The non-partisan think tank for Congress, the Congressional Research Service  (CRS), reported that 6.4 million children receive assistance from Social Security’s survivor and disability benefits, nearly two times the number of children participating in the nation’s largest welfare program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  A copy of the report in PDF form is available by clicking here.  

CRS looked at how Social Security helps lift children out of poverty at the request Rep. Sander Levin, Ranking Member of the Social Security Subcommittee and Rep. Jim McDermott, Ranking Member of the Human Resources Subcommittee.

Rep. Becerra sits on both subcommittees.

Most importantly, the report found that 920,000 children have been saved from falling into poverty by the survivors and disability benefits offered by Social Security. 

Social Security pays a monthly benefit to the dependent children of deceased, disabled and retired workers.  Using Census data, CRS found that 3.5 million children received Social Security benefits in September 2003 (as survivors and dependents) and another 2.9 million children lived in homes that received income from Social Security.  CRS reported that over one-third (38 percent) of children in families with Social Security income would be poor without Social Security payments.  Social Security is the largest source of Federal funding to prevent children from falling into poverty.

The president has not specified how he would treat survivor or disability beneficiaries in his plan to privatize social security.  Still, the change in indexing of benefits in the president’s commission “Model 2” would cut amounts provided by this part of the Social Security insurance program in the same way it cuts retirement benefits.

The CRS report underscores an important point that has been missing from much of the debate over the president’s efforts to privatize the nation’s social insurance program, Social Security.  Proponents of privatization ignore the importance of the policy as a safety-net for children whose as well as for workers who become disabled or retire.  As economist William Spriggs of the Economic Policy Institute says in the article available here, far from Social Security being a fight of the young versus the old, the program is really about family security, young and old.