In the Senate of the United States,

October 21, 1999.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 1180) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend the Social Security Act to expand the availability of health care coverage for

working individuals with disabilities, to establish a Ticket to

Work and Self-Sufficiency Program in the Social Security

Administration to provide such individuals with meaningful

opportunities to work, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with

the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this

5 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

TITLE I—EXPANDED AVAILABILITY OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES

Sec. 101. Expanding State options under the medicaid program for workers with

disabilities.
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Sec. 102. Continuation of medicare coverage for working individuals with disabilities.

Sec. 103. Grants to develop and establish State infrastructures to support working individuals with disabilities.

Sec. 104. Demonstration of coverage under the medicaid program of workers with

potentially severe disabilities.

Sec. 105. Election by disabled beneficiaries to suspend medigap insurance when

covered under a group health plan.

TITLE II—TICKET TO WORK AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND RELATED

PROVISIONS

Subtitle A—Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency

Sec. 201. Establishment of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program.

Subtitle B—Elimination of Work Disincentives

Sec. 211. Work activity standard as a basis for review of an individual’s disabled

status.

Sec. 212. Expedited reinstatement of disability benefits.

Subtitle C—Work Incentives Planning, Assistance, and Outreach

Sec. 221. Work incentives outreach program.

Sec. 222. State grants for work incentives assistance to disabled beneficiaries.

TITLE III—DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS AND STUDIES

Sec. 301. Permanent extension of disability insurance program demonstration

project authority.

Sec. 302. Demonstration projects providing for reductions in disability insurance

benefits based on earnings.

Sec. 303. Studies and reports.

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS

Sec. 401. Technical amendments relating to drug addicts and alcoholics.

Sec. 402. Treatment of prisoners.

Sec. 403. Revocation by members of the clergy of exemption from Social Security

coverage.

Sec. 404. Additional technical amendment relating to cooperative research or

demonstration projects under titles II and XVI.

Sec. 405. Authorization for State to permit annual wage reports.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) Health care is important to all Americans.

4 (2) Health care is particularly important to in5 dividuals with disabilities and special health care

6 needs who often cannot afford the insurance available
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1 to them through the private market, are uninsurable

2 by the plans available in the private sector, and are

3 at great risk of incurring very high and economically

4 devastating health care costs.

5 (3) Americans with significant disabilities often

6 are unable to obtain health care insurance that pro7 vides coverage of the services and supports that enable

8 them to live independently and enter or rejoin the

9 workforce. Personal assistance services (such as at10 tendant services, personal assistance with transpor11 tation to and from work, reader services, job coaches,

12 and related assistance) remove many of the barriers

13 between significant disability and work. Coverage for

14 such services, as well as for prescription drugs, dura15 ble medical equipment, and basic health care are

16 powerful and proven tools for individuals with sig17 nificant disabilities to obtain and retain employment.

18 (4) For individuals with disabilities, the fear of

19 losing health care and related services is one of the

20 greatest barriers keeping the individuals from maxi21 mizing their employment, earning potential, and

22 independence.

23 (5) Individuals with disabilities who are bene24 ficiaries under title II or XVI of the Social Security

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq., 1381 et seq.) risk losing
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1 medicare or medicaid coverage that is linked to their

2 cash benefits, a risk that is an equal, or greater, work

3 disincentive than the loss of cash benefits associated

4 with working.

(6) Currently, less than 1 5 ⁄2 of 1 percent of social

6 security disability insurance and supplemental secu7 rity income beneficiaries cease to receive benefits as a

8 result of employment.

9 (7) Beneficiaries have cited the lack of adequate

10 employment training and placement services as an

11 additional barrier to employment.

(8) If an additional 1 12 ⁄2 of 1 percent of the cur13 rent social security disability insurance (DI) and

14 supplemental security income (SSI) recipients were to

15 cease receiving benefits as a result of employment, the

16 savings to the Social Security Trust Funds in cash

17 assistance would total $3,500,000,000 over the

18 worklife of the individuals.

19 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol20 lows:

21 (1) To provide health care and employment

22 preparation and placement services to individuals

23 with disabilities that will enable those individuals to

24 reduce their dependency on cash benefit programs.
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1 (2) To encourage States to adopt the option of

2 allowing individuals with disabilities to purchase

3 medicaid coverage that is necessary to enable such in4 dividuals to maintain employment.

5 (3) To provide individuals with disabilities the

6 option of maintaining medicare coverage while work7 ing.

8 (4) To establish a return to work ticket program

9 that will allow individuals with disabilities to seek

10 the services necessary to obtain and retain employ11 ment and reduce their dependency on cash benefit

12 programs.

13 TITLE I—EXPANDED AVAIL14 ABILITY OF HEALTH CARE

15 SERVICES

16 SEC. 101. EXPANDING STATE OPTIONS UNDER THE MED17 ICAID PROGRAM FOR WORKERS WITH DIS18 ABILITIES.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—

20 (1) STATE OPTION TO ELIMINATE INCOME, AS21 SETS, AND RESOURCE LIMITATIONS FOR WORKERS

22 WITH DISABILITIES BUYING INTO MEDICAID.—Section

23 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii) of the Social Security Act (42

24 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)) is amended—
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1 (A) in subclause (XIII), by striking ‘‘or’’ at

2 the end;

3 (B) in subclause (XIV), by adding ‘‘or’’ at

4 the end; and

5 (C) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(XV) who, but for earnings in

7 excess of the limit established under

8 section 1905(q)(2)(B), would be consid9 ered to be receiving supplemental secu10 rity income, who is at least 16, but less

11 than 65, years of age, and whose assets,

12 resources, and earned or unearned in13 come (or both) do not exceed such limi14 tations (if any) as the State may es15 tablish;’’.

16 (2) STATE OPTION TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY

17 FOR EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS WITH A MEDICALLY IM18 PROVED DISABILITY TO BUY INTO MEDICAID.—

19 (A) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 1902(a)(10)

20 (A)(ii) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

21 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)), as amended by paragraph

22 (1), is amended—

23 (i) in subclause (XIV), by striking ‘‘or’’

24 at the end;
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1 (ii) in subclause (XV), by adding ‘‘or’’

2 at the end; and

3 (iii) by adding at the end the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(XVI) who are employed individ6 uals with a medically improved dis7 ability described in section 1905(v)(1)

8 and whose assets, resources, and earned

9 or unearned income (or both) do not

10 exceed such limitations (if any) as the

11 State may establish, but only if the

12 State provides medical assistance to

13 individuals described in subclause

14 (XV);’’.

15 (B) DEFINITION OF EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS

16 WITH A MEDICALLY IMPROVED DISABILITY.—Sec17 tion 1905 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

18 1396d) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing:

20 ‘‘(v)(1) The term ‘employed individual with a medi21 cally improved disability’ means an individual who—

22 ‘‘(A) is at least 16, but less than 65, years of age;

23 ‘‘(B) is employed (as defined in paragraph (2));

24 ‘‘(C) ceases to be eligible for medical assistance

25 under section 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV) because the in-
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1 dividual, by reason of medical improvement, is deter2 mined at the time of a regularly scheduled continuing

3 disability review to no longer be eligible for benefits

4 under section 223(d) or 1614(a)(3); and

5 ‘‘(D) continues to have a severe medically deter6 minable impairment, as determined under regulations

7 of the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), an individual is

9 considered to be ‘employed’ if the individual—

10 ‘‘(A) is earning at least the applicable minimum

11 wage requirement under section 6 of the Fair Labor

12 Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 206) and working at least

13 40 hours per month; or

14 ‘‘(B) is engaged in a work effort that meets sub15 stantial and reasonable threshold criteria for hours of

16 work, wages, or other measures, as defined by the

17 State and approved by the Secretary.’’.

18 (C) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

19 1905(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(a)) is

20 amended in the matter preceding paragraph

21 (1)—

22 (i) in clause (x), by striking ‘‘or’’ at

23 the end;

24 (ii) in clause (xi), by adding ‘‘or’’ at

25 the end; and
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1 (iii) by inserting after clause (xi), the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(xii) employed individuals with a medically

4 improved disability (as defined in subsection (v)),’’.

5 (3) STATE AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE INCOME-RE6 LATED PREMIUMS AND COST-SHARING.—Section 1916

7 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396o) is amended—

8 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The

9 State plan’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection

10 (g), the State plan’’; and

11 (B) by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(g) With respect to individuals provided medical as13 sistance only under subclause (XV) or (XVI) of section

14 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)—

15 ‘‘(1) a State may (in a uniform manner for in16 dividuals described in either such subclause)—

17 ‘‘(A) require such individuals to pay pre18 miums or other cost-sharing charges set on a

19 sliding scale based on income that the State may

20 determine; and

21 ‘‘(B) require payment of 100 percent of such

22 premiums for such year in the case of such an

23 individual who has income for a year that ex24 ceeds 250 percent of the income official poverty

25 line (referred to in subsection (c)(1)) applicable
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1 to a family of the size involved, except that in

2 the case of such an individual who has income

3 for a year that does not exceed 450 percent of

4 such poverty line, such requirement may only

5 apply to the extent such premiums do not exceed

6 7.5 percent of such income; and

7 ‘‘(2) such State shall require payment of 100

8 percent of such premiums for a year by such an indi9 vidual whose adjusted gross income (as defined in sec10 tion 62 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for

11 such year exceeds $75,000, except that a State may

12 choose to subsidize such premiums by using State

13 funds which may not be federally matched under this

14 title.

15 In the case of any calendar year beginning after 2000, the

16 dollar amount specified in paragraph (2) shall be increased

17 in accordance with the provisions of section

18 215(i)(2)(A)(ii).’’.

19 (4) PROHIBITION AGAINST SUPPLANTATION OF

20 STATE FUNDS AND STATE FAILURE TO MAINTAIN EF21 FORT.—Section 1903(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

22 1396b(i)) is amended—

23 (A) by striking the period at the end of

24 paragraph (18) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
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1 (B) by inserting after such paragraph the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(19) with respect to amounts expended for med4 ical assistance provided to an individual described in

5 subclause (XV) or (XVI) of section 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)

6 for a fiscal year unless the State demonstrates to the

7 satisfaction of the Secretary that the level of State

8 funds expended for such fiscal year for programs to

9 enable working individuals with disabilities to work

10 (other than for such medical assistance) is not less

11 than the level expended for such programs during the

12 most recent State fiscal year ending before the date of

13 enactment of this paragraph.’’.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

15 (1) Section 1903(f)(4) of the Social Security Act

16 (42 U.S.C. 1396b(f)(4) is amended in the matter pre17 ceding subparagraph (A) by inserting

18 ‘‘1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV), 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XVI)’’

19 after ‘‘1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(X),’’.

20 (2) Section 1903(f)(4) of such Act, as amended

21 by paragraph (1), is amended by inserting

22 ‘‘1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XIII),’’ before

23 ‘‘1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV)’’.

24 (c) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General
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1 of the United States shall submit a report to Congress re2 garding the amendments made by this section that

3 examines—

4 (1) the extent to which higher health care costs

5 for individuals with disabilities at higher income lev6 els deter employment or progress in employment;

7 (2) whether such individuals have health insur8 ance coverage or could benefit from the State option

9 established under such amendments to provide a med10 icaid buy-in; and

11 (3) how the States are exercising such option,

12 including—

13 (A) how such States are exercising the flexi14 bility afforded them with regard to income dis15 regards;

16 (B) what income and premium levels have

17 been set;

18 (C) the degree to which States are sub19 sidizing premiums above the dollar amount spec20 ified in section 1916(g)(2) of the Social Security

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396o(g)(2)); and

22 (D) the extent to which there exists any

23 crowd-out effect.

24 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the amendments made by this section

3 apply to medical assistance for items and services

4 furnished on or after October 1, 1999.

5 (2) RETROACTIVITY OF CONFORMING AMEND6 MENT.—The amendment made by subsection (b)(2)

7 takes effect as if included in the enactment of the Bal8 anced Budget Act of 1997.

9 SEC. 102. CONTINUATION OF MEDICARE COVERAGE FOR

10 WORKING INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.

11 (a) CONTINUATION OF COVERAGE.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 226 of the Social Se13 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 426) is amended—

14 (A) in the third sentence of subsection (b),

15 by inserting ‘‘, except as provided in subsection

16 (j)’’ after ‘‘but not in excess of 24 such months’’;

17 and

18 (B) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(j) The 24-month limitation on deemed entitlement

20 under the third sentence of subsection (b) shall not apply—

21 ‘‘(1) for months occurring during the 6-year pe22 riod beginning with the first month that begins after

23 the date of enactment of this subsection; and

24 ‘‘(2) for subsequent months, in the case of an in25 dividual who was entitled to benefits under subsection
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1 (b) as of the last month of such 6-year period and

2 would continue (but for such 24-month limitation) to

3 be so entitled.’’.

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

5 1818A(a)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

6 1395i–2a(a)(2)(C)) is amended—

7 (A) by striking ‘‘solely’’; and

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘or the expiration of the

9 last month of the 6-year period described in sec10 tion 226(j)’’ before the semicolon.

11 (b) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

13 of the United States shall submit a report to Congress

14 that—

15 (1) examines the effectiveness and cost of sub16 section (j) of section 226 of the Social Security Act

17 (42 U.S.C. 426);

18 (2) examines the necessity and effectiveness of

19 providing the continuation of medicare coverage

20 under that subsection to individuals whose annual in21 come exceeds the contribution and benefit base (as de22 termined under section 230 of the Social Security

23 Act);

24 (3) examines the viability of providing the con25 tinuation of medicare coverage under that subsection
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1 based on a sliding scale premium for individuals

2 whose annual income exceeds such contribution and

3 benefit base;

4 (4) examines the interrelation between the use of

5 the continuation of medicare coverage under that sub6 section and the use of private health insurance cov7 erage by individuals during the 6-year period; and

8 (5) recommends whether that subsection should

9 continue to be applied beyond the 6-year period de10 scribed in the subsection.

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub12 section (a) apply to months beginning with the first month

13 that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.

14 (d) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.—An indi15 vidual enrolled under section 1818A of the Social Security

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i–2a) shall be treated with respect to

17 premium payment obligations under such section as though

18 the individual had continued to be entitled to benefits under

19 section 226(b) of such Act for—

20 (1) months described in section 226(j)(1) of such

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 426(j)(1)) (as added by subsection

22 (a)); and

23 (2) subsequent months, in the case of an indi24 vidual who was so enrolled as of the last month de-
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1 scribed in section 226(j)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

2 426(j)(2)) (as so added).

3 SEC. 103. GRANTS TO DEVELOP AND ESTABLISH STATE IN4 FRASTRUCTURES TO SUPPORT WORKING IN5 DIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

8 Human Services (in this section referred to as the

9 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall award grants described in sub10 section (b) to States to support the design, establish11 ment, and operation of State infrastructures that pro12 vide items and services to support working individ13 uals with disabilities.

14 (2) APPLICATION.—In order to be eligible for an

15 award of a grant under this section, a State shall

16 submit an application to the Secretary at such time,

17 in such manner, and containing such information as

18 the Secretary shall require.

19 (3) DEFINITION OF STATE.—In this section, the

20 term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50 States, the District

21 of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States

22 Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Common23 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

24 (b) GRANTS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUTREACH.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of the funds appropriated

2 under subsection (e), the Secretary shall award grants

3 to States to—

4 (A) support the establishment, implementa5 tion, and operation of the State infrastructures

6 described in subsection (a); and

7 (B) conduct outreach campaigns regarding

8 the existence of such infrastructures.

9 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—No State may receive a

11 grant under this subsection unless the State—

12 (i) has an approved amendment to the

13 State plan under title XIX of the Social Se14 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) that pro15 vides medical assistance under such plan to

16 individuals described in section

17 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV) of the Social Secu18 rity Act (42 U.S.C.

