Wikipedia

United States Senate Committee on Pensions

The Committee on Pensions was a standing committee of the United States Senate from 1816 to 1946, when the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 abolished it, moving its functions to the Committee on Finance.[1]

Purpose

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Although the Committee was involved in the passage of some broad pension bills, under which individuals could apply to executive agencies for relief, it also handled thousands of private requests from specific individuals petitioning for special consideration. During the lifetime of the Committee, pensions were entirely considered in the context of veterans of war.[1]

History

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Shortly after the founding of the United States, federal pension bills were passed on behalf of Revolutionary War veterans but were implemented by the States, as the federal government had no means to pay for them. Pensions initially consisted of half-pay for 7 years for disabled military veterans, and were extended to include widows and orphans of veterans a few years later. In 1789, the federal government started paying for some pensions as well.[2]

In 1818, the federal government under President James Madison passed a large pension bill for veterans of the Revolutionary War at his urging. The bill didn't require applicants to provide evidence of poverty or disability to be granted benefits, unlike previous programs. However, as a result, the program cost more money than expected due to fraud, and was amended in 1820 into a means-tested benefit.[3]

Confederate soldiers were not granted pensions by the federal government; their pensions had to be granted and funded by Southern states.[4]

Historical members

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Chairs

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Members

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~68th Congress - 79th Congress

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Sources[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27][28] [29]

~60th - ~67th Congress

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Source[30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39][40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50]

15th - 26th Congress

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Source[51]

[52]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Records of the Committee on Finance and Related Records". National Archives and Records Administration. 2016-08-15. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  2. ^ Graves, Will. "An Overview of Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Legislation and the Southern Campaigns Pension Transcription Project". Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  3. ^ Resch, John P. (1988). "Politics and Public Culture: The Revolutionary War Pension Act of 1818". Journal of the Early Republic. 8 (2): 139–158. doi:10.2307/3123809. JSTOR 3123809.
  4. ^ "Civil War Pensions". Essential Civil War Curriculum. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  5. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1924). Official Congressional Directory: 68th Congress, 1st Session (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. hdl:2027/njp.32101072368978.
  6. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1925). Official Congressional Directory: 68th Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  7. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1926). Official Congressional Directory: 69th Congress, 1st Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  8. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1927). Official Congressional Directory: 69th Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  9. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1928). Official Congressional Directory: 70th Congress, 1st Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  10. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1929). Official Congressional Directory: 70th Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  11. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1929). Official Congressional Directory: 71st Congress, 1st Session (1st ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  12. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1930). Official Congressional Directory: 71st Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  13. ^ A.B. Heyser (1931). Official Congressional Directory: 71st Congress, 3d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  14. ^ E.F. Caldwell (1932). Official Congressional Directory: 72d Congress, 1st Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  15. ^ E.F. Caldwell (1933). Official Congressional Directory: 72d Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  16. ^ Official Congressional Directory: 73d Congress, 1st Session (1st ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1933.
  17. ^ Official Congressional Directory: 73d Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1934.
  18. ^ C.B. Deane (1935). Official Congressional Directory: 74th Congress, 1st Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  19. ^ C.B. Deane (1937). Official Congressional Directory: 75th Congress, 1st Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  20. ^ C.B. Deane (1936). Official Congressional Directory: 74th Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  21. ^ C.B. Deane (1938). Official Congressional Directory: 75th Congress, 3d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  22. ^ J.B. Bricken (1939). Official Congressional Directory: 76th Congress, 1st Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  23. ^ S.A. Lokey (1940). Official Congressional Directory: 76th Congress, 3d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  24. ^ Lewis J. Lawson, Jr. (1941). Official Congressional Directory: 77th Congress, 1st Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  25. ^ Robert W. Hasty (1942). Official Congressional Directory: 77th Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  26. ^ Robert W. Hasty (1943). Official Congressional Directory: 78th Congress, 1st Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  27. ^ R.E. De Sear (1944). Official Congressional Directory: 78th Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  28. ^ John H. Pinson (1945). Official Congressional Directory: 79th Congress, 1st Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  29. ^ J. Hal McCall (1946). Official Congressional Directory for the 79th Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  30. ^ A.J. Halford (1908). Official Congressional Directory: 60th Congress - 1st Session (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  31. ^ A.J. Halford (1909). Official Congressional Directory: 60th Congress - 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  32. ^ A.J. Halford (1910). Official Congressional Directory: 61st Congress - 2d Session (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  33. ^ James S. Henry (1911). Official Congressional Directory: 61st Congress - 3d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  34. ^ James S. Henry (1911). Official Congressional Directory: 62d Congress - 1st Session. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  35. ^ James B. Bell (1912). Official Congressional Directory: 62d Congress - 2d Session (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  36. ^ James B. Bell (1913). Official Congressional Directory: 62d Congress - 3d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  37. ^ James B. Bell (1913). Official Congressional Directory: 63d Congress, 1st Session (1st ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  38. ^ Edgar E. Mountjoy (1914). Official Congressional Directory: 63d Congress, 2d Session (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  39. ^ Edgar E. Mountjoy (1915). Official Congressional Directory: 63d Congress, 3d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  40. ^ Edgar E. Mountjoy (1916). Official Congressional Directory: 64th Congress, 1st Session (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  41. ^ Edgar E. Mountjoy (1917). Official Congressional Directory: 64th Congress, 2d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  42. ^ Edgar E. Mountjoy (1917). Official Congressional Directory: 65th Congress, 1st Session (1st ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  43. ^ Edgar E. Mountjoy (1918). Official Congressional Directory: 65th Congress, 2d Session (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  44. ^ Jessie E. Mountjoy (1919). Official Congressional Directory: 65th Congress, 3d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  45. ^ Francis G. Matson (1919). Official Congressional Directory: 66th Congress, 1st Session. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  46. ^ Francis G. Matson (1920). Official Congressional Directory: 66th Congress, 2d Session (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  47. ^ Francis G. Matson (1921). Official Congressional Directory: 66th Congress, 3d Session (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  48. ^ Francis G. Matson (1921). Official Congressional Directory: 67th Congress, 1st Session (1st ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  49. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1922). Official Congressional Directory: 67th Congress, 2d Session (3rd ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  50. ^ Elmer C. Hess (1922). Official Congressional Directory: 67th Congress, 3d & 4th Session (1st ed.). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  51. ^ Goldman, Perry M.; Young, James S. (1973). The United States Congressional Directories 1789-1840. New York and London: Columbia University Press. pp. 85–368.
  52. ^ "Dates of Sessions of the Congress". United States Senate. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
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