106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1802

AN ACT

To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security

poses.foster care to self-sufficiency, and for other pursigned to help children make the transition fromgreater flexibility in carrying out programs deAct to provide States with more funding and
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1802

AN ACT

To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act

to provide States with more funding and greater flexibility in carrying out programs designed to help children

make the transition from foster care to self-sufficiency,

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Foster Care Independence Act of 1999’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—IMPROVED INDEPENDENT LIVING PROGRAM

Subtitle A—Improved Independent Living Program

Sec. 101. Improved independent living program.

Subtitle B—Related Foster Care Provision

Sec. 111. Increase in amount of assets allowable for children in foster care.

Sec. 112. Preparation of foster parents to provide for the needs of children in

State care.

Subtitle C—Medicaid Amendments

Sec. 121. State option of Medicaid coverage for adolescents leaving foster care.

Subtitle D—Adoption Incentive Payments

Sec. 131. Increased funding for adoption incentive payments.

TITLE II—SSI FRAUD PREVENTION

Subtitle A—Fraud Prevention and Related Provisions

Sec. 201. Liability of representative payees for overpayments to deceased recipients.

Sec. 202. Recovery of overpayments of SSI benefits from lump sum SSI benefit

payments.

Sec. 203. Additional debt collection practices.

Sec. 204. Requirement to provide State prisoner information to Federal and

federally assisted benefit programs.

Sec. 205. Rules relating to collection of overpayments from individuals convicted of crimes.

Sec. 206. Treatment of assets held in trust under the SSI program.

Sec. 207. Disposal of resources for less than fair market value under the SSI

program.

Sec. 208. Administrative procedure for imposing penalties for false or misleading statements.

Sec. 209. Exclusion of representatives and health care providers convicted of

violations from participation in social security programs.

Sec. 210. State data exchanges.
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Sec. 211. Study on possible measures to improve fraud prevention and administrative processing.

Sec. 212. Annual report on amounts necessary to combat fraud.

Sec. 213. Computer matches with Medicare and Medicaid institutionalization

data.

Sec. 214. Access to information held by financial institutions.

Subtitle B—Special Benefits For Certain World War II Veterans

Sec. 251. Establishment of program of special benefits for certain World War

II veterans.

Subtitle C—Study

Sec. 261. Study of denial of SSI benefits for family farmers.

TITLE III—CHILD SUPPORT

Sec. 301. Narrowing of hold harmless provision for State share of distribution

of collected child support.

TITLE IV—TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS

Sec. 401. Technical corrections relating to amendments made by the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

1996.

1 TITLE I—IMPROVED INDE2 PENDENT LIVING PROGRAM

3 Subtitle A—Improved Independent

4 Living Program

5 SEC. 101. IMPROVED INDEPENDENT LIVING PROGRAM.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

7 (1) States are required to make reasonable ef8 forts to find adoptive families for all children, in9 cluding older children, for whom reunification with

10 their biological family is not in the best interests of

11 the child. However, some older children will continue

12 to live in foster care. These children should be en13 rolled in an Independent Living program designed

14 and conducted by State and local government to help
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1 prepare them for employment, postsecondary edu2 cation, and successful management of adult respon3 sibilities.

4 (2) About 20,000 adolescents leave the Nation’s

5 foster care system each year because they have

6 reached 18 years of age and are expected to support

7 themselves.

8 (3) Congress has received extensive information

9 that adolescents leaving foster care have significant

10 difficulty making a successful transition to adult11 hood; this information shows that children aging out

12 of foster care show high rates of homelessness, non13 marital childbearing, poverty, and delinquent or

14 criminal behavior; they are also frequently the target

15 of crime and physical assaults.

16 (4) The Nation’s State and local governments,

17 with financial support from the Federal Government,

18 should offer an extensive program of education,

19 training, employment, and financial support for

20 young adults leaving foster care, with participation

21 in such program beginning several years before high

22 school graduation and continuing, as needed, until

23 the young adults emancipated from foster care es24 tablish independence or reach 21 years of age.
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1 (b) IMPROVED INDEPENDENT LIVING PROGRAM.—

2 Section 477 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677)

3 is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘SEC. 477. INDEPENDENT LIVING PROGRAM.