19 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV)); and

20 (ii) demonstrates to the satisfaction of

21 the Secretary that the State makes personal

22 assistance services available under the State

23 plan under title XIX of the Social Security

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) to the extent

25 necessary to enable individuals described in
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1 clause (i) to remain employed (as deter2 mined under section 1905(v)(2) of the So3 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(v)(2))).

4 (B) DEFINITION OF PERSONAL ASSISTANCE

5 SERVICES.—In this paragraph, the term ‘‘per6 sonal assistance services’’ means a range of serv7 ices, provided by 1 or more persons, designed to

8 assist an individual with a disability to perform

9 daily activities on and off the job that the indi10 vidual would typically perform if the individual

11 did not have a disability. Such services shall be

12 designed to increase the individual’s control in

13 life and ability to perform everyday activities on

14 or off the job.

15 (3) DETERMINATION OF AWARDS.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph

17 (B), the Secretary shall determine a formula for

18 awarding grants to States under this section that

19 provides special consideration to States that pro20 vide medical assistance under title XIX of the

21 Social Security Act to individuals described in

22 section 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XVI) of that Act (42

23 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XVI)).

24 (B) AWARD LIMITS.—

25 (i) MINIMUM AWARDS.—
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1 (I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub2 clause (II), no State with an approved

3 application under this section shall re4 ceive a grant for a fiscal year that is

5 less than $500,000.

6 (II) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—If

7 the funds appropriated under sub8 section (e) for a fiscal year are not suf9 ficient to pay each State with an ap10 plication approved under this section

11 the minimum amount described in

12 subclause (I), the Secretary shall pay

13 each such State an amount equal to the

14 pro rata share of the amount made

15 available.

16 (ii) MAXIMUM AWARDS.—No State

17 with an application that has been approved

18 under this section shall receive a grant for

19 a fiscal year that exceeds 15 percent of the

20 total expenditures by the State (including

21 the reimbursed Federal share of such ex22 penditures) for medical assistance for indi23 viduals eligible under subclause (XV) and

24 (XVI) of section 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii) of the

25 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
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1 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)), as estimated by the

2 State and approved by the Secretary.

3 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—

4 (1) FUNDS AWARDED TO STATES.—Funds

5 awarded to a State under a grant made under this

6 section for a fiscal year shall remain available until

7 expended.

8 (2) FUNDS NOT AWARDED TO STATES.—Funds

9 not awarded to States in the fiscal year for which

10 they are appropriated shall remain available in suc11 ceeding fiscal years for awarding by the Secretary.

12 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—A State that is awarded a

13 grant under this section shall submit an annual report to

14 the Secretary on the use of funds provided under the grant.

15 Each report shall include the percentage increase in the

16 number of title II disability beneficiaries, as defined in sec17 tion 1148(k)(3) of the Social Security Act (as amended by

18 section 201) in the State, and title XVI disability bene19 ficiaries, as defined in section 1148(k)(4) of the Social Secu20 rity Act (as so amended) in the State who return to work.

21 (e) APPROPRIATION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the

23 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro24 priated to make grants under this section—

25 (A) for fiscal year 2000, $20,000,000;
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1 (B) for fiscal year 2001, $25,000,000;

2 (C) for fiscal year 2002, $30,000,000;

3 (D) for fiscal year 2003, $35,000,000;

4 (E) for fiscal year 2004, $40,000,000; and

5 (F) for each of fiscal years 2005 through

6 2010, the amount appropriated for the preceding

7 fiscal year increased by the percentage increase

8 (if any) in the Consumer Price Index for All

9 Urban Consumers (United States city average)

10 for the preceding fiscal year.

11 (2) BUDGET AUTHORITY.—This subsection con12 stitutes budget authority in advance of appropria13 tions Acts and represents the obligation of the Federal

14 Government to provide for the payment of the

15 amounts appropriated under paragraph (1).

16 (f) RECOMMENDATION.—Not later than October 1,

17 2009, the Secretary, in consultation with the Work Incen18 tives Advisory Panel established under section 201(f), shall

19 submit a recommendation to the Committee on Commerce

20 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Fi21 nance of the Senate regarding whether the grant program

22 established under this section should be continued after fis23 cal year 2010.
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1 SEC. 104. DEMONSTRATION OF COVERAGE UNDER THE

2 MEDICAID PROGRAM OF WORKERS WITH PO3 TENTIALLY SEVERE DISABILITIES.

4 (a) STATE APPLICATION.—A State may apply to the

5 Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section

6 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) for approval of a demonstra7 tion project (in this section referred to as a ‘‘demonstration

8 project’’) under which up to a specified maximum number

9 of individuals who are workers with a potentially severe

10 disability (as defined in subsection (b)(1)) are provided

11 medical assistance equal to that provided under section

12 1905(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(a))

13 to individuals described in section 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV)

14 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV)).

15 (b) WORKER WITH A POTENTIALLY SEVERE DIS16 ABILITY DEFINED.—For purposes of this section—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘worker with a po18 tentially severe disability’’ means, with respect to a

19 demonstration project, an individual who—

20 (A) is at least 16, but less than 65, years

21 of age;

22 (B) has a specific physical or mental im23 pairment that, as defined by the State under the

24 demonstration project, is reasonably expected,

25 but for the receipt of items and services described

26 in section 1905(a) of the Social Security Act (42
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1 U.S.C. 1396d(a)), to become blind or disabled (as

2 defined under section 1614(a) of the Social Secu3 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a))); and

4 (C) is employed (as defined in paragraph

5 (2)).

6 (2) DEFINITION OF EMPLOYED.—An individual

7 is considered to be ‘‘employed’’ if the individual—

8 (A) is earning at least the applicable min9 imum wage requirement under section 6 of the

10 Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 206) and

11 working at least 40 hours per month; or

12 (B) is engaged in a work effort that meets

13 substantial and reasonable threshold criteria for

14 hours of work, wages, or other measures, as de15 fined under the demonstration project and ap16 proved by the Secretary.

17 (c) APPROVAL OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), the

19 Secretary shall approve applications under subsection

20 (a) that meet the requirements of paragraph (2) and

21 such additional terms and conditions as the Secretary

22 may require. The Secretary may waive the require23 ment of section 1902(a)(1) of the Social Security Act

24 (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(1)) to allow for sub-State dem25 onstrations.
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1 (2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF DEMONSTRATION

2 PROJECTS.—The Secretary may not approve a dem3 onstration project under this section unless the State

4 provides assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that

5 the following conditions are or will be met:

6 (A) ELECTION OF OPTIONAL CATEGORY.—

7 The State has elected to provide coverage under

8 its plan under title XIX of the Social Security

9 Act of individuals described in section

10 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV) of the Social Security

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV)).

12 (B) MAINTENANCE OF STATE EFFORT.—

13 Federal funds paid to a State pursuant to this

14 section must be used to supplement, but not sup15 plant, the level of State funds expended for work16 ers with potentially severe disabilities under pro17 grams in effect for such individuals at the time

18 the demonstration project is approved under this

19 section.

20 (C) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—The State

21 provides for an independent evaluation of the

22 project.

23 (3) LIMITATIONS ON FEDERAL FUNDING.—

24 (A) APPROPRIATION.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in

2 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,

3 there is appropriated to carry out this

4 section—

5 (I) for fiscal year 2000,

6 $72,000,000;

7 (II) for fiscal year 2001,

8 $74,000,000;

9 (III) for fiscal year 2002,

10 $78,000,000; and

11 (IV) for fiscal year 2003,

12 $81,000,000.

13 (ii) BUDGET AUTHORITY.—Clause (i)

14 constitutes budget authority in advance of

15 appropriations Acts and represents the obli16 gation of the Federal Government to provide

17 for the payment of the amounts appro18 priated under clause (i).

19 (B) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.—In no case

20 may—

21 (i) except as provided in clause (ii),

22 the aggregate amount of payments made by

23 the Secretary to States under this section

24 exceed $300,000,000;
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1 (ii) the aggregate amount of payments

2 made by the Secretary to States for admin3 istrative expenses relating to annual reports

4 required under subsection (d) exceed

5 $5,000,000; or

6 (iii) payments be provided by the Sec7 retary for a fiscal year after fiscal year

8 2005.

9 (C) FUNDS ALLOCATED TO STATES.—The

10 Secretary shall allocate funds to States based on

11 their applications and the availability of funds.

12 Funds allocated to a State under a grant made

13 under this section for a fiscal year shall remain

14 available until expended.

15 (D) FUNDS NOT ALLOCATED TO STATES.—

16 Funds not allocated to States in the fiscal year

17 for which they are appropriated shall remain

18 available in succeeding fiscal years for allocation

19 by the Secretary using the allocation formula es20 tablished under this section.

21 (E) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—The Secretary

22 shall pay to each State with a demonstration

23 project approved under this section, from its al24 location under subparagraph (C), an amount for

25 each quarter equal to the Federal medical assist-
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1 ance percentage (as defined in section 1905(b) of

2 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395d(b)) of

3 expenditures in the quarter for medical assist4 ance provided to workers with a potentially se5 vere disability.

6 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—A State with a demonstration

7 project approved under this section shall submit an annual

8 report to the Secretary on the use of funds provided under

9 the grant. Each report shall include enrollment and finan10 cial statistics on—

11 (1) the total population of workers with poten12 tially severe disabilities served by the demonstration

13 project; and

14 (2) each population of such workers with a spe15 cific physical or mental impairment described in sub16 section (b)(1)(B) served by such project.

17 (e) RECOMMENDATION.—Not later than October 1,

18 2002, the Secretary shall submit a recommendation to the

19 Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives

20 and the Committee on Finance of the Senate regarding

21 whether the demonstration project established under this

22 section should be continued after fiscal year 2003.

23 (f) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘State’’

24 has the meaning given such term for purposes of title XIX

25 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).
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1 SEC. 105. ELECTION BY DISABLED BENEFICIARIES TO SUS2 PEND MEDIGAP INSURANCE WHEN COVERED

3 UNDER A GROUP HEALTH PLAN.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1882(q) of the Social Secu5 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ss(q)) is amended—

6 (1) in paragraph (5)(C), by inserting ‘‘or para7 graph (6)’’ after ‘‘this paragraph’’; and

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new para9 graph:

10 ‘‘(6) Each medicare supplemental policy shall

11 provide that benefits and premiums under the policy

12 shall be suspended at the request of the policyholder

13 if the policyholder is entitled to benefits under section

14 226(b) and is covered under a group health plan (as

15 defined in section 1862(b)(1)(A)(v)). If such suspen16 sion occurs and if the policyholder or certificate hold17 er loses coverage under the group health plan, such

18 policy shall be automatically reinstituted (effective as

19 of the date of such loss of coverage) under terms de20 scribed in subsection (n)(6)(A)(ii) as of the loss of

21 such coverage if the policyholder provides notice of

22 loss of such coverage within 90 days after the date of

23 such loss.’’.

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub25 section (a) apply with respect to requests made after the

26 date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 TITLE II—TICKET TO WORK AND

2 SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND RE3 LATED PROVISIONS

4 Subtitle A—Ticket to Work and

5 Self-Sufficiency

6 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TICKET TO WORK AND

7 SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title XI of the Social Se9 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by adding

10 after section 1147 (as added by section 8 of the Noncitizen

11 Benefit Clarification and Other Technical Amendments Act

12 of 1998 (Public Law 105–306; 112 Stat. 2928)) the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘TICKET TO WORK AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM

15 ‘‘SEC. 1148. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner

16 shall establish a Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Pro17 gram, under which a disabled beneficiary may use a ticket

18 to work and self-sufficiency issued by the Commissioner in

19 accordance with this section to obtain employment services,

20 vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services

21 from an employment network which is of the beneficiary’s

22 choice and which is willing to provide such services to the

23 beneficiary.

24 ‘‘(b) TICKET SYSTEM.—
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1 ‘‘(1) DISTRIBUTION OF TICKETS.—The Commis2 sioner may issue a ticket to work and self-sufficiency

3 to disabled beneficiaries for participation in the Pro4 gram.

5 ‘‘(2) ASSIGNMENT OF TICKETS.—A disabled ben6 eficiary holding a ticket to work and self-sufficiency

7 may assign the ticket to any employment network of

8 the beneficiary’s choice which is serving under the

9 Program and is willing to accept the assignment.

10 ‘‘(3) TICKET TERMS.—A ticket issued under

11 paragraph (1) shall consist of a document which evi12 dences the Commissioner’s agreement to pay (as pro13 vided in paragraph (4)) an employment network,

14 which is serving under the Program and to which

15 such ticket is assigned by the beneficiary, for such em16 ployment services, vocational rehabilitation services,

17 and other support services as the employment network

18 may provide to the beneficiary.

19 ‘‘(4) PAYMENTS TO EMPLOYMENT NETWORKS.—

20 The Commissioner shall pay an employment network

21 under the Program in accordance with the outcome

22 payment system under subsection (h)(2) or under the

23 outcome-milestone payment system under subsection

24 (h)(3) (whichever is elected pursuant to subsection

25 (h)(1)). An employment network may not request or
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1 receive compensation for such services from the bene2 ficiary.

3 ‘‘(c) STATE PARTICIPATION.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State agency admin5 istering or supervising the administration of the

6 State plan approved under title I of the Rehabilita7 tion Act of 1973 may elect to participate in the Pro8 gram as an employment network with respect to a

9 disabled beneficiary. If the State agency does elect to

10 participate in the Program, the State agency also

11 shall elect to be paid under the outcome payment sys12 tem or the outcome-milestone payment system in ac13 cordance with subsection (h)(1). With respect to a dis14 abled beneficiary that the State agency does not elect

15 to have participate in the Program, the State agency

16 shall be paid for services provided to that beneficiary

17 under the system for payment applicable under sec18 tion 222(d) and subsections (d) and (e) of section

19 1615. The Commissioner shall provide for periodic

20 opportunities for exercising such elections (and rev21 ocations).

22 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF PARTICIPATION BY STATE AGEN23 CY.—

24 ‘‘(A) STATE AGENCIES PARTICIPATING.—In

25 any case in which a State agency described in
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1 paragraph (1) elects under that paragraph to

2 participate in the Program, the employment

3 services, vocational rehabilitation services, and

4 other support services which, upon assignment of

5 tickets to work and self-sufficiency, are provided

6 to disabled beneficiaries by the State agency act7 ing as an employment network shall be governed

8 by plans for vocational rehabilitation services

9 approved under title I of the Rehabilitation Act

10 of 1973.

11 ‘‘(B) STATE AGENCIES ADMINISTERING MA12 TERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES PRO13 GRAMS.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with

14 respect to any State agency administering a pro15 gram under title V of this Act.

16 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO

17 CROSS-REFERRAL TO CERTAIN STATE AGENCIES.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which

19 an employment network has been assigned a

20 ticket to work and self-sufficiency by a disabled

21 beneficiary, no State agency shall be deemed re22 quired, under this section, title I of the Workforce

23 Investment Act of 1998, title I of the Rehabilita24 tion Act of 1973, or a State plan approved under

25 such title, to accept any referral of such disabled
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1 beneficiary from such employment network un2 less such employment network and such State

3 agency have entered into a written agreement

4 that meets the requirements of subparagraph (B).

5 Any beneficiary who has assigned a ticket to

6 work and self-sufficiency to an employment net7 work that has not entered into such a written

8 agreement with such a State agency may not ac9 cess vocational rehabilitation services under title

10 I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 until such

11 time as the beneficiary is reassigned to a State

12 vocational rehabilitation agency by the Program

13 Manager.

14 ‘‘(B) TERMS OF AGREEMENT.—An agree15 ment required by subparagraph (A) shall specify,

16 in accordance with regulations prescribed pursu17 ant to subparagraph (C)—

18 ‘‘(i) the extent (if any) to which the

19 employment network holding the ticket will

20 provide to the State agency—

21 ‘‘(I) reimbursement for costs in22 curred in providing services described

23 in subparagraph (A) to the disabled

24 beneficiary; and
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1 ‘‘(II) other amounts from pay2 ments made by the Commissioner to

3 the employment network pursuant to

4 subsection (h); and

5 ‘‘(ii) any other conditions that may be

6 required by such regulations.

