For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Stock Number 052-070-02861-1 LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL DECEMBER 30, 1974. To the members of the Joint Economic Committee: Transmitted herewith is Paper No. 20 in the series Studies in Public Welfare, prepared for the use of the Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy. This "Handbook of Public Income Transfer Programs: 1975" is a reference volume for details of how various income security programs work. WRIGHT PATMAN, Chairman, Joint Economic Committee. DECEMBER 27, 1974. Hon. WRIGHT PATMAN, Chairman, Joint Economic Committee, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Transmitted herewith is a "Handbook of Public Income Transfer Programs: 1975," Paper No. 20 in the subcommittee's series Studies in Public Welfare. This is a revised edition of the original "Handbook" published in 1972. It is also the final volume in the series Studies in Public Welfare. This volume is intended primarily as a reference work. It does not attempt to describe or evaluate every aspect of the programs included. Its focus, rather, is on specific features of program operations which are most relevant to analyzing the ways in which these programs operate together. This handbook contains detailed information on how the programs actually work individually at the outset of 1975. And, the format presentation will permit interested readers to compare key features of different programs and thereby to gain a perspective on the broad range of provisions involved. Some of the program features that have been included are the following: financing provisions; major eligibility criteria; definition of family or household; definition of income for program eligibility and benefit computation purposes; benefit-loss rates; accounting periods; work, residence, and citizenship requirements; and amount of benefits. Perhaps the most significant conclusion that the reader may draw from such a volume is the extraordinary complexity and diversity of program eligibility conditions and benefit computation formulas. This handbook represents considerable effort by a large number of people. I acknowledge with gratitude the extensive assistance of the Congressional Research Service and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, as well as other executive branch agencies. The handbook was assembled and edited by Alexander Korns, with the aid of Alair A. Townsend and Martha Grundmann. Further assistance was provided by Katharine H. Conroy, Irene Cox, Vee Burke, James R. Storey, and Jack Ditmore. MARTHA W. GRIFFITHS, Chairman, Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy. |