Nelson Cruikshank
Encyclopedia
Nelson Hale Cruikshank was known nationally in the United States
as an expert on Social Security
, Medicare
and policy on aging. He was a Methodist minister, labor union
activist and the first director of the Department of Social Security at the AFL-CIO
before entering government service in his mid-60s.
Cruikshank is considered the most important non-legislator
responsible for the enactment of Social Security Disability Insurance
in 1956, which for the first time provided Social Security benefits to people with disabilities, and of Medicare in 1965. Later, as President Jimmy Carter
's adviser and counselor on the aged and as chairman of the Federal Council on Aging, Cruikshank led successful efforts to preserve and expand Social Security benefits for the elderly and people with disabilities.
in 1902 to Jesse and Jessie (Wright) Cruikshank. His father was a grain dealer who modeled fair business practices and taught the young Cruikshank to respect the value of the labor of the farmers and workers with whom the family did business. The family eventually moved to Texas
. Cruikshank worked as a deck hand on freighters on the Great Lakes
and was a member of the Seafarers Union before attending Oberlin College
. He transferred to Ohio Wesleyan University
, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree
in economics
and theology
.
He married Florence Crane on August 30, 1928. They had one child, Alice.
A devout Methodist
, Cruikshank entered Union Theological Seminary
in 1926 and obtained a Master of Divinity
degree in 1929. During his time at Union Theological Seminary, Cruikshank became acquainted with the liberal
theologian Reinhold Niebuhr
. Niebuhr's teachings about the social gospel
as well as his deep involvement in the labor union movement (he was an outspoken critic of Henry Ford
and allowed union organizers to speak from his pulpit on union issues) were highly influential in forming Cruikshank's personal beliefs and life.
After graduation, Cruikshank was ordained
. He became an assistant pastor at a Methodist church in Brooklyn
. He rose to become director of social services for the Brooklyn Federation of Churches. His experiences working with the poor and elderly convinced him of the need for legislation to address the problems of these groups.
Cruikshank was later transferred to a Methodist church in New Haven, Connecticut
, where he continued his social work. Cruikshank worked closely with local labor unions, eventually splitting his time between pastoral work and union organizing. He became close friends with Frank Fenton, who later became the director of organizing for the American Federation of Labor
(AFL). Working with the Connecticut AFL-CIO
, he organized unions at a number of local businesses—even serving briefly as the business agent for a local of the UE
at the Whitney Blake Company
. He also became tangentially involved in the Workers' Education Bureau of America
. But Cruikshank was dissatisfied with pastoral work. He saw his career as a pastor taking him away from felt that people's needs were so great that in 1936, Cruikshank moved to Washington, D.C.
and took a series of government jobs. He first worked for the Farm Security Administration
(FSA) as a labor relations officer. He later transferred to the FSA's Migratory Farm Labor Program, where he worked to establish several hundred camps for farm workers migrating out of the Dust Bowl
—a program later made famous in John Steinbeck
's novel The Grapes of Wrath
.
When World War II
began, Cruikshank took a position in 1942 with the War Manpower Commission
.
(AFL) in 1944 as the director of social insurance after working as a lobbyist. He worked closely with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer George Meany
, and became influenced by Meany's internationalist outlook.
Cruikshank was appointed to the National Advisory Council on Social Security Financing in 1947, where he became the AFL's point-man on old age and health issues. He earned a national reputation as labor's persuasive spokesman on these issues. He lobbied strenuously for national health care, repeatedly taking on its principal opponent, the American Medical Association
(AMA), in the print media and on widely aired radio debates.
Cruikshank left the AFL in 1951 and returned to government service. He became director of the European Labor Division of the Office of the Special Representative of the President for Europe, which was part of the Marshall Plan
, but returned to the United States
after just a year.
behind the scenes as president William Green
's health declined. In 1955 Cruikshank was named director of the AFL's newly-formed Department of Social Security. He continued in that role after the AFL and Congress of Industrial Organizations
(CIO) merged in 1955. Cruikshank used his position to protect and enhance Social Security as part of the union movement's commitment to a comprehensive legislative package of federal social insurance programs, including national health care insurance and income supports for the poor, people with disabilities and the unemployed. He created the AFL-CIO's Social Security Advisory Committee as a political group to press for higher and expanded benefits. In 1956, Cruikshank's efforts were instrumental in winning passage of the Social Security Disability Insurance
amendments, which provided income assistance to permanently disabled workers.
got underway, Cruikshank worked with Meany's friend, Governor Nelson Rockefeller
of New York, to secure the appointment of a liberal Republican
as chairman of the conference. He also won placement for senior citizens' health care issues in a favorable committee, to protect it from the AMA (which was vehemently opposed to national health insurance). The 1960 presidential election occurred concurrently with planning for the conference, and Cruikshank used the AFL-CIO's involvement in the election to build an organization of more than 500 health care and seniors' groups. When the White House Conference on Aging convened in 1961, Cruikshank mobilized his campaign group to defend and advance the national health insurance program and win the Conference's approval.