7 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—The Commissioner

8 and the Secretary of Education shall jointly pre9 scribe regulations specifying the terms of agree10 ments required by subparagraph (A) and other11 wise necessary to carry out the provisions of this

12 paragraph.

13 ‘‘(D) PENALTY.—No payment may be made

14 to an employment network pursuant to sub15 section (h) in connection with services provided

16 to any disabled beneficiary if such employment

17 network makes referrals described in subpara18 graph (A) in violation of the terms of the agree19 ment required under subparagraph (A) or with20 out having entered into such an agreement.

21 ‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER.—

22 ‘‘(1) SELECTION AND QUALIFICATIONS OF PRO23 GRAM MANAGERS.—The Commissioner shall enter into

24 agreements with 1 or more organizations in the pri25 vate or public sector for service as a program man-
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1 ager to assist the Commissioner in administering the

2 Program. Any such program manager shall be se3 lected by means of a competitive bidding process,

4 from among organizations in the private or public

5 sector with available expertise and experience in the

6 field of vocational rehabilitation and employment

7 services.

8 ‘‘(2) TENURE, RENEWAL, AND EARLY TERMI9 NATION.—Each agreement entered into under para10 graph (1) shall provide for early termination upon

11 failure to meet performance standards which shall be

12 specified in the agreement and which shall be weight13 ed to take into account any performance in prior

14 terms. Such performance standards shall include—

15 ‘‘(A) measures for ease of access by bene16 ficiaries to services; and

17 ‘‘(B) measures for determining the extent to

18 which failures in obtaining services for bene19 ficiaries fall within acceptable parameters, as de20 termined by the Commissioner.

21 ‘‘(3) PRECLUSION FROM DIRECT PARTICIPATION

22 IN DELIVERY OF SERVICES IN OWN SERVICE AREA.—

23 Agreements under paragraph (1) shall preclude—

24 ‘‘(A) direct participation by a program

25 manager in the delivery of employment services,
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1 vocational rehabilitation services, or other sup2 port services to beneficiaries in the service area

3 covered by the program manager’s agreement;

4 and

5 ‘‘(B) the holding by a program manager of

6 a financial interest in an employment network

7 or service provider which provides services in a

8 geographic area covered under the program man9 ager’s agreement.

10 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF EMPLOYMENT NETWORKS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall

12 select and enter into agreements with employ13 ment networks for service under the Program.

14 Such employment networks shall be in addition

15 to State agencies serving as employment net16 works pursuant to elections under subsection (c).

17 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATE PARTICIPANTS.—In any

18 State where the Program is being implemented,

19 the Commissioner shall enter into an agreement

20 with any alternate participant that is operating

21 under the authority of section 222(d)(2) in the

22 State as of the date of enactment of this section

23 and chooses to serve as an employment network

24 under the Program.
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1 ‘‘(5) TERMINATION OF AGREEMENTS WITH EM2 PLOYMENT NETWORKS.—The Commissioner shall ter3 minate agreements with employment networks for in4 adequate performance, as determined by the Commis5 sioner.

6 ‘‘(6) QUALITY ASSURANCE.—The Commissioner

7 shall provide for such periodic reviews as are nec8 essary to provide for effective quality assurance in the

9 provision of services by employment networks. The

10 Commissioner shall solicit and consider the views of

11 consumers and the program manager under which the

12 employment networks serve and shall consult with

13 providers of services to develop performance measure14 ments. The Commissioner shall ensure that the results

15 of the periodic reviews are made available to bene16 ficiaries who are prospective service recipients as they

17 select employment networks. The Commissioner shall

18 ensure that the periodic surveys of beneficiaries re19 ceiving services under the Program are designed to

20 measure customer service satisfaction.

21 ‘‘(7) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—The Commissioner

22 shall provide for a mechanism for resolving disputes

23 between beneficiaries and employment networks, be24 tween program managers and employment networks,

25 and between program managers and providers of
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1 services. The Commissioner shall afford a party to

2 such a dispute a reasonable opportunity for a full

3 and fair review of the matter in dispute.

4 ‘‘(e) PROGRAM MANAGERS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A program manager shall

6 conduct tasks appropriate to assist the Commissioner

7 in carrying out the Commissioner’s duties in admin8 istering the Program.

9 ‘‘(2) RECRUITMENT OF EMPLOYMENT NET10 WORKS.—A program manager shall recruit, and rec11 ommend for selection by the Commissioner, employ12 ment networks for service under the Program. The

13 program manager shall carry out such recruitment

14 and provide such recommendations, and shall mon15 itor all employment networks serving in the Program

16 in the geographic area covered under the program

17 manager’s agreement, to the extent necessary and ap18 propriate to ensure that adequate choices of services

19 are made available to beneficiaries. Employment net20 works may serve under the Program only pursuant to

21 an agreement entered into with the Commissioner

22 under the Program incorporating the applicable pro23 visions of this section and regulations thereunder, and

24 the program manager shall provide and maintain as25 surances to the Commissioner that payment by the
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1 Commissioner to employment networks pursuant to

2 this section is warranted based on compliance by such

3 employment networks with the terms of such agree4 ment and this section. The program manager shall

5 not impose numerical limits on the number of em6 ployment networks to be recommended pursuant to

7 this paragraph.

8 ‘‘(3) FACILITATION OF ACCESS BY BENE9 FICIARIES TO EMPLOYMENT NETWORKS.—A program

10 manager shall facilitate access by beneficiaries to em11 ployment networks. The program manager shall en12 sure that each beneficiary is allowed changes in em13 ployment networks for good cause, as determined by

14 the Commissioner, without being deemed to have re15 jected services under the Program. The program man16 ager shall establish and maintain lists of employment

17 networks available to beneficiaries and shall make

18 such lists generally available to the public. The pro19 gram manager shall ensure that all information pro20 vided to disabled beneficiaries pursuant to this para21 graph is provided in accessible formats.

22 ‘‘(4) ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF ADEQUATE

23 SERVICES.—The program manager shall ensure that

24 employment services, vocational rehabilitation serv25 ices, and other support services are provided to bene-
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1 ficiaries throughout the geographic area covered under

2 the program manager’s agreement, including rural

3 areas.

4 ‘‘(5) REASONABLE ACCESS TO SERVICES.—The

5 program manager shall take such measures as are

6 necessary to ensure that sufficient employment net7 works are available and that each beneficiary receiv8 ing services under the Program has reasonable access

9 to employment services, vocational rehabilitation serv10 ices, and other support services. Services provided

11 under the Program may include case management,

12 work incentives planning, supported employment, ca13 reer planning, career plan development, vocational

14 assessment, job training, placement, followup services,

15 and such other services as may be specified by the

16 Commissioner under the Program. The program man17 ager shall ensure that such services are available in

18 each service area.

19 ‘‘(f) EMPLOYMENT NETWORKS.—

20 ‘‘(1) QUALIFICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT NET21 WORKS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each employment net23 work serving under the Program shall consist of

24 an agency or instrumentality of a State (or a

25 political subdivision thereof) or a private entity
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1 that assumes responsibility for the coordination

2 and delivery of services under the Program to in3 dividuals assigning to the employment network

4 tickets to work and self-sufficiency issued under

5 subsection (b).

6 ‘‘(B) ONE-STOP DELIVERY SYSTEMS.—An

7 employment network serving under the Program

8 may consist of a one-stop delivery system estab9 lished under subtitle B of title I of the Workforce

10 Investment Act of 1998.

11 ‘‘(C) COMPLIANCE WITH SELECTION CRI12 TERIA.—No employment network may serve

13 under the Program unless it meets and main14 tains compliance with both general selection cri15 teria (such as professional and educational

16 qualifications (where applicable)) and specific

17 selection criteria (such as substantial expertise

18 and experience in providing relevant employ19 ment services and supports).

20 ‘‘(D) SINGLE OR ASSOCIATED PROVIDERS

21 ALLOWED.—An employment network shall con22 sist of either a single provider of such services or

23 of an association of such providers organized so

24 as to combine their resources into a single entity.

25 An employment network may meet the require-
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1 ments of subsection (e)(4) by providing services

2 directly, or by entering into agreements with

3 other individuals or entities providing appro4 priate employment services, vocational rehabili5 tation services, or other support services.

6 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO PROVISION OF

7 SERVICES.—Each employment network serving under

8 the Program shall be required under the terms of its

9 agreement with the Commissioner to—

10 ‘‘(A) serve prescribed service areas; and

11 ‘‘(B) take such measures as are necessary to

12 ensure that employment services, vocational re13 habilitation services, and other support services

14 provided under the Program by, or under agree15 ments entered into with, the employment network

16 are provided under appropriate individual work

17 plans meeting the requirements of subsection (g).

18 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTING.—Each em19 ployment network shall meet financial reporting re20 quirements as prescribed by the Commissioner.

21 ‘‘(4) PERIODIC OUTCOMES REPORTING.—Each

22 employment network shall prepare periodic reports,

23 on at least an annual basis, itemizing for the covered

24 period specific outcomes achieved with respect to spe25 cific services provided by the employment network.
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1 Such reports shall conform to a national model pre2 scribed under this section. Each employment network

3 shall provide a copy of the latest report issued by the

4 employment network pursuant to this paragraph to

5 each beneficiary upon enrollment under the Program

6 for services to be received through such employment

7 network. Upon issuance of each report to each bene8 ficiary, a copy of the report shall be maintained in

9 the files of the employment network. The program

10 manager shall ensure that copies of all such reports

11 issued under this paragraph are made available to the

12 public under reasonable terms.

13 ‘‘(g) INDIVIDUAL WORK PLANS.—

14 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.—Each employment net15 work shall—

16 ‘‘(A) take such measures as are necessary to

17 ensure that employment services, vocational re18 habilitation services, and other support services

19 provided under the Program by, or under agree20 ments entered into with, the employment network

21 are provided under appropriate individual work

22 plans that meet the requirements of subpara23 graph (C);

24 ‘‘(B) develop and implement each such indi25 vidual work plan in partnership with each bene-
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1 ficiary receiving such services in a manner that

2 affords the beneficiary the opportunity to exer3 cise informed choice in selecting an employment

4 goal and specific services needed to achieve that

5 employment goal;

6 ‘‘(C) ensure that each individual work plan

7 includes at least—

8 ‘‘(i) a statement of the vocational goal

9 developed with the beneficiary;

10 ‘‘(ii) a statement of the services and

11 supports that have been deemed necessary

12 for the beneficiary to accomplish that goal;

13 ‘‘(iii) a statement of any terms and

14 conditions related to the provision of such

15 services and supports; and

16 ‘‘(iv) a statement of understanding re17 garding the beneficiary’s rights under the

18 Program (such as the right to retrieve the

19 ticket to work and self-sufficiency if the ben20 eficiary is dissatisfied with the services

21 being provided by the employment network)

22 and remedies available to the individual,

23 including information on the availability of

24 advocacy services and assistance in resolv-
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1 ing disputes through the State grant pro2 gram authorized under section 1150;

3 ‘‘(D) provide a beneficiary the opportunity

4 to amend the individual work plan if a change

5 in circumstances necessitates a change in the

6 plan; and

7 ‘‘(E) make each beneficiary’s individual

8 work plan available to the beneficiary in, as ap9 propriate, an accessible format chosen by the

10 beneficiary.

11 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE UPON WRITTEN APPROVAL.—A

12 beneficiary’s individual work plan shall take effect

13 upon written approval by the beneficiary or a rep14 resentative of the beneficiary and a representative of

15 the employment network that, in providing such writ16 ten approval, acknowledges assignment of the bene17 ficiary’s ticket to work and self-sufficiency.

18 ‘‘(h) EMPLOYMENT NETWORK PAYMENT SYSTEMS.—

19 ‘‘(1) ELECTION OF PAYMENT SYSTEM BY EM20 PLOYMENT NETWORKS.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Program shall pro22 vide for payment authorized by the Commis23 sioner to employment networks under either an

24 outcome payment system or an outcome-mile25 stone payment system. Each employment net-
46

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1 work shall elect which payment system will be

2 utilized by the employment network, and, for

3 such period of time as such election remains in

4 effect, the payment system so elected shall be uti5 lized exclusively in connection with such employ6 ment network (except as provided in subpara7 graph (B)).

8 ‘‘(B) NO CHANGE IN METHOD OF PAYMENT

9 FOR BENEFICIARIES WITH TICKETS ALREADY AS10 SIGNED TO THE EMPLOYMENT NETWORKS.—Any

11 election of a payment system by an employment

12 network that would result in a change in the

13 method of payment to the employment network

14 for services provided to a beneficiary who is re15 ceiving services from the employment network at

16 the time of the election shall not be effective with

17 respect to payment for services provided to that

18 beneficiary and the method of payment pre19 viously selected shall continue to apply with re20 spect to such services.

21 ‘‘(2) OUTCOME PAYMENT SYSTEM.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The outcome payment

23 system shall consist of a payment structure gov24 erning employment networks electing such sys-
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1 tem under paragraph (1)(A) which meets the re2 quirements of this paragraph.

3 ‘‘(B) PAYMENTS MADE DURING OUTCOME

4 PAYMENT PERIOD.—The outcome payment sys5 tem shall provide for a schedule of payments to

6 an employment network in connection with each

7 individual who is a beneficiary for each month

8 during the individual’s outcome payment period

9 for which benefits (described in paragraphs (3)

10 and (4) of subsection (k)) are not payable to such

11 individual because of work or earnings.

12 ‘‘(C) COMPUTATION OF PAYMENTS TO EM13 PLOYMENT NETWORK.—The payment schedule of

14 the outcome payment system shall be designed so

15 that—

16 ‘‘(i) the payment for each of the 60

17 months during the outcome payment period

18 for which benefits (described in paragraphs

19 (3) and (4) of subsection (k)) are not pay20 able is equal to a fixed percentage of the

21 payment calculation base for the calendar

22 year in which such month occurs; and

23 ‘‘(ii) such fixed percentage is set at a

24 percentage which does not exceed 40 percent.

25 ‘‘(3) OUTCOME-MILESTONE PAYMENT SYSTEM.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The outcome-milestone

2 payment system shall consist of a payment

3 structure governing employment networks elect4 ing such system under paragraph (1)(A) which

5 meets the requirements of this paragraph.

6 ‘‘(B) EARLY PAYMENTS UPON ATTAINMENT

7 OF MILESTONES IN ADVANCE OF OUTCOME PAY8 MENT PERIODS.—The outcome-milestone pay9 ment system shall provide for 1 or more mile10 stones with respect to beneficiaries receiving serv11 ices from an employment network under the Pro12 gram that are directed toward the goal of perma13 nent employment. Such milestones shall form a

14 part of a payment structure that provides, in

15 addition to payments made during outcome pay16 ment periods, payments made prior to outcome

17 payment periods in amounts based on the at18 tainment of such milestones.

19 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION ON TOTAL PAYMENTS TO

20 EMPLOYMENT NETWORK.—The payment schedule

21 of the outcome-milestone payment system shall be

22 designed so that the total of the payments to the

23 employment network with respect to each bene24 ficiary is less than, on a net present value basis

25 (using an interest rate determined by the Com-
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1 missioner that appropriately reflects the cost of

2 funds faced by providers), the total amount to

3 which payments to the employment network with

4 respect to the beneficiary would be limited if the

5 employment network were paid under the out6 come payment system.