5 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to

6 provide States with flexible funding that will enable pro7 grams to be designed and conducted—

8 ‘‘(1) to identify children who are likely to re9 main in foster care until 18 years of age and to help

10 these children make the transition to self-sufficiency

11 by providing services such as assistance in obtaining

12 a high school diploma, career exploration, vocational

13 training, job placement and retention, training in

14 daily living skills, training in budgeting and financial

15 management skills, substance abuse prevention, and

16 preventive health activities (including smoking avoid17 ance, nutrition education, and pregnancy preven18 tion);

19 ‘‘(2) to help children who are likely to remain

20 in foster care until 18 years of age receive the edu21 cation, training, and services necessary to obtain em22 ployment;

23 ‘‘(3) to help children who are likely to remain

24 in foster care until 18 years of age prepare for and
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1 enter postsecondary training and education institu2 tions;

3 ‘‘(4) to provide personal and emotional support

4 to children aging out of foster care, through mentors

5 and the promotion of interactions with dedicated

6 adults; and

7 ‘‘(5) to provide financial, housing, counseling,

8 employment, education, and other appropriate sup9 port and services to former foster care recipients be10 tween 18 and 21 years of age to complement their

11 own efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and to assure

12 that program participants recognize and accept their

13 personal responsibility for preparing for and then

14 making the transition from adolescence to adult15 hood.

16 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may apply for

18 funds from its allotment under subsection (c) for a

19 period of five consecutive fiscal years by submitting

20 to the Secretary, in writing, a plan that meets the

21 requirements of paragraph (2) and the certifications

22 required by paragraph (3) with respect to the plan.

23 ‘‘(2) STATE PLAN.—A plan meets the require24 ments of this paragraph if the plan specifies which

25 State agency or agencies will administer, supervise,
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1 or oversee the programs carried out under the plan,

2 and describes how the State intends to do the fol3 lowing:

4 ‘‘(A) Design and deliver programs to

5 achieve the purposes of this section.

6 ‘‘(B) Ensure that all political subdivisions

7 in the State are served by the program, though

8 not necessarily in a uniform manner.

9 ‘‘(C) Ensure that the programs serve chil10 dren of various ages and at various stages of

11 achieving independence.

12 ‘‘(D) Involve the public and private sectors

13 in helping adolescents in foster care achieve

14 independence.

15 ‘‘(E) Use objective criteria for determining

16 eligibility for benefits and services under the

17 programs, and for ensuring fair and equitable

18 treatment of benefit recipients.

19 ‘‘(F) Cooperate in national evaluations of

20 the effects of the programs in achieving the

21 purposes of this section.

22 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATIONS.—The certifications re23 quired by this paragraph with respect to a plan are

24 the following:
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1 ‘‘(A) A certification by the chief executive

2 officer of the State that the State will provide

3 assistance and services to children who have left

4 foster care because they have attained 18 years

5 of age, and who have not attained 21 years of

6 age.

7 ‘‘(B) A certification by the chief executive

8 officer of the State that not more than 30 per9 cent of the amounts paid to the State from its

10 allotment under subsection (c) for a fiscal year

11 will be expended for room or board for children

12 who have left foster care because they have at13 tained 18 years of age, and who have not at14 tained 21 years of age.

15 ‘‘(C) A certification by the chief executive

16 officer of the State that none of the amounts

17 paid to the State from its allotment under sub18 section (c) will be expended for room or board

19 for any child who has not attained 18 years of

20 age.

21 ‘‘(D) A certification by the chief executive

22 officer of the State that the State will use train23 ing funds provided under the program of Fed24 eral payments for foster care and adoption as25 sistance to provide training to help foster par-
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1 ents, workers in group homes, and case man2 agers understand and address the issues con3 fronting adolescents preparing for independent

4 living, and will, to the extent possible, coordi5 nate such training with the independent living

6 program conducted for adolescents.

7 ‘‘(E) A certification by the chief executive

8 officer of the State that the State has consulted

9 widely with public and private organizations in

10 developing the plan and that the State has

11 given all interested members of the public at

12 least 30 days to submit comments on the plan.