In July 1961, at the urging of Rep. Aime J. Forand (D
-Rhode Island
), Cruikshank transformed the coalition he had created into the National Council of Senior Citizens
(NCSC). Forand, now retired from Congressional service, became its first president.
From 1961 to 1965, Cruikshank worked closely with NCSC. In April 1963, the group won a presidential proclamation establishing "Senior Citizen's Month" (now Older Americans Month). But his most important accomplishment was working behind the scenes to win passage of Medicare—national health insurance for the elderly. Cruikshank played a critical role in coordinating the lobbying efforts of NCSC, the AFL-CIO
and other groups, and helped engineer a nationally-televised speech by President John F. Kennedy
at Madison Square Garden
on May 20, 1962.
Cruikshank was a critical lobbyist for passage of Medicare. He helped eliminate any role for insurance companies as underwriters of national insurance. Medicare had been bottled up in committee for years, never having enough votes to be reported out onto either chamber's floor. After the 1964 presidential election
, President Lyndon B. Johnson
demanded that Rep. Wilbur Mills
(D-Arkansas
), chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee
, enlarge his committee and stack it with members who would approve Medicare. Mills co-opted the AMA and grafted Medicaid
onto the bill, which then easily passed the House.
But in the Senate, Cruikshank had to work quickly to avoid disaster. Sen. Russell B. Long
(D-Louisiana
) offered an amendment in the Senate Finance Committee
that would have turned Medicare into a catastrophic health insurance plan, rather than a general insurance program. Long misused a proxy vote from Sen. J. William Fulbright
(D-Arkansas) to help win passage of the amendment, and misled Sen. Paul Douglas
(D-Illinois
) that he could vote to approve the amendment because another vote would be held later after costs had been calculated (a vote Long had no intention of seeking). Knowing that the Long amendment would not pass the House nor be backed by the AFL-CIO, Cruikshank convinced Douglas to exercise his parliamentary rights and ask for reconsideration of the Long amendment. Efforts were made to find a compromise between the Long amendment and the original bill, but backers of the original bill felt they had already compromised too much. Working with Sen. Clinton P. Anderson
(D-New Mexico
), Cruikshank mustered a majority in the Finance Committee in favor of the original bill. The deciding vote came from Sen. Harry F. Byrd
(D-Virginia
, who had openly voted against Medicare in the past. Cruikshank made the critical decision to ask Anderson to go ahead with the vote after receiving assurances that Byrd would vote for the bill in committee but would, on principle, vote against the bill on the Senate floor.
The Medicare legislation passed the Senate, was approved by a conference committee
, and was signed by President Johnson on July 28, 1965.
Cruikshank retired from the AFL-CIO in 1965.
. In 1969, he was elected president of NCSC following Aime Forand's retirement.
Cruikshank's wife died in 1967.
In 1969, Cruikshank obtained a position as a visiting professor at the Labor Studies Center at Pennsylvania State University
.
From 1971 to 1974, he served as chairman of the American Hospital Association
's Citizens Advisory Committee on Health.
Cruikshank retired as NCSC president in 1977 to become President Jimmy Carter
's advisor on aging. He was appointed chairman of the Federal Council on Aging. Cruikshank had a rocky tenure as a Carter administration official, often speaking publicly against various administration legislative efforts.
In 1980, Cruikshank left the Carter administration to head up an education and research effort with the organization Save Our Security (SOS). SOS was established in 1979 by Wilbur Cohen, one of the original drafters of the Social Security Act. SOS was a coalition of more than 200 organizations — primarily labor unions and advocacy groups for the disabled and the aged — formed in response to efforts to weaken Social Security. Later, SOS proposed expanding Social Security disability payments and Medicare benefits, and fought to secure benefits for so-called "notch" beneficiaries. Cruikshank directed the Nelson Cruikshank Social Insurance Study Project for SOS. The project developed curricula and educational materials for elementary, secondary and post-secondary students to increase awareness of social insurance.