7 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:

8 ‘‘(A) PAYMENT CALCULATION BASE.—The

9 term ‘payment calculation base’ means, for any

10 calendar year—

11 ‘‘(i) in connection with a title II dis12 ability beneficiary, the average disability

13 insurance benefit payable under section 223

14 for all beneficiaries for months during the

15 preceding calendar year; and

16 ‘‘(ii) in connection with a title XVI

17 disability beneficiary (who is not concur18 rently a title II disability beneficiary), the

19 average payment of supplemental security

20 income benefits based on disability payable

21 under title XVI (excluding State supplemen22 tation) for months during the preceding cal23 endar year to all beneficiaries who have at24 tained age 18 but have not attained age 65.
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1 ‘‘(B) OUTCOME PAYMENT PERIOD.—The

2 term ‘outcome payment period’ means, in con3 nection with any individual who had assigned a

4 ticket to work and self-sufficiency to an employ5 ment network under the Program, a period—

6 ‘‘(i) beginning with the first month,

7 ending after the date on which such ticket

8 was assigned to the employment network,

9 for which benefits (described in paragraphs

10 (3) and (4) of subsection (k)) are not pay11 able to such individual by reason of engage12 ment in substantial gainful activity or by

13 reason of earnings from work activity; and

14 ‘‘(ii) ending with the 60th month (con15 secutive or otherwise), ending after such

16 date, for which such benefits are not pay17 able to such individual by reason of engage18 ment in substantial gainful activity or by

19 reason of earnings from work activity.

20 ‘‘(5) PERIODIC REVIEW AND ALTERATIONS OF

21 PRESCRIBED SCHEDULES.—

22 ‘‘(A) PERCENTAGES AND PERIODS.—The

23 Commissioner shall periodically review the per24 centage specified in paragraph (2)(C), the total

25 payments permissible under paragraph (3)(C),
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1 and the period of time specified in paragraph

2 (4)(B) to determine whether such percentages,

3 such permissible payments, and such period pro4 vide an adequate incentive for employment net5 works to assist beneficiaries to enter the work6 force, while providing for appropriate economies.

7 The Commissioner may alter such percentage,

8 such total permissible payments, or such period

9 of time to the extent that the Commissioner de10 termines, on the basis of the Commissioner’s re11 view under this paragraph, that such an alter12 ation would better provide the incentive and

13 economies described in the preceding sentence.

14 ‘‘(B) NUMBER AND AMOUNTS OF MILESTONE

15 PAYMENTS.—The Commissioner shall periodi16 cally review the number and amounts of mile17 stone payments established by the Commissioner

18 pursuant to this section to determine whether

19 they provide an adequate incentive for employ20 ment networks to assist beneficiaries to enter the

21 workforce, taking into account information pro22 vided to the Commissioner by program man23 agers, the Work Incentives Advisory Panel estab24 lished under section 201(f) of the Work Incen25 tives Improvement Act of 1999, and other reli-
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1 able sources. The Commissioner may from time

2 to time alter the number and amounts of mile3 stone payments initially established by the Com4 missioner pursuant to this section to the extent

5 that the Commissioner determines that such an

6 alteration would allow an adequate incentive for

7 employment networks to assist beneficiaries to

8 enter the workforce. Such alteration shall be

9 based on information provided to the Commis10 sioner by program managers, the Work Incen11 tives Advisory Panel established under section

12 201(f) of the Work Incentives Improvement Act

13 of 1999, or other reliable sources.

14 ‘‘(i) SUSPENSION OF DISABILITY REVIEWS.—During

15 any period for which an individual is using, as defined

16 by the Commissioner, a ticket to work and self-sufficiency

17 issued under this section, the Commissioner (and any ap18 plicable State agency) may not initiate a continuing dis19 ability review or other review under section 221 of whether

20 the individual is or is not under a disability or a review

21 under title XVI similar to any such review under section

22 221.

23 ‘‘(j) ALLOCATION OF COSTS.—

24 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS TO EMPLOYMENT NETWORKS.—

25 Payments to employment networks (including State
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1 agencies that elect to participate in the Program as

2 an employment network) shall be made from the Fed3 eral Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund or

4 the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, as ap5 propriate, in the case of ticketed title II disability

6 beneficiaries who return to work, or from the appro7 priation made available for making supplemental se8 curity income payments under title XVI, in the case

9 of title XVI disability beneficiaries who return to

10 work. With respect to ticketed beneficiaries who con11 currently are entitled to benefits under title II and el12 igible for payments under title XVI who return to

13 work, the Commissioner shall allocate the cost of pay14 ments to employment networks to which the tickets of

15 such beneficiaries have been assigned among such

16 Trust Funds and appropriation, as appropriate.

17 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The costs of

18 administering this section (other than payments to

19 employment networks) shall be paid from amounts

20 made available for the administration of title II and

21 amounts made available for the administration of

22 title XVI, and shall be allocated among those amounts

23 as appropriate.

24 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
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1 ‘‘(1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘Commissioner’

2 means the Commissioner of Social Security.

3 ‘‘(2) DISABLED BENEFICIARY.—The term ‘dis4 abled beneficiary’ means a title II disability bene5 ficiary or a title XVI disability beneficiary.

6 ‘‘(3) TITLE II DISABILITY BENEFICIARY.—The

7 term ‘title II disability beneficiary’ means an indi8 vidual entitled to disability insurance benefits under

9 section 223 or to monthly insurance benefits under

10 section 202 based on such individual’s disability (as

11 defined in section 223(d)). An individual is a title II

12 disability beneficiary for each month for which such

13 individual is entitled to such benefits.

14 ‘‘(4) TITLE XVI DISABILITY BENEFICIARY.—The

15 term ‘title XVI disability beneficiary’ means an indi16 vidual eligible for supplemental security income bene17 fits under title XVI on the basis of blindness (within

18 the meaning of section 1614(a)(2)) or disability

19 (within the meaning of section 1614(a)(3)). An indi20 vidual is a title XVI disability beneficiary for each

21 month for which such individual is eligible for such

22 benefits.

23 ‘‘(5) SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME BENEFIT

24 UNDER TITLE XVI.—The term ‘supplemental security

25 income benefit under title XVI’ means a cash benefit
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1 under section 1611 or 1619(a), and does not include

2 a State supplementary payment, administered feder3 ally or otherwise.

4 ‘‘(l) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the

5 date of enactment of this section, the Commissioner shall

6 prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out the

7 provisions of this section.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

9 (1) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE II.—

10 (A) Section 221(i) of the Social Security

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 421(i)) is amended by adding at

12 the end the following:

13 ‘‘(5) For suspension of reviews under this subsection

14 in the case of an individual using a ticket to work and

15 self-sufficiency, see section 1148(i).’’.

16 (B) Section 222(a) of the Social Security

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 422(a)) is repealed.

18 (C) Section 222(b) of the Social Security

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 422(b)) is repealed.

20 (D) Section 225(b)(1) of the Social Security

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 425(b)(1)) is amended by striking

22 ‘‘a program of vocational rehabilitation services’’

23 and inserting ‘‘a program consisting of the Tick24 et to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program under

25 section 1148 or another program of vocational
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1 rehabilitation services, employment services, or

2 other support services’’.

3 (2) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE XVI.—

4 (A) Section 1615(a) of the Social Security

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 1382d(a)) is amended to read as

6 follows:

7 ‘‘SEC. 1615. (a) In the case of any blind or disabled

8 individual who—

9 ‘‘(1) has not attained age 16, and

10 ‘‘(2) with respect to whom benefits are paid

11 under this title,

12 the Commissioner of Social Security shall make provision

13 for referral of such individual to the appropriate State

14 agency administering the State program under title V.’’.

15 (B) Section 1615(c) of the Social Security

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 1382d(c)) is repealed.

17 (C) Section 1631(a)(6)(A) of the Social Se18 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(a)(6)(A)) is amended

19 by striking ‘‘a program of vocational rehabilita20 tion services’’ and inserting ‘‘a program con21 sisting of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency

22 Program under section 1148 or another program

23 of vocational rehabilitation services, employment

24 services, or other support services’’.
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1 (D) Section 1633(c) of the Social Security

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 1383b(c)) is amended—

3 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and

4 (ii) by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(2) For suspension of continuing disability reviews

6 and other reviews under this title similar to reviews under

7 section 221 in the case of an individual using a ticket to

8 work and self-sufficiency, see section 1148(i).’’.

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subject to subsection (d), the

10 amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall take ef11 fect with the first month following 1 year after the date

12 of enactment of this Act.

13 (d) GRADUATED IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner

16 of Social Security shall commence implementation of

17 the amendments made by this section (other than

18 paragraphs (1)(C) and (2)(B) of subsection (b)) in

19 graduated phases at phase-in sites selected by the

20 Commissioner. Such phase-in sites shall be selected so

21 as to ensure, prior to full implementation of the Tick22 et to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, the develop23 ment and refinement of referral processes, payment

24 systems, computer linkages, management information

25 systems, and administrative processes necessary to
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1 provide for full implementation of such amendments.

2 Subsection (c) shall apply with respect to paragraphs

3 (1)(C) and (2)(B) of subsection (b) without regard to

4 this subsection.

5 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Implementation of the

6 Program at each phase-in site shall be carried out on

7 a wide enough scale to permit a thorough evaluation

8 of the alternative methods under consideration, so as

9 to ensure that the most efficacious methods are deter10 mined and in place for full implementation of the

11 Program on a timely basis.

12 (3) FULL IMPLEMENTATION.—The Commissioner

13 shall ensure that the ability to provide tickets and

14 services to individuals under the Program exists in

15 every State as soon as practicable on or after the ef16 fective date specified in subsection (c) but not later

17 than 3 years after such date.

18 (4) ONGOING EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall

20 design and conduct a series of evaluations to as21 sess the cost-effectiveness of activities carried out

22 under this section and the amendments made

23 thereby, as well as the effects of this section and

24 the amendments made thereby on work outcomes
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1 for beneficiaries receiving tickets to work and

2 self-sufficiency under the Program.

3 (B) CONSULTATION.—The Commissioner

4 shall design and carry out the series of evalua5 tions after receiving relevant advice from experts

6 in the fields of disability, vocational rehabilita7 tion, and program evaluation and individuals

8 using tickets to work and self-sufficiency under

9 the Program and consulting with the Work In10 centives Advisory Panel established under section

11 201(f), the Comptroller General of the United

12 States, other agencies of the Federal Government,

13 and private organizations with appropriate ex14 pertise.

15 (C) METHODOLOGY.—

16 (i) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Commis17 sioner, in consultation with the Work Incen18 tives Advisory Panel established under sec19 tion 201(f), shall ensure that plans for eval20 uations and data collection methods under

21 the Program are appropriately designed to

22 obtain detailed employment information.

23 (ii) SPECIFIC MATTERS TO BE AD24 DRESSED.—Each such evaluation shall ad25 dress (but is not limited to)—
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1 (I) the annual cost (including net

2 cost) of the Program and the annual

3 cost (including net cost) that would

4 have been incurred in the absence of

5 the Program;

6 (II) the determinants of return to

7 work, including the characteristics of

8 beneficiaries in receipt of tickets under

9 the Program;

10 (III) the types of employment

11 services, vocational rehabilitation serv12 ices, and other support services fur13 nished to beneficiaries in receipt of

14 tickets under the Program who return

15 to work and to those who do not return

16 to work;

17 (IV) the duration of employment

18 services, vocational rehabilitation serv19 ices, and other support services fur20 nished to beneficiaries in receipt of

21 tickets under the Program who return

22 to work and the duration of such serv23 ices furnished to those who do not re24 turn to work and the cost to employ-
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1 ment networks of furnishing such serv2 ices;

3 (V) the employment outcomes, in4 cluding wages, occupations, benefits,

5 and hours worked, of beneficiaries who

6 return to work after receiving tickets

7 under the Program and those who re8 turn to work without receiving such

9 tickets;

10 (VI) the characteristics of pro11 viders whose services are provided

12 within an employment network under

13 the Program;

14 (VII) the extent (if any) to which

15 employment networks display a greater

16 willingness to provide services to bene17 ficiaries with a range of disabilities;

18 (VIII) the characteristics (includ19 ing employment outcomes) of those

20 beneficiaries who receive services under

21 the outcome payment system and of

22 those beneficiaries who receive services

23 under the outcome-milestone payment

24 system;
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1 (IX) measures of satisfaction

2 among beneficiaries in receipt of tick3 ets under the Program; and

4 (X) reasons for (including com5 ments solicited from beneficiaries re6 garding) their choice not to use their

7 tickets or their inability to return to

8 work despite the use of their tickets.

9 (D) PERIODIC EVALUATION REPORTS.—Fol10 lowing the close of the third and fifth fiscal years

11 ending after the effective date under subsection

12 (c), and prior to the close of the seventh fiscal

13 year ending after such date, the Commissioner

14 shall transmit to the Committee on Ways and

15 Means of the House of Representatives and the

16 Committee on Finance of the Senate a report

17 containing the Commissioner’s evaluation of the

18 progress of activities conducted under the provi19 sions of this section and the amendments made

20 thereby. Each such report shall set forth the

21 Commissioner’s evaluation of the extent to which

22 the Program has been successful and the Com23 missioner’s conclusions on whether or how the

24 Program should be modified. Each such report

25 shall include such data, findings, materials, and
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1 recommendations as the Commissioner may con2 sider appropriate.

3 (5) EXTENT OF STATE’S RIGHT OF FIRST RE4 FUSAL IN ADVANCE OF FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF

5 AMENDMENTS IN SUCH STATE.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any State

7 in which the amendments made by subsection (a)

8 have not been fully implemented pursuant to this

9 subsection, the Commissioner shall determine by

10 regulation the extent to which—

11 (i) the requirement under section

12 222(a) of the Social Security Act for

13 prompt referrals to a State agency, and

14 (ii) the authority of the Commissioner

15 under section 222(d)(2) of the Social Secu16 rity Act to provide vocational rehabilitation

17 services in such State by agreement or con18 tract with other public or private agencies,

19 organizations, institutions, or individuals,

20 shall apply in such State.

21 (B) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in

22 subparagraph (A) or the amendments made by

23 subsection (a) shall be construed to limit, im24 pede, or otherwise affect any agreement entered

25 into pursuant to section 222(d)(2) of the Social
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1 Security Act before the date of enactment of this

2 Act with respect to services provided pursuant to

3 such agreement to beneficiaries receiving services

4 under such agreement as of such date, except

5 with respect to services (if any) to be provided

6 after 3 years after the effective date provided in

7 subsection (c).

8 (e) SPECIFIC REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Social

10 Security shall prescribe such regulations as are nec11 essary to implement the amendments made by this

12 section.