13 ‘‘(F) A certification by the chief executive

14 officer of the State that the State will make

15 every effort to coordinate the State programs

16 receiving funds provided from an allotment

17 made to the State under subsection (c) with

18 other Federal and State programs for youth

19 (especially transitional living youth projects

20 funded under part B of title III of the Juvenile

21 Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of

22 1974), abstinence education programs, local

23 housing programs, programs for disabled youth

24 (especially sheltered workshops), and school-to-
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1 work programs offered by high schools or local

2 workforce agencies.

3 ‘‘(G) A certification by the chief executive

4 officer of the State that each Indian tribe in the

5 State has been consulted about the programs to

6 be carried out under the plan; that there have

7 been efforts to coordinate the programs with

8 such tribes; and that benefits and services

9 under the programs will be made available to

10 Indian children in the State on the same basis

11 as to other children in the State.

12 ‘‘(H) A certification by the chief executive

13 officer of the State that the State will ensure

14 that adolescents participating in the program

15 under this section participate directly in design16 ing their own program activities that prepare

17 them for independent living and that the ado18 lescents accept personal responsibility for living

19 up to their part of the program.

20 ‘‘(I) A certification by the chief executive

21 officer of the State that the State has estab22 lished and will enforce standards and proce23 dures to prevent fraud and abuse in the pro24 grams carried out under the plan.
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1 ‘‘(4) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall approve

2 an application submitted by a State pursuant to

3 paragraph (1) for a period if—

4 ‘‘(A) the application is submitted on or be5 fore June 30 of the calendar year in which such

6 period begins; and

7 ‘‘(B) the Secretary finds that the applica8 tion contains the material required by para9 graph (1).

10 ‘‘(5) AUTHORITY TO IMPLEMENT CERTAIN

11 AMENDMENTS; NOTIFICATION.—A State with an ap12 plication approved under paragraph (4) may imple13 ment any amendment to the plan contained in the

14 application if the application, incorporating the

15 amendment, would be approvable under paragraph

16 (4). Within 30 days after a State implements any

17 such amendment, the State shall notify the Sec18 retary of the amendment.

19 ‘‘(6) AVAILABILITY.—The State shall make

20 available to the public any application submitted by

21 the State pursuant to paragraph (1), and a brief

22 summary of the plan contained in the application.

23 ‘‘(c) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount specified

25 in subsection (h) that remains after applying sub-
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1 section (g)(2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall

2 allot to each State with an application approved

3 under subsection (b) for the fiscal year the amount

4 which bears the same ratio to such remaining

5 amount as the number of children in foster care

6 under a program of the State in the most recent fis7 cal year for which such information is available

8 bears to the total number of children in foster care

9 in all States for such most recent fiscal year, as ad10 justed in accordance with paragraph (2).

11 ‘‘(2) HOLD HARMLESS PROVISION.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

13 allot to each State whose allotment for a fiscal

14 year under paragraph (1) is less than the

15 amount payable to the State under this section

16 for fiscal year 1998 an additional amount equal

17 to the difference.’’.

18 ‘‘(B) RATABLE REDUCTION OF CERTAIN

19 ALLOTMENTS.—In the case of a State not de20 scribed in subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year,

21 the Secretary shall reduce the amount allotted

22 to the State for the fiscal year under paragraph

23 (1) by the amount that bears the same ratio to

24 the sum of the differences determined under

25 subparagraph (A) for the fiscal year as the
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1 amount so alloted bears to the sum of the

2 amounts allotted to all States not so described.

3 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State to which an

5 amount is paid from its allotment under subsection

6 (c) may use the amount in any manner that is rea7 sonably calculated to accomplish the purposes of this

8 section.

9 ‘‘(2) NO SUPPLANTATION OF OTHER FUNDS

10 AVAILABLE FOR SAME GENERAL PURPOSES.—The

11 amounts paid to a State from its allotment under

12 subsection (c) shall be used to supplement and not

13 supplant any other funds which are available for the

14 same general purposes in the State.

15 ‘‘(3) TWO-YEAR AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—

16 Payments made to a State under this section for a

17 fiscal year shall be expended by the State in the fis18 cal year or in the succeeding fiscal year.

19 ‘‘(e) PENALTIES.—

20 ‘‘(1) USE OF GRANT IN VIOLATION OF THIS

21 PART.—If the Secretary is made aware, by an audit

22 conducted under chapter 75 of title 31, United

23 States Code, or by any other means, that a program

24 receiving funds from an allotment made to a State

25 under subsection (c) has been operated in a manner
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1 that is inconsistent with, or not disclosed in the

2 State application approved under subsection (b), the

3 Secretary shall assess a penalty against the State in

4 an amount equal to not less than 1 percent and not

5 more than 5 percent of the amount of the allotment.

