Carter signs Department of Education Organization Act, splitting HEW into HHS and a standalone Education department

President Jimmy Carter signed Pub. L. 96-88 on October 17, 1979, dissolving the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare after 26 years and creating two successor agencies: the Department of Health and Human Services, which retained Social Security, Public Health Service, and welfare programs, and the new Department of Education. The Senate approved the bill 69–22 and the House 215–201, reflecting narrow bipartisan support despite strong opposition from conservative groups who saw a federal education department as unconstitutional. HHS formally opened on May 4, 1980, becoming the primary federal health agency.