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Sights & Sounds

 

pictures of multimedia

SOCIAL SECURITY

1

Narration regarding the Pre-Social Security period, including Thomas Paine's 1795 proposal for social insurance and the adoption of Social Security by Germany in the late 19th century.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (22.8 meg)

 

2

FDR's speech at the ceremony of the signing of the Social Security Act in 1935.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (19.7 meg)

 

3
logo for Town Meeting of the Air
December 1935 Radio Debate on Social Security, from the NBC Town Meeting of the Air program, featuring Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins and journalist George Sokolsky.
4
logo for Town Meeting of the Air
June 1948 Radio Debate on Social Security and Aging, from the ABC Town Meeting of the Air program, featuring Senator Claude Pepper (D-FL); Eastman-Kodak Treasurer, Marion Folsom; Mr. Eugene J. Kenny and Dr. Daniel A. Poling. The program closes with a question and answer session moderated by Dr. George Lawton.
5
logo for Town Meeting of the Air
December 1949 Radio Debate on Social Security, from the ABC Town Meeting of the Air program, featuring Secretary of Labor Maurice Tobin; labor attorney Robert Nathan; life insurance executive Albert Linton; and Congressman Carl Curtis (R-NB).
6

Former Commissioner of Social Security, Bob Ball, comments on the importance of the 1950 Amendments in the development of the Social Security program.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (9.0 meg)

 

7

Remarks of President Reagan at signing of Social Security Amendments of 1983.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (8.8 meg)

 

8
small picture of Wilbur Cohen
Audio Recording of 1987 Memorial Tribute to Wilbur Cohen
In June 1987, a group of friends and colleagues of Wilbur Cohen gathered in the House Ways & Means Committee Room to offer their reminiscences of Cohen's life and career.
9

Remarks of President Clinton at signing of Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1995, 8/15/95.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (14.6 meg)

 

10

Remarks by President Clinton at the 1995 White House Conference on Aging.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (11.2 meg)

 

11

President Clinton's 1998 State of the Union Address in which he announced the goal to "Save Social Security First," and during which he also issued his call for a nationwide series of town-hall forums to discuss the long-range future of the program.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (21.5 meg)

 

12

On October 27, 1998 the White House sponsored a Roundtable Forum on Women and Retirement Security. The video clips feature a brief segment of President Clinton's remarks at the conference. The RealAudio clip contains the President's complete speech.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (9.9 meg)

 

13
Bush addressing Congress
President George W. Bush addressing joint session of Congress, February 27, 2001
14
mini microphone
Audio Narration of our basic Brief History of Social Security pamphlet
(Narrated by SSA employee, Bob Grove)

 

MEDICARE & MEDICAID

1

Narration regarding efforts to advance health insurance during the period 1912-1945.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (14.9 meg)

 

2

Narration regarding efforts to advance health insurance during the period 1945-1960.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (8.7 meg)

 

3

A senior citizen testifies to the difficulty of obtaining health care, during a congressional hearing in the late 1950s.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (4.2 meg)

 

4

Oscar Ewing, Administrator of the Federal Security Agency during the Truman Administration, makes the case for health care coverage for the elderly.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (4.1 meg)

 

5

President Kennedy defending the idea of Medicare during the 1960 Presidential campaign.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (7.7 meg)

 

6

President Kennedy addressing Congress on the need to create the Medicare program.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (7.5 meg)

 

7

The role of Eisenhower in supporting early proposals for health care and a press conference by President Johnson lobbying for Medicare.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (14.3 meg)

 

8
small picture of LBJ standing behind desk
Audio clip of address by President Lyndon Johnson on April 9, 1965 following passage of the Medicare bill in the House of Representatives. This passage in the House was a key event because the bill had previously been blocked in the House. In his brief 5-minute speech, President Johnson discusses this new program in the historical context of the original Social Security Act of 1935.
9

Narration regarding the signing of Medicare in 1965, including a sound clip of President Johnson enrolling former President Truman as the first Medicare beneficiary.

RealAudio Clip

MPEG Video Clip (10.6 meg)

 

 

SPECIALTY ITEMS

1

photo of Jim C.

Jim Czechowicz

Jim Czechowicz- guitars & vocals
Norton Lawellin- keyboards
Jo Ann Czechowicz- backing vocals
Dan Neale- guitar
Jeff Leif- bass
"Zeke"- drums

Jim Czechowicz's Public Policy Parodies and Tributes

Jim Czechowicz is a Public Affairs Specialist (PAS) with SSA's Chicago area Regional Office. Jim lives in Minneapolis and is one of two PASs assigned to the state of Minnesota.

In his off time Jim is an accomplished composer and musician. Over the years Jim has composed two albums of parodies and tribute songs on topics related to the work of the Social Security Administration and its employees. Jim typically performs his songs for other SSA employees or as part of his public education efforts. His Social Security-related songs are for entertainment purposes only and Jim makes no commercial use of this material.

With Jim's permission, we are including three of his Social Security-related songs. (All material © Jim Czechowicz.)


Song 1: "Hope is the Anchor of Life" (mpg-4 format)

(This song is about the value of Social Security in American life. It takes its title from the motto of the old Department of Health, Education and Welfare, of which SSA was a part from 1953 to 1980.)

 

Song 2:"E-Dib Blues" (mpg-4 format)

(In an effort to speed the processing of disability cases, in January 2005 SSA launched an initiative to move to an all-electronic disability claims process, under the rubric of Electronic Disability (E-Dib). This is Jim's tribute to that innovation.)

 

Song 3:"Show Someone You Love" (mpg-4 format)

(In the Part D Medicare Prescription Drug program SSA has responsibility to assist claimants who might be eligible for a partial subsidy on their Part D premiums. This is known as the "extra help" procedure (see current policy/procedure here). This is a jingle Jim wrote in 2005 to promote this SSA service.


(Note: All material expresses the personal views of the performer and are not to be considered official expressions of SSA policy or procedure.)

 

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Last reviewed or modified Thursday Oct 09, 2008
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