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. Purpose 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. History 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. 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