Social legislation (U.S.)

Social legislation in the United States consists of acts of Congress, state legislatures or local legislative bodies directed at resolving or in other ways dealing with social problems and issues. In most discussions, social legislation in the United States is said to be concerned with Health, Income maintenance, Housing, Education, Employment and Training and Personal Care of dependent populations including the unwell or infirm elderly, mentally ill, orphaned, neglected or abused children and other dependent populations,

Perhaps the most important single piece of social legislation in the U.S. political system is the Social Security Act of 1935, as amended. The current act includes legislation enacting Medicare, (Title XVIII) and Medicaid(Title XiX) as well as the basic social insurance program that provides monthly income support for millions of retired workers and others. The Act also contains numerous other provisions that define the basics of what some see as the American welfare state and opponents deride as "cradle to grave socialism."

The original 1935 Social Security Act included "temporary" programs that were known as categorical aid programs for children of unemployed fathers (Aid to Families with Children}, the blind (Aid to the Blind), disabled workers (Aid to the Disabled} and the elderly poor (Old Age Assistance).

Other selected Congressional Acts important in U.S. social policy are listed on the Related Articles page.