Concurrently with his role in SOS, Cruikshank served as NCSC's president emeritus.
Cruikshank moved to Philadelphia
in 1984. His health began to fail, and he died in a nursing home in 1986.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as an expert on Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
, Medicare
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
and policy on aging. He was a Methodist minister, labor union
Labor unions in the United States
Labor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police...
activist and the first director of the Department of Social Security at the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
before entering government service in his mid-60s.
Cruikshank is considered the most important non-legislator
Legislator
A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...
responsible for the enactment of Social Security Disability Insurance
Social Security Disability Insurance
Social Security Disability Insurance is a payroll tax-funded, federal insurance program of the United States government. It is managed by the Social Security Administration and is designed to provide income supplements to people who are physically restricted in their ability to be employed...
in 1956, which for the first time provided Social Security benefits to people with disabilities, and of Medicare in 1965. Later, as President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's adviser and counselor on the aged and as chairman of the Federal Council on Aging, Cruikshank led successful efforts to preserve and expand Social Security benefits for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Early life and career
Cruikshank was born in Bradner, OhioBradner, Ohio
Bradner is a village in Wood County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,171 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bradner is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....
in 1902 to Jesse and Jessie (Wright) Cruikshank. His father was a grain dealer who modeled fair business practices and taught the young Cruikshank to respect the value of the labor of the farmers and workers with whom the family did business. The family eventually moved to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Cruikshank worked as a deck hand on freighters on the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
and was a member of the Seafarers Union before attending Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
. He transferred to Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
.
He married Florence Crane on August 30, 1928. They had one child, Alice.
A devout Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
, Cruikshank entered Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
in 1926 and obtained a Master of Divinity
Master of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
degree in 1929. During his time at Union Theological Seminary, Cruikshank became acquainted with the liberal
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
theologian Reinhold Niebuhr
Reinhold Niebuhr
Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr was an American theologian and commentator on public affairs. Starting as a leftist minister in the 1920s indebted to theological liberalism, he shifted to the new Neo-Orthodox theology in the 1930s, explaining how the sin of pride created evil in the world...
. Niebuhr's teachings about the social gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
as well as his deep involvement in the labor union movement (he was an outspoken critic of Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
and allowed union organizers to speak from his pulpit on union issues) were highly influential in forming Cruikshank's personal beliefs and life.
After graduation, Cruikshank was ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
. He became an assistant pastor at a Methodist church in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. He rose to become director of social services for the Brooklyn Federation of Churches. His experiences working with the poor and elderly convinced him of the need for legislation to address the problems of these groups.
Cruikshank was later transferred to a Methodist church in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, where he continued his social work. Cruikshank worked closely with local labor unions, eventually splitting his time between pastoral work and union organizing. He became close friends with Frank Fenton, who later became the director of organizing for the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
(AFL). Working with the Connecticut AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
, he organized unions at a number of local businesses—even serving briefly as the business agent for a local of the UE
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America
The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America , is an independent democratic rank-and-file labor union representing workers in both the private and public sectors across the United States....
at the Whitney Blake Company
Eli Whitney Blake, Jr.
Eli Whitney Blake, Jr. was an American scientist. His father and namesake was an inventor and partner of the Blake Brothers manufacturing firm...
. He also became tangentially involved in the Workers' Education Bureau of America
Workers' Education Bureau of America
Workers' Education Bureau of America was an organization established to assist labor colleges and other worker training centers involved in the American labor movement....
. But Cruikshank was dissatisfied with pastoral work. He saw his career as a pastor taking him away from felt that people's needs were so great that in 1936, Cruikshank moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and took a series of government jobs. He first worked for the Farm Security Administration
Farm Security Administration
Initially created as the Resettlement Administration in 1935 as part of the New Deal in the United States, the Farm Security Administration was an effort during the Depression to combat American rural poverty...
(FSA) as a labor relations officer. He later transferred to the FSA's Migratory Farm Labor Program, where he worked to establish several hundred camps for farm workers migrating out of the Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
—a program later made famous in John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
's novel The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962....
.
When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
began, Cruikshank took a position in 1942 with the War Manpower Commission
War Manpower Commission
The War Manpower Commission was a World War II agency of the United States Government charged with planning to balance the labor needs of agriculture, industry and the armed forces. It was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Executive Order 9139 of April 18, 1942. Its chairman was Paul V...
