description of the medicaid program; (e) A short description of the food stamp program; (i) Tables describing the demographic and economic resources of the elderly; (j) Examples illustrating the interactions between AFDC, Social Security, SSI, medicaid, food stamps and the tax system |