II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1011

To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to improve and clarify provisions

prohibiting misuse of symbols, emblems, or names in reference to social

security programs and agencies.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 24 (legislative day, APRIL 19), 1993

Mr. PRYOR (for himself and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to improve

and clarify provisions prohibiting misuse of symbols, emblems, or names in reference to social security programs

and agencies.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senior Citizen Protec5 tion Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT AND CLARIFICATION OF PROVI2 SIONS PROHIBITING MISUSE OF SYMBOLS,

3 EMBLEMS, OR NAMES IN REFERENCE TO SO4 CIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS AND AGENCIES.

5 (a) ADDITION TO PROHIBITED WORDS, LETTERS,

6 SYMBOLS, AND EMBLEMS.—Section 1140(a) of the Social

7 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–10(a)) is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Administra9 tion’, the letters ‘SSA’ or ‘HCFA’,’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘Administration’, ‘Department of Health and

11 Human Services’, ‘Health and Human Services’,

12 ‘Supplemental Security Income Program’, or ‘Medic13 aid’, the letters ‘SSA’, ‘HCFA’, ‘DHHS’, ‘HHS’, or

14 ‘SSI’,’’; and

15 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Social Secu16 rity Administration’’ each place it appears and in17 serting ‘‘Social Security Administration, Health

18 Care Financing Administration, or Department of

19 Health and Human Services’’, and by striking ‘‘or of

20 the Health Care Financing Administration’’.

21 (b) EXEMPTION FOR USE OF WORDS, LETTERS,

22 SYMBOLS, AND EMBLEMS OF STATE AND LOCAL GOV23 ERNMENT AGENCIES BY SUCH AGENCIES.—Section

24 1140(a) of such Act is further amended by adding at the

25 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The preceding provisions

26 of this subsection shall not apply with respect to the use
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1 by any agency or instrumentality of a State or political

2 subdivision of a State of any words or letters which iden3 tify an agency or instrumentality of such State or of a

4 political subdivision of such State or the use by any such

5 agency or instrumentality of any symbol or emblem of an

6 agency or instrumentality of such State or a political sub7 division of such State.’’.

8 (c) INCLUSION OF REASONABLENESS STANDARD.—

9 Section 1140(a) of such Act (as amended by the preceding

10 provisions of this section) is further amended, in the mat11 ter following paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘convey’’ and in12 serting ‘‘convey, or in a manner which reasonably could

13 be interpreted or construed as conveying,’’.

14 (d) INEFFECTIVENESS OF DISCLAIMERS.—Sub15 section (a) of section 1140 of such Act (as amended by

16 the preceding provisions of this section) is further amend17 ed—

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

19 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;

20 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; and

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new

22 paragraph:

23 ‘‘(2) Any determination of whether the use of one or

24 more words, letters, symbols, or emblems (or any combina25 tion or variation thereof) in connection with an item de-
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1 scribed in paragraph (1) or the reproduction, reprinting,

2 or distribution of an item described in paragraph (2) is

3 a violation of this subsection shall be made without regard

4 to any inclusion in such item (or any so reproduced, re5 printed, or distributed copy thereof) of a disclaimer of af6 filiation with the United States Government or any par7 ticular agency or instrumentality thereof.’’.

8 (e) VIOLATIONS WITH RESPECT TO INDIVIDUAL

9 ITEMS.—Section 1140(b)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

10 1320b–10(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new sentence: ‘‘In the case of any items referred

12 to in subsection (a)(1) consisting of pieces of mail, each

13 such piece of mail which contains one or more words, let14 ters, symbols, or emblems in violation of subsection (a)

15 shall represent a separate violation.’’.

16 (f) ELIMINATION OF CAP ON AGGREGATE LIABILITY

17 AMOUNT.—

18 (1) REPEAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 1140(b)

19 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–10(b)(2)) is repealed.

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

21 1140(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–10(b)) is fur22 ther amended—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘(1) Subject to paragraph

24 (2), the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’;
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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)

2 and (B) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively;

3 and

4 (C) in paragraph (1) (as redesignated), by

5 striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘paragraph (2)’’.

7 (g) REMOVAL OF FORMAL DECLINATION REQUIRE8 MENT.—Section 1140(c)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

9 1320b–10(c)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and the first

10 sentence of subsection (c)’’ after ‘‘and (i)’’.

11 (h) PENALTIES RELATING TO SOCIAL SECURITY AD12 MINISTRATION DEPOSITED IN OASI TRUST FUND.—Sec13 tion 1140(c)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–10(c)(2))

14 is amended in the second sentence by striking ‘‘United

15 States.’’ and inserting ‘‘United States, except that, to the

16 extent that such amounts are recovered under this section

17 as penalties imposed for misuse of words, letters, symbols,

18 or emblems relating to the Social Security Administration,

19 such amounts shall be deposited into the Federal Old-Age

20 and Survivor’s Insurance Trust Fund.’’.

21 (i) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 1140 of such Act

22 (42 U.S.C. 1320b–10) is amended by adding at the end

23 the following new subsection:

24 ‘‘(d) The Secretary shall include in the annual report

25 submitted pursuant to section 704 a report on the oper-
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1 ation of this section during the year covered by such an2 nual report. Such report shall specify—

3 ‘‘(1) the number of complaints of violations of

4 this section received by the Social Security Adminis5 tration during the year,

6 ‘‘(2) the number of cases in which a notice of

7 violation of this section was sent by the Social Secu8 rity Administration during the year requesting that

9 an individual cease activities in violation of this sec10 tion,

11 ‘‘(3) the number of complaints of violations of

12 this section referred by the Social Security Adminis13 tration to the Inspector General in the Department

14 of Health and Human Services during the year,

15 ‘‘(4) the number of investigations of violations

16 of this section undertaken by the Inspector General

17 during the year,

18 ‘‘(5) the number of cases in which a demand

19 letter was sent during the year assessing a civil

20 money penalty under this section,

21 ‘‘(6) the total amount of civil money penalties

22 assessed under this section during the year,

23 ‘‘(7) the number of requests for hearings filed

24 during the year pursuant to sections 1140(c)(1) and

25 1128A(c)(2),
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1 ‘‘(8) the disposition during such year of hear2 ings filed pursuant to sections 1140(c)(1) and

3 1128A(c)(2), and

4 ‘‘(9) the total amount of civil money penalties

5 under this section deposited into the Federal Old6 Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund during the

7 year.’’.

8 (j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

9 this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

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