13 (2) SPECIFIC MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED IN REG14 ULATIONS.—The matters which shall be addressed in

15 such regulations shall include—

16 (A) the form and manner in which tickets

17 to work and self-sufficiency may be distributed to

18 beneficiaries pursuant to section 1148(b)(1) of

19 the Social Security Act;

20 (B) the format and wording of such tickets,

21 which shall incorporate by reference any contrac22 tual terms governing service by employment net23 works under the Program;

24 (C) the form and manner in which State

25 agencies may elect participation in the Ticket to
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1 Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (and revoke

2 such an election) pursuant to section 1148(c)(1)

3 of the Social Security Act and provision for

4 periodic opportunities for exercising such elec5 tions (and revocations);

6 (D) the status of State agencies under sec7 tion 1148(c)(1) at the time that State agencies

8 exercise elections (and revocations) under that

9 section;

10 (E) the terms of agreements to be entered

11 into with program managers pursuant to section

12 1148(d) of the Social Security Act, including—

13 (i) the terms by which program man14 agers are precluded from direct participa15 tion in the delivery of services pursuant to

16 section 1148(d)(3) of the Social Security

17 Act;

18 (ii) standards which must be met by

19 quality assurance measures referred to in

20 paragraph (6) of section 1148(d) and meth21 ods of recruitment of employment networks

22 utilized pursuant to paragraph (2) of sec23 tion 1148(e); and
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1 (iii) the format under which dispute

2 resolution will operate under section

3 1148(d)(7);

4 (F) the terms of agreements to be entered

5 into with employment networks pursuant to sec6 tion 1148(d)(4) of the Social Security Act,

7 including—

8 (i) the manner in which service areas

9 are specified pursuant to section

10 1148(f)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act;

11 (ii) the general selection criteria and

12 the specific selection criteria which are ap13 plicable to employment networks under sec14 tion 1148(f)(1)(C) of the Social Security

15 Act in selecting service providers;

16 (iii) specific requirements relating to

17 annual financial reporting by employment

18 networks pursuant to section 1148(f)(3) of

19 the Social Security Act; and

20 (iv) the national model to which peri21 odic outcomes reporting by employment net22 works must conform under section

23 1148(f)(4) of the Social Security Act;
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1 (G) standards which must be met by indi2 vidual work plans pursuant to section 1148(g) of

3 the Social Security Act;

4 (H) standards which must be met by pay5 ment systems required under section 1148(h) of

6 the Social Security Act, including—

7 (i) the form and manner in which elec8 tions by employment networks of payment

9 systems are to be exercised pursuant to sec10 tion 1148(h)(1)(A);

11 (ii) the terms which must be met by an

12 outcome payment system under section

13 1148(h)(2);

14 (iii) the terms which must be met by

15 an outcome-milestone payment system

16 under section 1148(h)(3);

17 (iv) any revision of the percentage

18 specified in paragraph (2)(C) of section

19 1148(h) of the Social Security Act or the

20 period of time specified in paragraph

21 (4)(B) of such section 1148(h); and

22 (v) annual oversight procedures for

23 such systems; and

24 (I) procedures for effective oversight of the

25 Program by the Commissioner of Social Secu-
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1 rity, including periodic reviews and reporting

2 requirements.

3 (f) WORK INCENTIVES ADVISORY PANEL.—

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established with5 in the Social Security Administration a panel to be

6 known as the ‘‘Work Incentives Advisory Panel’’ (in

7 this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Panel’’).

8 (2) DUTIES OF PANEL.—It shall be the duty of

9 the Panel to—

10 (A) advise the President, Congress, and the

11 Commissioner of Social Security on issues re12 lated to work incentives programs, planning,

13 and assistance for individuals with disabilities,

14 including work incentive provisions under titles

15 II, XI, XVI, XVIII, and XIX of the Social Secu16 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq., 1301 et seq.,

17 1381 et seq., 1395 et seq., 1396 et seq.); and

18 (B) with respect to the Ticket to Work and

19 Self-Sufficiency Program established under sec20 tion 1148 of the Social Security Act—

21 (i) advise the Commissioner of Social

22 Security with respect to establishing phase23 in sites for such Program and fully imple24 menting the Program thereafter, the refine25 ment of access of disabled beneficiaries to
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1 employment networks, payment systems,

2 and management information systems, and

3 advise the Commissioner whether such

4 measures are being taken to the extent nec5 essary to ensure the success of the Program;

6 (ii) advise the Commissioner regarding

7 the most effective designs for research and

8 demonstration projects associated with the

9 Program or conducted pursuant to section

10 302;

11 (iii) advise the Commissioner on the

12 development of performance measurements

13 relating to quality assurance under section

14 1148(d)(6) of the Social Security Act; and

15 (iv) furnish progress reports on the

16 Program to the Commissioner and each

17 House of Congress.

18 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—

19 (A) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The

20 Panel shall be composed of 12 members ap21 pointed as follows:

22 (i) 4 members appointed by the Presi23 dent.

24 (ii) 2 members appointed by the

25 Speaker of the House of Representatives, in
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1 consultation with the chairman of the Com2 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of

3 Representatives.

4 (iii) 2 members appointed by the Mi5 nority Leader of the House of Representa6 tives, in consultation with the ranking

7 member of the Committee on Ways and

8 Means of the House of Representatives.

9 (iv) 2 members appointed by the Ma10 jority Leader of the Senate, in consultation

11 with the chairman of the Committee on Fi12 nance of the Senate.

13 (v) 2 members appointed by the Minor14 ity Leader of the Senate, in consultation

15 with the ranking member of the Committee

16 on Finance of the Senate.

17 (B) REPRESENTATION.—All members ap18 pointed to the Panel shall have experience or ex19 pert knowledge in the fields of, or related to,

20 work incentive programs, employment services,

21 vocational rehabilitation services, health care

22 services, and other support services for individ23 uals with disabilities. At least one-half of the

24 members described in each clause of subpara25 graph (A) shall be individuals with disabilities,
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1 or representatives of individuals with disabil2 ities, with consideration to current or former

3 title II disability beneficiaries or title XVI dis4 ability beneficiaries (as such terms are defined

5 in section 1148(k) of the Social Security Act (as

6 added by subsection (a)).

7 (C) TERMS.—

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall

9 be appointed for a term of 4 years (or, if

10 less, for the remaining life of the Panel), ex11 cept as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii).

12 The initial members shall be appointed not

13 later than 90 days after the date of enact14 ment of this Act.

15 (ii) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—

16 As designated by the Commissioner at the

17 time of appointment, of the members first

18 appointed—

19 (I) one-half of the members ap20 pointed under each clause of subpara21 graph (A) shall be appointed for a

22 term of 2 years; and

23 (II) the remaining members ap24 pointed under each such clause shall be

25 appointed for a term of 4 years.
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1 (iii) VACANCIES.—Any member ap2 pointed to fill a vacancy occurring before

3 the expiration of the term for which the

4 member’s predecessor was appointed shall be

5 appointed only for the remainder of that

6 term. A member may serve after the expira7 tion of that member’s term until a successor

8 has taken office. A vacancy in the Panel

9 shall be filled in the manner in which the

10 original appointment was made.

11 (D) BASIC PAY.—Members shall each be

12 paid at a rate, and in a manner, that is con13 sistent with guidelines established under section

14 7 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

15 U.S.C. App.).

16 (E) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member

17 shall receive travel expenses, including per diem

18 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections

19 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

20 (F) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Panel

21 shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number

22 may hold hearings.

23 (G) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the

24 Panel shall be designated by the President. The

25 term of office of the Chairperson shall be 4 years.
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1 (H) MEETINGS.—The Panel shall meet at

2 least quarterly and at other times at the call of

3 the Chairperson or a majority of its members.

4 (4) DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF PANEL; EXPERTS

5 AND CONSULTANTS.—

6 (A) DIRECTOR.—The Panel shall have a Di7 rector who shall be appointed by the Commis8 sioner and paid at a rate, and in a manner,

9 that is consistent with guidelines established

10 under section 7 of the Federal Advisory Com11 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

12 (B) STAFF.—Subject to rules prescribed by

13 the Commissioner, the Director may appoint and

14 fix the pay of additional personnel as the Direc15 tor considers appropriate.

16 (C) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Subject

17 to rules prescribed by the Commissioner, the Di18 rector may procure temporary and intermittent

19 services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United

20 States Code.

21 (D) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon

22 request of the Panel, the head of any Federal de23 partment or agency may detail, on a reimburs24 able basis, any of the personnel of that depart-
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1 ment or agency to the Panel to assist it in car2 rying out its duties under this subsection.

3 (5) POWERS OF PANEL.—

4 (A) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Panel

5 may, for the purpose of carrying out its duties

6 under this subsection, hold such hearings, sit and

7 act at such times and places, and take such testi8 mony and evidence as the Panel considers appro9 priate.

10 (B) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—

11 Any member or agent of the Panel may, if au12 thorized by the Panel, take any action which the

13 Panel is authorized to take by this subsection.

14 (C) MAILS.—The Panel may use the United

15 States mails in the same manner and under the

16 same conditions as other departments and agen17 cies of the United States.

18 (6) REPORTS.—

19 (A) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Panel shall

20 submit directly to the President and Congress in21 terim reports at least annually.

22 (B) FINAL REPORT.—The Panel shall trans23 mit a final report directly to the President and

24 Congress not later than 8 years after the date of

25 enactment of this Act. The final report shall con-
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1 tain a detailed statement of the findings and

2 conclusions of the Panel, together with its rec3 ommendations for legislation and administrative

4 actions which the Panel considers appropriate.

5 (7) TERMINATION.—The Panel shall terminate

6 30 days after the date of the submission of its final

7 report under paragraph (6)(B).

8 (8) ALLOCATION OF COSTS.—The costs of car9 rying out this subsection shall be paid from amounts

10 made available for the administration of title II of

11 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) and

12 amounts made available for the administration of

13 title XVI of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), and

14 shall be allocated among those amounts as appro15 priate.

16 Subtitle B—Elimination of Work

17 Disincentives

18 SEC. 211. WORK ACTIVITY STANDARD AS A BASIS FOR RE19 VIEW OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S DISABLED STATUS.

20 Section 221 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 421)

21 is amended by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(m)(1) In any case where an individual entitled to

23 disability insurance benefits under section 223 or to month24 ly insurance benefits under section 202 based on such indi-
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1 vidual’s disability (as defined in section 223(d)) has re2 ceived such benefits for at least 24 months—

3 ‘‘(A) no continuing disability review conducted

4 by the Commissioner may be scheduled for the indi5 vidual solely as a result of the individual’s work ac6 tivity;

7 ‘‘(B) no work activity engaged in by the indi8 vidual may be used as evidence that the individual is

9 no longer disabled; and

10 ‘‘(C) no cessation of work activity by the indi11 vidual may give rise to a presumption that the indi12 vidual is unable to engage in work.

13 ‘‘(2) An individual to which paragraph (1) applies

14 shall continue to be subject to—

15 ‘‘(A) continuing disability reviews on a regu16 larly scheduled basis that is not triggered by work;

17 and

18 ‘‘(B) termination of benefits under this title in

19 the event that the individual has earnings that exceed

20 the level of earnings established by the Commissioner

21 to represent substantial gainful activity.’’.

22 SEC. 212. EXPEDITED REINSTATEMENT OF DISABILITY BEN23 EFITS.

24 (a) OASDI BENEFITS.—Section 223 of the Social Se25 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 423) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection

2 (j); and

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘Reinstatement of Entitlement

6 ‘‘(i)(1)(A) Entitlement to benefits described in sub7 paragraph (B)(i)(I) shall be reinstated in any case where

8 the Commissioner determines that an individual described

9 in subparagraph (B) has filed a request for reinstatement

10 meeting the requirements of paragraph (2)(A) during the

11 period prescribed in subparagraph (C). Reinstatement of

12 such entitlement shall be in accordance with the terms of

13 this subsection.

14 ‘‘(B) An individual is described in this subparagraph

15 if—

16 ‘‘(i) prior to the month in which the individual

17 files a request for reinstatement—

18 ‘‘(I) the individual was entitled to benefits

19 under this section or section 202 on the basis of

20 disability pursuant to an application filed there21 fore; and

22 ‘‘(II) such entitlement terminated due to the

23 performance of substantial gainful activity;

24 ‘‘(ii) the individual is under a disability and the

25 physical or mental impairment that is the basis for
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1 the finding of disability is the same as (or related to)

2 the physical or mental impairment that was the basis

3 for the finding of disability that gave rise to the enti4 tlement described in clause (i); and

5 ‘‘(iii) the individual’s disability renders the in6 dividual unable to perform substantial gainful activ7 ity.

8 ‘‘(C)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), the period

9 prescribed in this subparagraph with respect to an indi10 vidual is 60 consecutive months beginning with the month

11 following the most recent month for which the individual

12 was entitled to a benefit described in subparagraph

13 (B)(i)(I) prior to the entitlement termination described in

14 subparagraph (B)(i)(II).

15 ‘‘(ii) In the case of an individual who fails to file a

16 reinstatement request within the period prescribed in clause

17 (i), the Commissioner may extend the period if the Commis18 sioner determines that the individual had good cause for

19 the failure to so file.

20 ‘‘(2)(A)(i) A request for reinstatement shall be filed in

21 such form, and containing such information, as the Com22 missioner may prescribe.

23 ‘‘(ii) A request for reinstatement shall include express

24 declarations by the individual that the individual meets the
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1 requirements specified in clauses (ii) and (iii) of paragraph

2 (1)(B).

3 ‘‘(B) A request for reinstatement filed in accordance

4 with subparagraph (A) may constitute an application for

5 benefits in the case of any individual who the Commissioner

6 determines is not entitled to reinstated benefits under this

7 subsection.

8 ‘‘(3) In determining whether an individual meets the

9 requirements of paragraph (1)(B)(ii), the provisions of sub10 section (f) shall apply.

11 ‘‘(4)(A)(i) Subject to clause (ii), entitlement to benefits

12 reinstated under this subsection shall commence with the

13 benefit payable for the month in which a request for rein14 statement is filed.

15 ‘‘(ii) An individual whose entitlement to a benefit for

16 any month would have been reinstated under this subsection

17 had the individual filed a request for reinstatement before

18 the end of such month shall be entitled to such benefit for

19 such month if such request for reinstatement is filed before

20 the end of the twelfth month immediately succeeding such

21 month.

22 ‘‘(B)(i) Subject to clauses (ii) and (iii), the amount

23 of the benefit payable for any month pursuant to the rein24 statement of entitlement under this subsection shall be deter25 mined in accordance with the provisions of this title.
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1 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of computing the primary insur2 ance amount of an individual whose entitlement to benefits

3 under this section is reinstated under this subsection, the

4 date of onset of the individual’s disability shall be the date

5 of onset used in determining the individual’s most recent

6 period of disability arising in connection with such benefits

7 payable on the basis of an application.

8 ‘‘(iii) Benefits under this section or section 202 pay9 able for any month pursuant to a request for reinstatement

10 filed in accordance with paragraph (2) shall be reduced by

11 the amount of any provisional benefit paid to such indi12 vidual for such month under paragraph (7).

13 ‘‘(C) No benefit shall be payable pursuant to an enti14 tlement reinstated under this subsection to an individual

15 for any month in which the individual engages in substan16 tial gainful activity.

17 ‘‘(D) The entitlement of any individual that is rein18 stated under this subsection shall end with the benefits pay19 able for the month preceding whichever of the following

20 months is the earliest:

21 ‘‘(i) The month in which the individual dies.

22 ‘‘(ii) The month in which the individual attains

23 retirement age.

24 ‘‘(iii) The third month following the month in

25 which the individual’s disability ceases.
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1 ‘‘(5) Whenever an individual’s entitlement to benefits

2 under this section is reinstated under this subsection, enti3 tlement to benefits payable on the basis of such individual’s

4 wages and self-employment income may be reinstated with

5 respect to any person previously entitled to such benefits

6 on the basis of an application if the Commissioner deter7 mines that such person satisfies all the requirements for en8 titlement to such benefits except requirements related to the

9 filing of an application. The provisions of paragraph (4)

10 shall apply to the reinstated entitlement of any such person

11 to the same extent that they apply to the reinstated entitle12 ment of such individual.

13 ‘‘(6) An individual to whom benefits are payable under

14 this section or section 202 pursuant to a reinstatement of

15 entitlement under this subsection for 24 months (whether

16 or not consecutive) shall, with respect to benefits so payable

17 after such twenty-fourth month, be deemed for purposes of

18 paragraph (1)(B)(i)(I) and the determination, if appro19 priate, of the termination month in accordance with sub20 section (a)(1) of this section, or subsection (d)(1), (e)(1),

21 or (f)(1) of section 202, to be entitled to such benefits on

22 the basis of an application filed therefore.

23 ‘‘(7)(A) An individual described in paragraph (1)(B)

24 who files a request for reinstatement in accordance with the

25 provisions of paragraph (2)(A) shall be entitled to provi-
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1 sional benefits payable in accordance with this paragraph,

2 unless the Commissioner determines that the individual

3 does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1)(B)(i) or

4 that the individual’s declaration under paragraph

5 (2)(A)(ii) is false. Any such determination by the Commis6 sioner shall be final and not subject to review under sub7 section (b) or (g) of section 205.