.
AFL-CIO career
Cruikshank began working for the American Federation of LaborAmerican Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
(AFL) in 1944 as the director of social insurance after working as a lobbyist. He worked closely with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer George Meany
George Meany
William George Meany led labor union federations in the United States. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II....
, and became influenced by Meany's internationalist outlook.
Cruikshank was appointed to the National Advisory Council on Social Security Financing in 1947, where he became the AFL's point-man on old age and health issues. He earned a national reputation as labor's persuasive spokesman on these issues. He lobbied strenuously for national health care, repeatedly taking on its principal opponent, the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
(AMA), in the print media and on widely aired radio debates.
Cruikshank left the AFL in 1951 and returned to government service. He became director of the European Labor Division of the Office of the Special Representative of the President for Europe, which was part of the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
, but returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after just a year.
Role in enactment of Social Security Disability Insurance
Cruikshank returned to the AFL in 1953. He performed various duties for Meany, who was then running what would become the AFL-CIOAFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
behind the scenes as president William Green
William Green (labor leader)
William Green was an American trade union leader. Green is best remembered for serving as the President of the American Federation of Labor from 1924 to 1952.-Early years:...
's health declined. In 1955 Cruikshank was named director of the AFL's newly-formed Department of Social Security. He continued in that role after the AFL and Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
(CIO) merged in 1955. Cruikshank used his position to protect and enhance Social Security as part of the union movement's commitment to a comprehensive legislative package of federal social insurance programs, including national health care insurance and income supports for the poor, people with disabilities and the unemployed. He created the AFL-CIO's Social Security Advisory Committee as a political group to press for higher and expanded benefits. In 1956, Cruikshank's efforts were instrumental in winning passage of the Social Security Disability Insurance
Social Security Disability Insurance
Social Security Disability Insurance is a payroll tax-funded, federal insurance program of the United States government. It is managed by the Social Security Administration and is designed to provide income supplements to people who are physically restricted in their ability to be employed...
amendments, which provided income assistance to permanently disabled workers.
Role in enactment of Medicare
Cruikshank immediately turned his attention to health care for the elderly. In 1960, as planning for the first White House Conference on AgingWhite House Conference on Aging
The White House Conference on Aging is a once-a-decade conference sponsored by the Executive Office of the President of the United States which makes policy recommendations to the president and Congress regarding the aged. The first of its kind,the goals of the conference are to promote the...
got underway, Cruikshank worked with Meany's friend, Governor Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
of New York, to secure the appointment of a liberal Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
as chairman of the conference. He also won placement for senior citizens' health care issues in a favorable committee, to protect it from the AMA (which was vehemently opposed to national health insurance). The 1960 presidential election occurred concurrently with planning for the conference, and Cruikshank used the AFL-CIO's involvement in the election to build an organization of more than 500 health care and seniors' groups. When the White House Conference on Aging convened in 1961, Cruikshank mobilized his campaign group to defend and advance the national health insurance program and win the Conference's approval.
In July 1961, at the urging of Rep. Aime J. Forand (D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
), Cruikshank transformed the coalition he had created into the National Council of Senior Citizens
Alliance for Retired Americans
The Alliance for Retired Americans is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of retired trade union members affiliated with the AFL-CIO. Its predecessor organization was known as the National Council of Senior Citizens....
(NCSC). Forand, now retired from Congressional service, became its first president.
From 1961 to 1965, Cruikshank worked closely with NCSC. In April 1963, the group won a presidential proclamation establishing "Senior Citizen's Month" (now Older Americans Month). But his most important accomplishment was working behind the scenes to win passage of Medicare—national health insurance for the elderly. Cruikshank played a critical role in coordinating the lobbying efforts of NCSC, the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
and other groups, and helped engineer a nationally-televised speech by President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
on May 20, 1962.
Cruikshank was a critical lobbyist for passage of Medicare. He helped eliminate any role for insurance companies as underwriters of national insurance. Medicare had been bottled up in committee for years, never having enough votes to be reported out onto either chamber's floor. After the 1964 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
, President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
demanded that Rep. Wilbur Mills
Wilbur Mills
Wilbur Daigh Mills , was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Arkansas...
(D-Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
), chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee
United States House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...
, enlarge his committee and stack it with members who would approve Medicare. Mills co-opted the AMA and grafted Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
onto the bill, which then easily passed the House.