6 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DATA REPORT7 ING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall assess a

8 penalty against a State that fails during a fiscal

9 year to comply with an information collection plan

10 implemented under subsection (f) in an amount

11 equal to not less than 1 percent and not more than

12 5 percent of the amount allotted to the State for the

13 fiscal year.

14 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES BASED ON DEGREE OF NON15 COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary shall assess penalties

16 under this subsection based on the degree of non17 compliance.

18 ‘‘(f) DATA COLLECTION AND PERFORMANCE MEAS19 UREMENT.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta21 tion with State and local public officials responsible

22 for administering independent living and other child

23 welfare programs, child welfare advocates, members

24 of Congress, youth service providers, and research25 ers, shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) develop outcome measures (including

2 measures of educational attainment, employ3 ment, avoidance of dependency, homelessness,

4 nonmarital childbirth, and high-risk behaviors)

5 that can be used to assess the performance of

6 States in operating independent living pro7 grams;

8 ‘‘(B) identify data elements needed to

9 track—

10 ‘‘(i) the number and characteristics of

11 children receiving services under this sec12 tion;

13 ‘‘(ii) the type and quantity of services

14 being provided; and

15 ‘‘(iii) State performance on the out16 come measures; and

17 ‘‘(C) develop and implement a plan to col18 lect the needed information beginning with the

19 second fiscal year beginning after the date of

20 the enactment of this section.

21 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 12

22 months after the date of the enactment of this sec23 tion, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on

24 Ways and Means of the House of Representatives

25 and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a re-
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1 port detailing the plans and timetable for collecting

2 from the States the information described in para3 graph (1).

4 ‘‘(g) EVALUATIONS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con6 duct evaluations of such State programs funded

7 under this section as the Secretary deems to be in8 novative or of potential national significance. The

9 evaluation of any such program shall include infor10 mation on the effects of the program on education,

11 employment, and personal development. To the max12 imum extent practicable, the evaluations shall be

13 based on rigorous scientific standards including ran14 dom assignment to treatment and control groups.

15 The Secretary is encouraged to work directly with

16 State and local governments to design methods for

17 conducting the evaluations, directly or by grant, con18 tract, or cooperative agreement.

19 ‘‘(2) FUNDING OF EVALUATIONS.—The Sec20 retary shall reserve 1.5 percent of the amount speci21 fied in subsection (h) for a fiscal year to carry out,

22 during the fiscal year, evaluation, technical assist23 ance, performance measurement, and data collection

24 activities related to this section, directly or through
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1 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with

2 appropriate entities.

3 ‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO4 PRIATIONS.—To carry out this section and for payments

5 to States under section 474(a)(4), there are authorized to

6 be appropriated to the Secretary $140,000,000 for each

7 fiscal year.’’.

8 (c) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Section 474(a)(4) of

9 such Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)(4)) is amended to read as fol10 lows:

11 ‘‘(4) the lesser of—

12 ‘‘(A) 80 percent of the amount (if any) by

13 which—

14 ‘‘(i) the total amount expended by the

15 State during the fiscal year in which the

16 quarter occurs to carry out programs in

17 accordance with the State application ap18 proved under section 477(b) for the period

19 in which the quarter occurs (including any

20 amendment that meets the requirements of

21 section 477(b)(5)); exceeds

22 ‘‘(ii) the total amount of any penalties

23 assessed against the State under section

24 477(e) during the fiscal year in which the

25 quarter occurs; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the amount allotted to the State

2 under section 477 for the fiscal year in which

3 the quarter occurs, reduced by the total of the

4 amounts payable to the State under this para5 graph for all prior quarters in the fiscal year.’’.

6 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 12 months after

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

8 Health and Human Services shall issue such regulations

9 as may be necessary to carry out the amendments made

10 by this section.

11 (e) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

12 Congress that States should provide medical assistance

13 under the State plan approved under title XIX of the So14 cial Security Act to 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds who have

15 been emancipated from foster care.