8 ‘‘(B) The amount of a provisional benefit for a month

9 shall equal the amount of the last monthly benefit payable

10 to the individual under this title on the basis of an applica11 tion increased by an amount equal to the amount, if any,

12 by which such last monthly benefit would have been in13 creased as a result of the operation of section 215(i).

14 ‘‘(C)(i) Provisional benefits shall begin with the month

15 in which a request for reinstatement is filed in accordance

16 with paragraph (2)(A).

17 ‘‘(ii) Provisional benefits shall end with the earliest

18 of—

19 ‘‘(I) the month in which the Commissioner

20 makes a determination regarding the individual’s en21 titlement to reinstated benefits;

22 ‘‘(II) the fifth month following the month de23 scribed in clause (i);

24 ‘‘(III) the month in which the individual per25 forms substantial gainful activity; or
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1 ‘‘(IV) the month in which the Commissioner de2 termines that the individual does not meet the re3 quirements of paragraph (1)(B)(i) or that the indi4 vidual’s declaration made in accordance with para5 graph (2)(A)(ii) is false.

6 ‘‘(D) In any case in which the Commissioner deter7 mines that an individual is not entitled to reinstated bene8 fits, any provisional benefits paid to the individual under

9 this paragraph shall not be subject to recovery as an over10 payment unless the Commissioner determines that the indi11 vidual knew or should have known that the individual did

12 not meet the requirements of paragraph (1)(B).’’.

13 (b) SSI BENEFITS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1631 of the Social Se15 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1383) is amended by adding at

16 the end the following:

17 ‘‘Reinstatement of Eligibility on the Basis of Blindness or

18 Disability

19 ‘‘(p)(1)(A) Eligibility for benefits under this title shall

20 be reinstated in any case where the Commissioner deter21 mines that an individual described in subparagraph (B)

22 has filed a request for reinstatement meeting the require23 ments of paragraph (2)(A) during the period prescribed in

24 subparagraph (C). Reinstatement of eligibility shall be in

25 accordance with the terms of this subsection.
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1 ‘‘(B) An individual is described in this subparagraph

2 if—

3 ‘‘(i) prior to the month in which the individual

4 files a request for reinstatement—

5 ‘‘(I) the individual was eligible for benefits

6 under this title on the basis of blindness or dis7 ability pursuant to an application filed there8 fore; and

9 ‘‘(II) the individual thereafter was ineligible

10 for such benefits due to earned income (or earned

11 and unearned income) for a period of 12 or more

12 consecutive months;

13 ‘‘(ii) the individual is blind or disabled and the

14 physical or mental impairment that is the basis for

15 the finding of blindness or disability is the same as

16 (or related to) the physical or mental impairment

17 that was the basis for the finding of blindness or dis18 ability that gave rise to the eligibility described in

19 clause (i);

20 ‘‘(iii) the individual’s blindness or disability

21 renders the individual unable to perform substantial

22 gainful activity; and

23 ‘‘(iv) the individual satisfies the nonmedical re24 quirements for eligibility for benefits under this title.
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1 ‘‘(C)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), the period

2 prescribed in this subparagraph with respect to an indi3 vidual is 60 consecutive months beginning with the month

4 following the most recent month for which the individual

5 was eligible for a benefit under this title (including section

6 1619) prior to the period of ineligibility described in sub7 paragraph (B)(i)(II).

8 ‘‘(ii) In the case of an individual who fails to file a

9 reinstatement request within the period prescribed in clause

10 (i), the Commissioner may extend the period if the Commis11 sioner determines that the individual had good cause for

12 the failure to so file.

13 ‘‘(2)(A)(i) A request for reinstatement shall be filed in

14 such form, and containing such information, as the Com15 missioner may prescribe.

16 ‘‘(ii) A request for reinstatement shall include express

17 declarations by the individual that the individual meets the

18 requirements specified in clauses (ii) through (iv) of para19 graph (1)(B).

20 ‘‘(B) A request for reinstatement filed in accordance

21 with subparagraph (A) may constitute an application for

22 benefits in the case of any individual who the Commissioner

23 determines is not eligible for reinstated benefits under this

24 subsection.
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1 ‘‘(3) In determining whether an individual meets the

2 requirements of paragraph (1)(B)(ii), the provisions of sec3 tion 1614(a)(4) shall apply.

4 ‘‘(4)(A) Eligibility for benefits reinstated under this

5 subsection shall commence with the benefit payable for the

6 month following the month in which a request for reinstate7 ment is filed.

8 ‘‘(B)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the amount of the benefit

9 payable for any month pursuant to the reinstatement of eli10 gibility under this subsection shall be determined in accord11 ance with the provisions of this title.

12 ‘‘(ii) The benefit under this title payable for any

13 month pursuant to a request for reinstatement filed in ac14 cordance with paragraph (2) shall be reduced by the

15 amount of any provisional benefit paid to such individual

16 for such month under paragraph (7).

17 ‘‘(C) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection,

18 eligibility for benefits under this title reinstated pursuant

19 to a request filed under paragraph (2) shall be subject to

20 the same terms and conditions as eligibility established pur21 suant to an application filed therefore.

22 ‘‘(5) Whenever an individual’s eligibility for benefits

23 under this title is reinstated under this subsection, eligi24 bility for such benefits shall be reinstated with respect to

25 the individual’s spouse if such spouse was previously an
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1 eligible spouse of the individual under this title and the

2 Commissioner determines that such spouse satisfies all the

3 requirements for eligibility for such benefits except require4 ments related to the filing of an application. The provisions

5 of paragraph (4) shall apply to the reinstated eligibility

6 of the spouse to the same extent that they apply to the rein7 stated eligibility of such individual.

8 ‘‘(6) An individual to whom benefits are payable under

9 this title pursuant to a reinstatement of eligibility under

10 this subsection for twenty-four months (whether or not con11 secutive) shall, with respect to benefits so payable after such

12 twenty-fourth month, be deemed for purposes of paragraph

13 (1)(B)(i)(I) to be eligible for such benefits on the basis of

14 an application filed therefore.

15 ‘‘(7)(A) An individual described in paragraph (1)(B)

16 who files a request for reinstatement in accordance with the

17 provisions of paragraph (2)(A) shall be eligible for provi18 sional benefits payable in accordance with this paragraph,

19 unless the Commissioner determines that the individual

20 does not meet the requirements of paragraph (1)(B)(i) or

21 that the individual’s declaration under paragraph

22 (2)(A)(ii) is false. Any such determination by the Commis23 sioner shall be final and not subject to review under para24 graph (1) or (3) of subsection (c).
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1 ‘‘(B)(i) Except as otherwise provided in clause (ii), the

2 amount of a provisional benefit for a month shall equal the

3 amount of the monthly benefit that would be payable to an

4 eligible individual under this title with the same kind and

5 amount of income.

6 ‘‘(ii) If the individual has a spouse who was previously

7 an eligible spouse of the individual under this title and the

8 Commissioner determines that such spouse satisfies all the

9 requirements of section 1614(b) except requirements related

10 to the filing of an application, the amount of a provisional

11 benefit for a month shall equal the amount of the month

12 benefit that would be payable to an eligible individual and

13 eligible spouse under this title with the same kind and

14 amount of income.

15 ‘‘(C)(i) Provisional benefits shall begin with the month

16 following the month in which a request for reinstatement

17 is filed in accordance with paragraph (2)(A).

18 ‘‘(ii) Provisional benefits shall end with the earliest

19 of—

20 ‘‘(I) the month in which the Commissioner

21 makes a determination regarding the individual’s eli22 gibility for reinstated benefits;

23 ‘‘(II) the fifth month following the month for

24 which provisional benefits are first payable under

25 clause (i); or
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1 ‘‘(III) the month in which the Commissioner de2 termines that the individual does not meet the re3 quirements of paragraph (1)(B)(i) or that the indi4 vidual’s declaration made in accordance with para5 graph (2)(A)(ii) is false.

6 ‘‘(D) In any case in which the Commissioner deter7 mines that an individual is not eligible for reinstated bene8 fits, any provisional benefits paid to the individual under

9 this paragraph shall not be subject to recovery as an over10 payment unless the Commissioner determines that the indi11 vidual knew or should have known that the individual did

12 not meet the requirements of paragraph (1)(B).

13 ‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection other than para14 graph (7), the term ‘benefits under this title’ includes State

15 supplementary payments made pursuant to an agreement

16 under section 1616(a) or section 212(b) of Public Law 93–

17 66.’’.

18 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

19 (A) Section 1631(j)(1) of such Act (42

20 U.S.C. 1383(j)(1)) is amended by striking the pe21 riod and inserting ‘‘, or has filed a request for

22 reinstatement of eligibility under subsection

23 (p)(2) and been determined to be eligible for re24 instatement.’’.
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1 (B) Section 1631(j)(2)(A)(i)(I) of such Act

2 (42 U.S.C. 1383(j)(2)(A)(i)(I)) is amended by

3 inserting ‘‘(other than pursuant to a request for

4 reinstatement under subsection (p))’’ after ‘‘eligi5 ble’’.

6 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by

8 this section shall take effect on the first day of the

9 thirteenth month beginning after the date of enact10 ment of this Act.

11 (2) LIMITATION.—No benefit shall be payable

12 under title II or XVI of the Social Security Act on

13 the basis of a request for reinstatement filed under

14 section 223(i) or 1631(p) of such Act before the effec15 tive date described in paragraph (1).

16 Subtitle C—Work Incentives Plan17 ning, Assistance, and Outreach

18 SEC. 221. WORK INCENTIVES OUTREACH PROGRAM.

19 Part A of title XI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

20 1301 et seq.), as amended by section 201, is amended by

21 adding after section 1148 the following:

22 ‘‘WORK INCENTIVES OUTREACH PROGRAM

23 ‘‘SEC. 1149. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner, in con25 sultation with the Work Incentives Advisory Panel es26 tablished under section 201(f) of the Work Incentives
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1 Improvement Act of 1999, shall establish a commu2 nity-based work incentives planning and assistance

3 program for the purpose of disseminating accurate in4 formation to disabled beneficiaries on work incentives

5 programs and issues related to such programs.

6 ‘‘(2) GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, CON7 TRACTS, AND OUTREACH.—Under the program estab8 lished under this section, the Commissioner shall—

9 ‘‘(A) establish a competitive program of

10 grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts to

11 provide benefits planning and assistance, includ12 ing information on the availability of protection

13 and advocacy services, to disabled beneficiaries,

14 including individuals participating in the Ticket

15 to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program estab16 lished under section 1148, the program estab17 lished under section 1619, and other programs

18 that are designed to encourage disabled bene19 ficiaries to work;

20 ‘‘(B) conduct directly, or through grants, co21 operative agreements, or contracts, ongoing out22 reach efforts to disabled beneficiaries (and to the

23 families of such beneficiaries) who are poten24 tially eligible to participate in Federal or State
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1 work incentive programs that are designed to as2 sist disabled beneficiaries to work, including—

3 ‘‘(i) preparing and disseminating in4 formation explaining such programs; and

5 ‘‘(ii) working in cooperation with other

6 Federal, State, and private agencies and

7 nonprofit organizations that serve disabled

8 beneficiaries, and with agencies and organi9 zations that focus on vocational rehabilita10 tion and work-related training and coun11 seling;

12 ‘‘(C) establish a corps of trained, accessible,

13 and responsive work incentives specialists within

14 the Social Security Administration who will spe15 cialize in disability work incentives under titles

16 II and XVI for the purpose of disseminating ac17 curate information with respect to inquiries and

18 issues relating to work incentives to—

19 ‘‘(i) disabled beneficiaries;

20 ‘‘(ii) benefit applicants under titles II

21 and XVI; and

22 ‘‘(iii) individuals or entities awarded

23 grants under subparagraphs (A) or (B);

24 and

25 ‘‘(D) provide—
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1 ‘‘(i) training for work incentives spe2 cialists and individuals providing planning

3 assistance described in subparagraph (C);

4 and

5 ‘‘(ii) technical assistance to organiza6 tions and entities that are designed to en7 courage disabled beneficiaries to return to

8 work.

9 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.—

10 The responsibilities of the Commissioner established

11 under this section shall be coordinated with other

12 public and private programs that provide informa13 tion and assistance regarding rehabilitation services

14 and independent living supports and benefits plan15 ning for disabled beneficiaries including the program

16 under section 1619, the plans for achieving self-sup17 port program (PASS), and any other Federal or

18 State work incentives programs that are designed to

19 assist disabled beneficiaries, including educational

20 agencies that provide information and assistance re21 garding rehabilitation, school-to-work programs, tran22 sition services (as defined in, and provided in accord23 ance with, the Individuals with Disabilities Edu24 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.)), a one-stop deliv-
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1 ery system established under subtitle B of title I of the

2 Workforce Investment Act of 1998, and other services.

3 ‘‘(b) CONDITIONS.—

4 ‘‘(1) SELECTION OF ENTITIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—An entity shall submit

6 an application for a grant, cooperative agree7 ment, or contract to provide benefits planning

8 and assistance to the Commissioner at such time,

9 in such manner, and containing such informa10 tion as the Commissioner may determine is nec11 essary to meet the requirements of this section.

12 ‘‘(B) STATEWIDENESS.—The Commissioner

13 shall ensure that the planning, assistance, and

14 information described in paragraph (2) shall be

15 available on a statewide basis.

16 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES AND PRIVATE

17 ORGANIZATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner

19 may award a grant, cooperative agreement,

20 or contract under this section to a State or

21 a private agency or organization (other

22 than Social Security Administration Field

23 Offices and the State agency administering

24 the State medicaid program under title

25 XIX, including any agency or entity de-
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1 scribed in clause (ii), that the Commissioner

2 determines is qualified to provide the plan3 ning, assistance, and information described

4 in paragraph (2)).

5 ‘‘(ii) AGENCIES AND ENTITIES DE6 SCRIBED.—The agencies and entities de7 scribed in this clause are the following:

8 ‘‘(I) Any public or private agency

9 or organization (including Centers for

10 Independent Living established under

11 title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of

12 1973, protection and advocacy organi13 zations, client assistance programs es14 tablished in accordance with section

15 112 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,

16 and State Developmental Disabilities

17 Councils established in accordance

18 with section 124 of the Developmental

19 Disabilities Assistance and Bill of

20 Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 6024)) that the

21 Commissioner determines satisfies the

22 requirements of this section.

23 ‘‘(II) The State agency admin24 istering the State program funded

25 under part A of title IV.
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1 ‘‘(D) EXCLUSION FOR CONFLICT OF INTER2 EST.—The Commissioner may not award a

3 grant, cooperative agreement, or contract under

4 this section to any entity that the Commissioner

5 determines would have a conflict of interest if the

6 entity were to receive a grant, cooperative agree7 ment, or contract under this section.

8 ‘‘(2) SERVICES PROVIDED.—A recipient of a

9 grant, cooperative agreement, or contract to provide

10 benefits planning and assistance shall select individ11 uals who will act as planners and provide informa12 tion, guidance, and planning to disabled beneficiaries

13 on the—

14 ‘‘(A) availability and interrelation of any

15 Federal or State work incentives programs de16 signed to assist disabled beneficiaries that the in17 dividual may be eligible to participate in;

18 ‘‘(B) adequacy of any health benefits cov19 erage that may be offered by an employer of the

20 individual and the extent to which other health

21 benefits coverage may be available to the indi22 vidual; and

23 ‘‘(C) availability of protection and advocacy

24 services for disabled beneficiaries and how to ac25 cess such services.
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1 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE2 MENTS, OR CONTRACTS.—

3 ‘‘(A) BASED ON POPULATION OF DISABLED

4 BENEFICIARIES.—Subject to subparagraph (B),

5 the Commissioner shall award a grant, coopera6 tive agreement, or contract under this section to

7 an entity based on the percentage of the popu8 lation of the State where the entity is located

9 who are disabled beneficiaries.