But in the Senate, Cruikshank had to work quickly to avoid disaster. Sen. Russell B. Long
Russell B. Long
Russell Billiu Long was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987.-Early life:...
(D-Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
) offered an amendment in the Senate Finance Committee
United States Senate Committee on Finance
The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generally, and those relating to the insular possessions; bonded debt of the United States; customs, collection...
that would have turned Medicare into a catastrophic health insurance plan, rather than a general insurance program. Long misused a proxy vote from Sen. J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...
(D-Arkansas) to help win passage of the amendment, and misled Sen. Paul Douglas
Paul Douglas
Paul Howard Douglas was an liberal American politician and University of Chicago economist. A war hero, he was elected as a Democratic U.S. Senator from Illinois from in the 1948 landslide, serving until his defeat in 1966...
(D-Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
) that he could vote to approve the amendment because another vote would be held later after costs had been calculated (a vote Long had no intention of seeking). Knowing that the Long amendment would not pass the House nor be backed by the AFL-CIO, Cruikshank convinced Douglas to exercise his parliamentary rights and ask for reconsideration of the Long amendment. Efforts were made to find a compromise between the Long amendment and the original bill, but backers of the original bill felt they had already compromised too much. Working with Sen. Clinton P. Anderson
Clinton Presba Anderson
Clinton Presba Anderson was an American Democratic Party politician who served as a U.S. Congressman from New Mexico , as the United States Secretary of Agriculture , and as a U.S. Senator from New Mexico .-Early life and career:Anderson was born in Centerville, South Dakota, on October 23, 1895...
(D-New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
), Cruikshank mustered a majority in the Finance Committee in favor of the original bill. The deciding vote came from Sen. Harry F. Byrd
Harry F. Byrd
Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. of Berryville in Clarke County, Virginia, was an American newspaper publisher, farmer and politician. He was a descendant of one of the First Families of Virginia...
(D-Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, who had openly voted against Medicare in the past. Cruikshank made the critical decision to ask Anderson to go ahead with the vote after receiving assurances that Byrd would vote for the bill in committee but would, on principle, vote against the bill on the Senate floor.
The Medicare legislation passed the Senate, was approved by a conference committee
United States Congress Conference committee
A conference committee is a committee of the Congress appointed by the House of Representatives and Senate to resolve disagreements on a particular bill...
, and was signed by President Johnson on July 28, 1965.
Cruikshank retired from the AFL-CIO in 1965.
Later career
Cruikshank did not leave the labor movement entirely, however. The year that he retired from the AFL-CIO, he became executive director of the NCSC, the AFL-CIO's retiree organization affiliate and forerunner of the Alliance for Retired AmericansAlliance for Retired Americans
The Alliance for Retired Americans is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of retired trade union members affiliated with the AFL-CIO. Its predecessor organization was known as the National Council of Senior Citizens....
. In 1969, he was elected president of NCSC following Aime Forand's retirement.
Cruikshank's wife died in 1967.
In 1969, Cruikshank obtained a position as a visiting professor at the Labor Studies Center at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
.
From 1971 to 1974, he served as chairman of the American Hospital Association
American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association is an organization that promotes the quality provision of health care by hospitals and health care networks through such efforts as promoting effective public policy and providing information related to health care and health administration to health care...
's Citizens Advisory Committee on Health.
Cruikshank retired as NCSC president in 1977 to become President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's advisor on aging. He was appointed chairman of the Federal Council on Aging. Cruikshank had a rocky tenure as a Carter administration official, often speaking publicly against various administration legislative efforts.
In 1980, Cruikshank left the Carter administration to head up an education and research effort with the organization Save Our Security (SOS). SOS was established in 1979 by Wilbur Cohen, one of the original drafters of the Social Security Act. SOS was a coalition of more than 200 organizations — primarily labor unions and advocacy groups for the disabled and the aged — formed in response to efforts to weaken Social Security. Later, SOS proposed expanding Social Security disability payments and Medicare benefits, and fought to secure benefits for so-called "notch" beneficiaries. Cruikshank directed the Nelson Cruikshank Social Insurance Study Project for SOS. The project developed curricula and educational materials for elementary, secondary and post-secondary students to increase awareness of social insurance.
Concurrently with his role in SOS, Cruikshank served as NCSC's president emeritus.
Cruikshank moved to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in 1984. His health began to fail, and he died in a nursing home in 1986.