16 Subtitle B—Related Foster Care

17 Provision

18 SEC. 111. INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF ASSETS ALLOWABLE

19 FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.

20 Section 472(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

21 672(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘In determining whether a child would have received aid

23 under a State plan approved under section 402 (as in ef24 fect on July 16, 1996), a child whose resources (deter25 mined pursuant to section 402(a)(7)(B), as so in effect)
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1 have a combined value of not more than $10,000 shall

2 be considered to be a child whose resources have a com3 bined value of not more than $1,000 (or such lower

4 amount as the State may determine for purposes of such

5 section 402(a)(7)(B)).’’.

6 SEC. 112. PREPARATION OF FOSTER PARENTS TO PROVIDE

7 FOR THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN IN STATE

8 CARE.

9 (a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 471(a) of

10 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

12 (22);

13 (2) by striking the period at the end of para14 graph (23) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

15 (3) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(24) include a certification that, before a child

17 in foster care under the responsibility of the State

18 is placed with prospective foster parents, the pro19 spective foster parents will be prepared adequately

20 with the appropriate knowledge and skills to provide

21 for the needs of the child, and that such preparation

22 will be continued, as necessary, after the placement

23 of the child.’’.

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

25 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999.
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1 Subtitle C—Medicaid Amendments

2 SEC. 121. STATE OPTION OF MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR

3 ADOLESCENTS LEAVING FOSTER CARE.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XIX of the Social Security

5 Act is amended—

6 (1) in section 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii) (42 U.S.C.

7 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii))—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of sub9 clause (XIII);

10 (B) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause

11 (XIV); and

12 (C) by adding at the end the following new sub13 clause:

14 ‘‘(XV) who are independent fos15 ter care adolescents (as defined in

16 (section 1905(v)(1)), or who are with17 in any reasonable categories of such

18 adolescents specified by the State;’’;

19 and

20 (2) by adding at the end of section 1905 (42

21 U.S.C. 1396d) the following new subsection:

22 ‘‘(v)(1) For purposes of this title, the term ‘inde23 pendent foster care adolescent’ means an individual—

24 ‘‘(A) who is under 21 years of age;
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1 ‘‘(B) who, on the individual’s 18th birthday,

2 was in foster care under the responsibility of a

3 State; and

4 ‘‘(C) whose assets, resources, and income do

5 not exceed such levels (if any) as the State may es6 tablish consistent with paragraph (2).

7 ‘‘(2) The levels established by a State under para8 graph (1)(C) may not be less than the corresponding levels

9 applied by the State under section 1931(b).

10 ‘‘(3) A State may limit the eligibility of independent

11 foster care adolescents under section

12 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XV) to those individuals with respect

13 to whom foster care maintenance payments or inde14 pendent living services were furnished under a program

15 funded under part E of title IV before the date the individ16 uals attained 18 years of age.’’.

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

18 subsection (a) apply to medical assistance for items and

19 services furnished on or after October 1, 1999.
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1 Subtitle D—Adoption Incentive

2 Payments

3 SEC. 131. INCREASED FUNDING FOR ADOPTION INCENTIVE

4 PAYMENTS.

5 (a) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS.—Section 473A of the

6 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(j) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability

10 of such amounts as may be provided in advance in

11 appropriations Acts, in addition to any amount oth12 erwise payable under this section to any State that

13 is an incentive-eligible State for fiscal year 1998, the

14 Secretary shall make a grant to the State in an

15 amount equal to the lesser of—

16 ‘‘(A) the amount by which—

17 ‘‘(i) the amount that would have been

18 payable to the State under this section

19 during fiscal year 1999 (on the basis of

20 adoptions in fiscal year 1998) in the ab21 sence of subsection (d)(2) if sufficient

22 funds had been available for the payment;

23 exceeds

24 ‘‘(ii) the amount that, before the en25 actment of this subsection, was payable to
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1 the State under this section during fiscal

2 year 1999 (on such basis); or

3 ‘‘(B) the amount that bears the same ratio

4 to the dollar amount specified in paragraph (2)

5 as the amount described by subparagraph (A)

6 for the State bears to the aggregate of the

7 amounts described by subparagraph (A) for all

8 States that are incentive-eligible States for fis9 cal year 1998.

10 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—$23,000,000 of the amounts

11 appropriated under subsection (h)(1) for fiscal year

12 2000 may be used for grants under paragraph (1)

13 of this subsection.’’.