10 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION PER GRANT.—No entity

11 shall receive a grant, cooperative agreement, or

12 contract under this section for a fiscal year that

13 is less than $50,000 or more than $300,000.

14 ‘‘(ii) TOTAL AMOUNT FOR ALL GRANTS,

15 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND CON16 TRACTS.—The total amount of all grants,

17 cooperative agreements, and contracts

18 awarded under this section for a fiscal year

19 may not exceed $23,000,000.

20 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF COSTS.—The costs of car21 rying out this section shall be paid from amounts

22 made available for the administration of title II and

23 amounts made available for the administration of

24 title XVI, and shall be allocated among those amounts

25 as appropriate.
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1 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

2 ‘‘(1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘Commissioner’

3 means the Commissioner of Social Security.

4 ‘‘(2) DISABLED BENEFICIARY.—The term ‘dis5 abled beneficiary’ has the meaning given that term in

6 section 1148(k)(2).

7 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

9 $23,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004.’’.

10 SEC. 222. STATE GRANTS FOR WORK INCENTIVES ASSIST11 ANCE TO DISABLED BENEFICIARIES.

12 Part A of title XI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

13 1301 et seq.), as amended by section 221, is amended by

14 adding after section 1149 the following:

15 ‘‘STATE GRANTS FOR WORK INCENTIVES ASSISTANCE TO

16 DISABLED BENEFICIARIES

17 ‘‘SEC. 1150. (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection

18 (c), the Commissioner may make payments in each State

19 to the protection and advocacy system established pursuant

20 to part C of title I of the Developmental Disabilities Assist21 ance and Bill of Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 6041 et seq.) for

22 the purpose of providing services to disabled beneficiaries.

23 ‘‘(b) SERVICES PROVIDED.—Services provided to dis24 abled beneficiaries pursuant to a payment made under this

25 section may include—
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1 ‘‘(1) information and advice about obtaining vo2 cational rehabilitation and employment services; and

3 ‘‘(2) advocacy or other services that a disabled

4 beneficiary may need to secure or regain gainful em5 ployment.

6 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—In order to receive payments

7 under this section, a protection and advocacy system shall

8 submit an application to the Commissioner, at such time,

9 in such form and manner, and accompanied by such infor10 mation and assurances as the Commissioner may require.

11 ‘‘(d) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the amount ap13 propriated for a fiscal year for making payments

14 under this section, a protection and advocacy system

15 shall not be paid an amount that is less than—

16 ‘‘(A) in the case of a protection and advo17 cacy system located in a State (including the

18 District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) other

19 than Guam, American Samoa, the United States

20 Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the

21 Northern Mariana Islands, the greater of—

22 ‘‘(i) $100,000; or

‘‘(ii) 1 23 ⁄3 of 1 percent of the amount

24 available for payments under this section;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a protection and advo2 cacy system located in Guam, American Samoa,

3 the United States Virgin Islands, and the Com4 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

5 $50,000.

6 ‘‘(2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—For each fiscal

7 year in which the total amount appropriated to carry

8 out this section exceeds the total amount appropriated

9 to carry out this section in the preceding fiscal year,

10 the Commissioner shall increase each minimum pay11 ment under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph

12 (1) by a percentage equal to the percentage increase

13 in the total amount appropriated to carry out this

14 section between the preceding fiscal year and the fis15 cal year involved.

16 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each protection and advocacy

17 system that receives a payment under this section shall sub18 mit an annual report to the Commissioner and the Work

19 Incentives Advisory Panel established under section 201(f)

20 of the Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 on the serv21 ices provided to individuals by the system.

22 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.—

23 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATION OF PAYMENTS.—Payments

24 under this section shall be made from amounts made

25 available for the administration of title II and
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1 amounts made available for the administration of

2 title XVI, and shall be allocated among those amounts

3 as appropriate.

4 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER.—Any amounts allotted for

5 payment to a protection and advocacy system under

6 this section for a fiscal year shall remain available

7 for payment to or on behalf of the protection and ad8 vocacy system until the end of the succeeding fiscal

9 year.

10 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

11 ‘‘(1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘Commissioner’

12 means the Commissioner of Social Security.

13 ‘‘(2) DISABLED BENEFICIARY.—The term ‘dis14 abled beneficiary’ has the meaning given that term in

15 section 1148(k)(2).

16 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEM.—The

17 term ‘protection and advocacy system’ means a pro18 tection and advocacy system established pursuant to

19 part C of title I of the Developmental Disabilities As20 sistance and Bill of Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 6041 et

21 seq.).

22 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

24 $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004.’’.
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1 TITLE III—DEMONSTRATION

2 PROJECTS AND STUDIES

3 SEC. 301. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF DISABILITY INSUR4 ANCE PROGRAM DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

5 AUTHORITY.

6 (a) PERMANENT EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.—Title II

7 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) is amend8 ed by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘DEMONSTRATION PROJECT AUTHORITY

10 ‘‘SEC. 234. (a) AUTHORITY.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Social

12 Security (in this section referred to as the ‘Commis13 sioner’) shall develop and carry out experiments and

14 demonstration projects designed to determine the rel15 ative advantages and disadvantages of—

16 ‘‘(A) various alternative methods of treating

17 the work activity of individuals entitled to dis18 ability insurance benefits under section 223 or to

19 monthly insurance benefits under section 202

20 based on such individual’s disability (as defined

21 in section 223(d)), including such methods as a

22 reduction in benefits based on earnings, designed

23 to encourage the return to work of such individ24 uals;
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1 ‘‘(B) altering other limitations and condi2 tions applicable to such individuals (including

3 lengthening the trial work period (as defined in

4 section 222(c)), altering the 24-month waiting

5 period for hospital insurance benefits under sec6 tion 226, altering the manner in which the pro7 gram under this title is administered, earlier re8 ferral of such individuals for rehabilitation, and

9 greater use of employers and others to develop,

10 perform, and otherwise stimulate new forms of

11 rehabilitation); and

12 ‘‘(C) implementing sliding scale benefit off13 sets using variations in—

14 ‘‘(i) the amount of the offset as a pro15 portion of earned income;

16 ‘‘(ii) the duration of the offset period;

17 and

18 ‘‘(iii) the method of determining the

19 amount of income earned by such individ20 uals,

21 to the end that savings will accrue to the Trust

22 Funds, or to otherwise promote the objectives or facili23 tate the administration of this title.

24 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY FOR EXPANSION OF SCOPE.—

25 The Commissioner may expand the scope of any such
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1 experiment or demonstration project to include any

2 group of applicants for benefits under the program es3 tablished under this title with impairments that rea4 sonably may be presumed to be disabling for purposes

5 of such demonstration project, and may limit any

6 such demonstration project to any such group of ap7 plicants, subject to the terms of such demonstration

8 project which shall define the extent of any such pre9 sumption.

10 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The experiments and dem11 onstration projects developed under subsection (a) shall be

12 of sufficient scope and shall be carried out on a wide enough

13 scale to permit a thorough evaluation of the alternative

14 methods under consideration while giving assurance that

15 the results derived from the experiments and projects will

16 obtain generally in the operation of the disability insurance

17 program under this title without committing such program

18 to the adoption of any particular system either locally or

19 nationally.

20 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE COMPLIANCE WITH BENE21 FITS REQUIREMENTS.—In the case of any experiment or

22 demonstration project conducted under subsection (a), the

23 Commissioner may waive compliance with the benefit re24 quirements of this title, and the Secretary may (upon the

25 request of the Commissioner) waive compliance with the
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1 benefits requirements of title XVIII, insofar as is necessary

2 for a thorough evaluation of the alternative methods under

3 consideration. No such experiment or project shall be actu4 ally placed in operation unless at least 90 days prior there5 to a written report, prepared for purposes of notification

6 and information only and containing a full and complete

7 description thereof, has been transmitted by the Commis8 sioner to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House

9 of Representatives and to the Committee on Finance of the

10 Senate. Periodic reports on the progress of such experiments

11 and demonstration projects shall be submitted by the Com12 missioner to such committees. When appropriate, such re13 ports shall include detailed recommendations for changes in

14 administration or law, or both, to carry out the objectives

15 stated in subsection (a).

16 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—

17 ‘‘(1) INTERIM REPORTS.—On or before June 9 of

18 each year, the Commissioner shall submit to the Com19 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Represent20 atives and to the Committee on Finance of the Senate

21 an interim report on the progress of the experiments

22 and demonstration projects carried out under this

23 subsection together with any related data and mate24 rials that the Commissioner may consider appro25 priate.
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1 ‘‘(2) FINAL REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days

2 after the termination of any experiment or dem3 onstration project carried out under this section, the

4 Commissioner shall submit to the Committee on Ways

5 and Means of the House of Representatives and to the

6 Committee on Finance of the Senate a final report

7 with respect to that experiment and demonstration

8 project.’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS; TRANSFER OF PRIOR

10 AUTHORITY.—

11 (1) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

12 (A) REPEAL OF PRIOR AUTHORITY.—Para13 graphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a) and sub14 section (c) of section 505 of the Social Security

15 Disability Amendments of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1310

16 note) are repealed.

17 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT REGARDING

18 FUNDING.—Section 201(k) of the Social Security

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 401(k)) is amended by striking

20 ‘‘section 505(a) of the Social Security Disability

21 Amendments of 1980’’ and inserting ‘‘section

22 234’’.

23 (2) TRANSFER OF PRIOR AUTHORITY.—With re24 spect to any experiment or demonstration project

25 being conducted under section 505(a) of the Social Se-
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1 curity Disability Amendments of 1980 (42 U.S.C.

2 1310 note) as of the date of enactment of this Act, the

3 authority to conduct such experiment or demonstra4 tion project (including the terms and conditions ap5 plicable to the experiment or demonstration project)

6 shall be treated as if that authority (and such terms

7 and conditions) had been established under section

8 234 of the Social Security Act, as added by subsection

9 (a).

10 SEC. 302. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS PROVIDING FOR RE11 DUCTIONS IN DISABILITY INSURANCE BENE12 FITS BASED ON EARNINGS.

13 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Commissioner of Social Secu14 rity shall conduct demonstration projects for the purpose

15 of evaluating, through the collection of data, a program for

16 title II disability beneficiaries (as defined in section

17 1148(k)(3) of the Social Security Act) under which each

18 $1 of benefits payable under section 223, or under section

19 202 based on the beneficiary’s disability, is reduced for each

20 $2 of such beneficiary’s earnings that is above a level to

21 be determined by the Commissioner. Such projects shall be

22 conducted at a number of localities which the Commissioner

23 shall determine is sufficient to adequately evaluate the ap24 propriateness of national implementation of such a pro25 gram. Such projects shall identify reductions in Federal ex-
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1 penditures that may result from the permanent implemen2 tation of such a program.

3 (b) SCOPE AND SCALE AND MATTERS TO BE DETER4 MINED.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The demonstration projects

6 developed under subsection (a) shall be of sufficient

7 duration, shall be of sufficient scope, and shall be car8 ried out on a wide enough scale to permit a thorough

9 evaluation of the project to determine—

10 (A) the effects, if any, of induced entry into

11 the project and reduced exit from the project;

12 (B) the extent, if any, to which the project

13 being tested is affected by whether it is in oper14 ation in a locality within an area under the ad15 ministration of the Ticket to Work and Self-Suf16 ficiency Program established under section 1148

17 of the Social Security Act; and

18 (C) the savings that accrue to the Federal

19 Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund,

20 the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund,

21 and other Federal programs under the project

22 being tested.

23 The Commissioner shall take into account advice pro24 vided by the Work Incentives Advisory Panel pursu25 ant to section 201(f)(2)(B)(ii).
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1 (2) ADDITIONAL MATTERS.—The Commissioner

2 shall also determine with respect to each project—

3 (A) the annual cost (including net cost) of

4 the project and the annual cost (including net

5 cost) that would have been incurred in the ab6 sence of the project;

7 (B) the determinants of return to work, in8 cluding the characteristics of the beneficiaries

9 who participate in the project; and

10 (C) the employment outcomes, including

11 wages, occupations, benefits, and hours worked,

12 of beneficiaries who return to work as a result of

13 participation in the project.

14 The Commissioner may include within the matters

15 evaluated under the project the merits of trial work

16 periods and periods of extended eligibility.

17 (c) WAIVERS.—The Commissioner may waive compli18 ance with the benefit provisions of title II of the Social Se19 curity Act, and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv20 ices may waive compliance with the benefit requirements

21 of title XVIII of that Act, insofar as is necessary for a thor22 ough evaluation of the alternative methods under consider23 ation. No such project shall be actually placed in operation

24 unless at least 90 days prior thereto a written report, pre25 pared for purposes of notification and information only
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1 and containing a full and complete description thereof, has

2 been transmitted by the Commissioner to the Committee on

3 Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and to

4 the Committee on Finance of the Senate. Periodic reports

5 on the progress of such projects shall be submitted by the

6 Commissioner to such committees. When appropriate, such

7 reports shall include detailed recommendations for changes

8 in administration or law, or both, to carry out the objectives

9 stated in subsection (a).

10 (d) INTERIM REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after

11 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,

12 the Commissioner of Social Security shall submit to Con13 gress an interim report on the progress of the demonstration

14 projects carried out under this subsection together with any

15 related data and materials that the Commissioner of Social

16 Security may consider appropriate.

17 (e) FINAL REPORT.—The Commissioner of Social Se18 curity shall submit to Congress a final report with respect

19 to all demonstration projects carried out under this section

20 not later than 1 year after their completion.

21 (f) EXPENDITURES.—Expenditures made for dem22 onstration projects under this section shall be made from

23 the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund and the Fed24 eral Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, as de25 termined appropriate by the Commissioner of Social Secu-
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1 rity, and from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund

2 and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust

3 Fund, as determined appropriate by the Secretary of

4 Health and Human Services, to the extent provided in ad5 vance in appropriation Acts.

6 SEC. 303. STUDIES AND REPORTS.

7 (a) STUDY BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE OF EX8 ISTING DISABILITY-RELATED EMPLOYMENT INCENTIVES.—

9 (1) STUDY.—As soon as practicable after the

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

11 of the United States shall undertake a study to assess

12 existing tax credits and other disability-related em13 ployment incentives under the Americans with Dis14 abilities Act of 1990 and other Federal laws. In such

15 study, the Comptroller General shall specifically ad16 dress the extent to which such credits and other incen17 tives would encourage employers to hire and retain

18 individuals with disabilities.

19 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

21 shall transmit to the Committee on Ways and Means

22 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

23 Finance of the Senate a written report presenting the

24 results of the Comptroller General’s study conducted

25 pursuant to this subsection, together with such rec-
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1 ommendations for legislative or administrative

2 changes as the Comptroller General determines are

3 appropriate.

4 (b) STUDY BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE OF EX5 ISTING COORDINATION OF THE DI AND SSI PROGRAMS AS

6 THEY RELATE TO INDIVIDUALS ENTERING OR LEAVING

7 CONCURRENT ENTITLEMENT.—

8 (1) STUDY.—As soon as practicable after the

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

10 of the United States shall undertake a study to evalu11 ate the coordination under current law of the dis12 ability insurance program under title II of the Social

13 Security Act and the supplemental security income

14 program under title XVI of that Act, as such pro15 grams relate to individuals entering or leaving con16 current entitlement under such programs. In such

17 study, the Comptroller General shall specifically ad18 dress the effectiveness of work incentives under such

19 programs with respect to such individuals and the ef20 fectiveness of coverage of such individuals under titles

21 XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act.

22 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

24 shall transmit to the Committee on Ways and Means

25 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
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1 Finance of the Senate a written report presenting the

2 results of the Comptroller General’s study conducted

3 pursuant to this subsection, together with such rec4 ommendations for legislative or administrative

5 changes as the Comptroller General determines are

6 appropriate.

7 (c) STUDY BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE OF THE

8 IMPACT OF THE SUBSTANTIAL GAINFUL ACTIVITY LIMIT ON

9 RETURN TO WORK.—

10 (1) STUDY.—As soon as practicable after the

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

12 of the United States shall undertake a study of the

13 substantial gainful activity level applicable as of that

14 date to recipients of benefits under section 223 of the

15 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 423) and under sec16 tion 202 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 402) on the basis of

17 a recipient having a disability, and the effect of such

18 level as a disincentive for those recipients to return

19 to work. In the study, the Comptroller General also

20 shall address the merits of increasing the substantial

21 gainful activity level applicable to such recipients of

22 benefits and the rationale for not yearly indexing that

23 level to inflation.

24 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General
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1 shall transmit to the Committee on Ways and Means

2 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

3 Finance of the Senate a written report presenting the

4 results of the Comptroller General’s study conducted

5 pursuant to this subsection, together with such rec6 ommendations for legislative or administrative

7 changes as the Comptroller General determines are

8 appropriate.

9 (d) REPORT ON DISREGARDS UNDER THE DI AND SSI

10 PROGRAMS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enact11 ment of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security shall

12 submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House

13 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the

14 Senate a report that—

15 (1) identifies all income, assets, and resource dis16 regards (imposed under statutory or regulatory au17 thority) that are applicable to individuals receiving

18 benefits under title II or XVI of the Social Security

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq., 1381 et seq.);

20 (2) with respect to each such disregard—

21 (A) specifies the most recent statutory or

22 regulatory modification of the disregard; and

23 (B) recommends whether further statutory

24 or regulatory modification of the disregard

25 would be appropriate; and
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1 (3) with respect to the disregard described in sec2 tion 1612(b)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

3 1382a(b)(7)) (relating to grants, scholarships, or fel4 lowships received for use in paying the cost of tuition

5 and fees at any educational (including technical or

6 vocational education) institution)—

7 (A) identifies the number of individuals re8 ceiving benefits under title XVI of such Act (42

9 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) who have attained age 22

10 and have not had any portion of any grant,

11 scholarship, or fellowship received for use in pay12 ing the cost of tuition and fees at any edu13 cational (including technical or vocational edu14 cation) institution excluded from their income in

15 accordance with that section;

16 (B) recommends whether the age at which

17 such grants, scholarships, or fellowships are ex18 cluded from income for purposes of determining

19 eligibility under title XVI of the Social Security

20 Act should be increased to age 25; and

21 (C) recommends whether such disregard

22 should be expanded to include any such grant,

23 scholarship, or fellowship received for use in pay24 ing the cost of room and board at any such insti25 tution.
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1 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS AND

2 TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS

3 SEC. 401. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS RELATING TO DRUG

4 ADDICTS AND ALCOHOLICS.

5 (a) CLARIFICATION RELATING TO THE EFFECTIVE

6 DATE OF THE DENIAL OF SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY

7 BENEFITS TO DRUG ADDICTS AND ALCOHOLICS.—Section

8 105(a)(5) of the Contract with America Advancement Act

9 of 1996 (Public Law 104–121; 110 Stat. 853) is amended—

10 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘by the

11 Commissioner of Social Security’’ and ‘‘by the Com12 missioner’’; and

13 (2) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this paragraph, an in15 dividual’s claim, with respect to benefits under

16 title II of the Social Security Act based on dis17 ability, which has been denied in whole before

18 the date of enactment of this Act, may not be

19 considered to be finally adjudicated before such

20 date if, on or after such date—

21 ‘‘(i) there is pending a request for ei22 ther administrative or judicial review with

23 respect to such claim, or

24 ‘‘(ii) there is pending, with respect to

25 such claim, a readjudication by the Com-
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1 missioner of Social Security pursuant to re2 lief in a class action or implementation by

3 the Commissioner of a court remand order.

4 ‘‘(E) Notwithstanding the provisions of this

5 paragraph, with respect to any individual for

6 whom the Commissioner of Social Security does

7 not perform the entitlement redetermination be8 fore the date prescribed in subparagraph (C), the

9 Commissioner shall perform such entitlement re10 determination in lieu of a continuing disability

11 review whenever the Commissioner determines

12 that the individual’s entitlement is subject to re13 determination based on the preceding provisions

14 of this paragraph, and the provisions of section

15 223(f) of the Social Security Act shall not apply

16 to such redetermination.’’.

17 (b) CORRECTION TO EFFECTIVE DATE OF PROVISIONS

18 CONCERNING REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES AND TREATMENT

19 REFERRALS OF SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFICIARIES WHO

20 ARE DRUG ADDICTS AND ALCOHOLICS.—Section

21 105(a)(5)(B) of the Contract with America Advancement

22 Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 405 note) is amended to read as

23 follows:
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1 ‘‘(B) The amendments made by paragraphs

2 (2) and (3) shall take effect on July 1, 1996,

3 with respect to any individual—

4 ‘‘(i) whose claim for benefits is finally

5 adjudicated on or after the date of enact6 ment of this Act; or

7 ‘‘(ii) whose entitlement to benefits is

8 based on an entitlement redetermination

9 made pursuant to subparagraph (C).’’.

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendments made by

11 this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment

12 of section 105 of the Contract with America Advancement

13 Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–121; 110 Stat. 852 et seq.).

14 SEC. 402. TREATMENT OF PRISONERS.

15 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROHIBITION AGAINST PAY16 MENT OF TITLE II BENEFITS TO PRISONERS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(x)(3) of the So18 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(x)(3)) is amended—

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(3)’’; and

20 (B) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(B)(i) The Commissioner shall enter into an agree22 ment under this subparagraph with any interested State

23 or local institution comprising a jail, prison, penal institu24 tion, or correctional facility, or comprising any other insti-
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1 tution a purpose of which is to confine individuals as de2 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(ii). Under such agreement—

3 ‘‘(I) the institution shall provide to the Commis4 sioner, on a monthly basis and in a manner specified

5 by the Commissioner, the names, Social Security ac6 count numbers, dates of birth, confinement commence7 ment dates, and, to the extent available to the institu8 tion, such other identifying information concerning

9 the individuals confined in the institution as the

10 Commissioner may require for the purpose of car11 rying out paragraph (1); and

12 ‘‘(II) the Commissioner shall pay to the institu13 tion, with respect to information described in sub14 clause (I) concerning each individual who is confined

15 therein as described in paragraph (1)(A), who receives

16 a benefit under this title for the month preceding the

17 first month of such confinement, and whose benefit

18 under this title is determined by the Commissioner to

19 be not payable by reason of confinement based on the

20 information provided by the institution, $400 (subject

21 to reduction under clause (ii)) if the institution fur22 nishes the information to the Commissioner within 30

23 days after the date such individual’s confinement in

24 such institution begins, or $200 (subject to reduction

25 under clause (ii)) if the institution furnishes the in-
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1 formation after 30 days after such date but within 90

2 days after such date.

3 ‘‘(ii) The dollar amounts specified in clause (i)(II)

4 shall be reduced by 50 percent if the Commissioner is also

5 required to make a payment to the institution with respect

6 to the same individual under an agreement entered into

7 under section 1611(e)(1)(I).

8 ‘‘(iii) There is authorized to be transferred from the

9 Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and

10 the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, as appro11 priate, such sums as may be necessary to enable the Com12 missioner to make payments to institutions required by

13 clause (i)(II).

14 ‘‘(iv) The Commissioner is authorized to provide, on

15 a reimbursable basis, information obtained pursuant to

16 agreements entered into under clause (i) to any agency ad17 ministering a Federal or federally assisted cash, food, or

18 medical assistance program for eligibility purposes.’’.

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO THE PRIVACY

20 ACT.—Section 552a(a)(8)(B) of title 5, United States

21 Code, is amended—

22 (A) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the

23 end;

24 (B) in clause (vii), by adding ‘‘or’’ at the

25 end; and
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1 (C) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(viii) matches performed pursuant to

3 section 202(x)(3)(B) or 1611(e)(1)(I) of the

4 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

5 402(x)(3)(B), 1382(e)(1)(I));’’.

6 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

7 by this subsection shall apply to individuals whose

8 period of confinement in an institution commences on

9 or after the first day of the fourth month beginning

10 after the month in which this Act is enacted.

11 (b) ELIMINATION OF TITLE II REQUIREMENT THAT

12 CONFINEMENT STEM FROM CRIME PUNISHABLE BY IM13 PRISONMENT FOR MORE THAN 1 YEAR.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(x)(1)(A) of the

15 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(x)(1)(A)) is

16 amended—

17 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by

18 striking ‘‘during’’ and inserting ‘‘throughout’’;

19 (B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘an offense

20 punishable by imprisonment for more than 1

21 year (regardless of the actual sentence imposed)’’

22 and inserting ‘‘a criminal offense’’; and

23 (C) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘an offense

24 punishable by imprisonment for more than 1

25 year’’ and inserting ‘‘a criminal offense’’.
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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

2 by this subsection shall apply to individuals whose

3 period of confinement in an institution commences on

4 or after the first day of the fourth month beginning

5 after the month in which this Act is enacted.

6 (c) CONFORMING TITLE XVI AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) FIFTY PERCENT REDUCTION IN TITLE XVI

8 PAYMENT IN CASE INVOLVING COMPARABLE TITLE II

9 PAYMENT.—Section 1611(e)(1)(I) of the Social Secu10 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)(I)) is amended—

11 (A) in clause (i)(II), by inserting ‘‘(subject

12 to reduction under clause (ii))’’ after ‘‘$400’’ and

13 after ‘‘$200’’;

14 (B) by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii)

15 as clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; and

16 (C) by inserting after clause (i) the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(ii) The dollar amounts specified in clause (i)(II)

19 shall be reduced by 50 percent if the Commissioner is also

20 required to make a payment to the institution with respect

21 to the same individual under an agreement entered into

22 under section 202(x)(3)(B).’’.

23 (2) EXPANSION OF CATEGORIES OF INSTITU24 TIONS ELIGIBLE TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS WITH

25 THE COMMISSIONER.—Section 1611(e)(1)(I)(i) of the
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1 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)(I)(i)) is

2 amended in the matter preceding subclause (I) by

3 striking ‘‘institution’’ and all that follows through

4 ‘‘section 202(x)(1)(A),’’ and inserting ‘‘institution

5 comprising a jail, prison, penal institution, or correc6 tional facility, or with any other interested State or

7 local institution a purpose of which is to confine in8 dividuals as described in section 202(x)(1)(A)(ii),’’.

9 (3) ELIMINATION OF OVERLY BROAD EXEMP10 TION.—Section 1611(e)(1)(I)(iii) of such Act (42

11 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)(I)(iii)) (as redesignated by para12 graph (1)(B), is amended by striking ‘‘(I) The provi13 sions’’ and all that follows through ‘‘(II)’’.

14 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

15 by this subsection shall take effect as if included in

16 the enactment of section 203(a) of the Personal Re17 sponsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation

18 Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–193; 110 Stat. 2186).

19 The reference to section 202(x)(1)(A)(ii) of the Social

20 Security Act in section 1611(e)(1)(I)(i) of the Social

21 Security Act as amended by paragraph (2) shall be

22 deemed a reference to such section 202(x)(1)(A)(ii) as

23 amended by subsection (b)(1)(C).
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1 (d) CONTINUED DENIAL OF BENEFITS TO SEX OF2 FENDERS REMAINING CONFINED TO PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS

3 UPON COMPLETION OF PRISON TERM.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(x)(1)(A) of the

5 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(x)(1)(A)) is

6 amended—

7 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the

8 end;

9 (B) in clause (ii)(IV), by striking the period

10 and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and

11 (C) by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(iii) immediately upon completion of confine13 ment as described in clause (i) pursuant to conviction

14 of a criminal offense an element of which is sexual ac15 tivity, is confined by court order in an institution at

16 public expense pursuant to a finding that the indi17 vidual is a sexually dangerous person or a sexual

18 predator or a similar finding.’’.

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

20 202(x)(1)(B)(ii) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

21 402(x)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘clause (ii)’’

22 and inserting ‘‘clauses (ii) and (iii)’’.

23 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

24 by this subsection shall apply with respect to benefits
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1 for months ending after the date of enactment of this

2 Act.

3 SEC. 403. REVOCATION BY MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY OF

4 EXEMPTION FROM SOCIAL SECURITY COV5 ERAGE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 1402(e)(4)

7 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, any exemption which

8 has been received under section 1402(e)(1) of such Code by

9 a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a

10 church, a member of a religious order, or a Christian

11 Science practitioner, and which is effective for the taxable

12 year in which this Act is enacted, may be revoked by filing

13 an application therefore (in such form and manner, and

14 with such official, as may be prescribed by the Commis15 sioner of the Internal Revenue Service), if such application

16 is filed no later than the due date of the Federal income

17 tax return (including any extension thereof) for the appli18 cant’s second taxable year beginning after December 31,

19 1999. Any such revocation shall be effective (for purposes

20 of chapter 2 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and title

21 II of the Social Security Act), as specified in the applica22 tion, either with respect to the applicant’s first taxable year

23 beginning after December 31, 1999, or with respect to the

24 applicant’s second taxable year beginning after such date,

25 and for all succeeding taxable years; and the applicant for
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1 any such revocation may not thereafter again file applica2 tion for an exemption under such section 1402(e)(1). If the

3 application is filed after the due date of the applicant’s Fed4 eral income tax return for a taxable year and is effective

5 with respect to that taxable year, it shall include or be ac6 companied by payment in full of an amount equal to the

7 total of the taxes that would have been imposed by section

8 1401 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to

9 all of the applicant’s income derived in that taxable year

10 which would have constituted net earnings from self-em11 ployment for purposes of chapter 2 of such Code (notwith12 standing paragraph (4) or (5) of section 1402(c) of such

13 Code) except for the exemption under section 1402(e)(1) of

14 such Code.

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply

16 with respect to service performed (to the extent specified in

17 such subsection) in taxable years beginning after December

18 31, 1999, and with respect to monthly insurance benefits

19 payable under title II of the Social Security Act on the basis

20 of the wages and self-employment income of any individual

21 for months in or after the calendar year in which such indi22 vidual’s application for revocation (as described in such

23 subsection) is effective (and lump-sum death payments pay24 able under such title on the basis of such wages and self-
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1 employment income in the case of deaths occurring in or

2 after such calendar year).

3 SEC. 404. ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENT RELATING

4 TO COOPERATIVE RESEARCH OR DEM5 ONSTRATION PROJECTS UNDER TITLES II

6 AND XVI.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1110(a)(3) of the Social Se8 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1310(a)(3)) is amended by striking

9 ‘‘title XVI’’ and inserting ‘‘title II or XVI’’.

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub11 section (a) shall take effect as if included in the enactment

12 of the Social Security Independence and Program Improve13 ments Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–296; 108 Stat. 1464).

14 SEC. 405. AUTHORIZATION FOR STATE TO PERMIT ANNUAL

15 WAGE REPORTS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1137(a)(3) of the Social Se17 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–7(a)(3)) is amended by insert18 ing before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, and except that

19 in the case of wage reports with respect to domestic service

20 employment, a State may permit employers (as so defined)

21 that make returns with respect to such employment on a

22 calendar year basis pursuant to section 3510 of the Internal

23 Revenue Code of 1986 to make such reports on an annual

24 basis’’.
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HR 1180 EAS

1 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 1137(a)(3) of

2 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–7(a)(3)) is

3 amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘(as defined in section

5 453A(a)(2)(B)(iii))’’; and

6 (2) by inserting ‘‘(as defined in section

7 453A(a)(2)(B))’’ after ‘‘employers’’ .

8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this

9 section shall apply to wage reports required to be submitted

10 on and after the date of enactment of this Act.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1180

AMENDMENT
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