14 (b) LIMITATION ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA15 TIONS.—Section 473A(h)(1) of the Social Security Act

16 (42 U.S.C. 673b(h)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For grants under sub18 section (a), there are authorized to be appropriated

19 to the Secretary—

20 ‘‘(A) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

21 ‘‘(B) $43,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; and

22 ‘‘(C) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years

23 2001 through 2003.’’.
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1 TITLE II—SSI FRAUD

2 PREVENTION

3 Subtitle A—Fraud Prevention and

4 Related Provisions

5 SEC. 201. LIABILITY OF REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES FOR

6 OVERPAYMENTS TO DECEASED RECIPIENTS.

7 (a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE II.—Section 204(a)(2) of

8 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 404(a)(2)) is amended

9 by adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘If any

10 payment of more than the correct amount is made to a

11 representative payee on behalf of an individual after the

12 individual’s death, the representative payee shall be liable

13 for the repayment of the overpayment, and the Commis14 sioner of Social Security shall establish an overpayment

15 control record under the social security account number

16 of the representative payee.’’.

17 (b) AMENDMENT TO TITLE XVI.—Section

18 1631(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(b)(2)) is amend19 ed by adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘If

20 any payment of more than the correct amount is made

21 to a representative payee on behalf of an individual after

22 the individual’s death, the representative payee shall be

23 liable for the repayment of the overpayment, and the Com24 missioner of Social Security shall establish an overpay-
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1 ment control record under the social security account

2 number of the representative payee.’’.

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

4 this section shall apply to overpayments made 12 months

5 or more after the date of the enactment of this Act.

6 SEC. 202. RECOVERY OF OVERPAYMENTS OF SSI BENEFITS

7 FROM LUMP SUM SSI BENEFIT PAYMENTS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1631(b)(1)(B)(ii) of the

9 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(b)(1)(B)(ii)) is

10 amended—

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘monthly’’ before ‘‘benefit pay12 ments’’; and

13 (2) by inserting ‘‘and in the case of an indi14 vidual or eligible spouse to whom a lump sum is pay15 able under this title (including under section

16 1616(a) of this Act or under an agreement entered

17 into under section 212(a) of Public Law 93–66)

18 shall, as at least one means of recovering such over19 payment, make the adjustment or recovery from the

20 lump sum payment in an amount equal to not less

21 than the lesser of the amount of the overpayment or

22 50 percent of the lump sum payment,’’ before ‘‘un23 less fraud’’.

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

25 this section shall take effect 12 months after the date of
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1 the enactment of this Act and shall apply to amounts in2 correctly paid which remain outstanding on or after such

3 date.

4 SEC. 203. ADDITIONAL DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1631(b) of the Social Se6 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(b)) is amended—

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as

8 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(4)(A) With respect to any delinquent amount, the

12 Commissioner of Social Security may use the collection

13 practices described in sections 3711(f), 3716, 3717, and

14 3718 of title 31, United States Code, and in section 5514

15 of title 5, United States Code, all as in effect immediately

16 after the enactment of the Debt Collection Improvement

17 Act of 1996.

18 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term

19 ‘delinquent amount’ means an amount—

20 ‘‘(i) in excess of the correct amount of payment

21 under this title;

22 ‘‘(ii) paid to a person after such person has at23 tained 18 years of age; and

24 ‘‘(iii) determined by the Commissioner of Social

25 Security, under regulations, to be otherwise unre-
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1 coverable under this section after such person ceases

2 to be a beneficiary under this title.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

4 3701(d)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is amended

5 by striking ‘‘section 204(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 204(f)

6 and 1631(b)(4)’’.

7 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 204(f) of

8 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 404(f)) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘3711(e)’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘3711(f)’’; and

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘all’’ before ‘‘as in effect’’.

12 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

13 this section shall apply to debt outstanding on or after

14 the date of the enactment of this Act.

15 SEC. 204. REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE STATE PRISONER IN16 FORMATION TO FEDERAL AND FEDERALLY

17 ASSISTED BENEFIT PROGRAMS.

18 Section 1611(e)(1)(I)(ii)(II) of the Social Security

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)(I)(ii)(II)) is amended by strik20 ing ‘‘is authorized to’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’.
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1 SEC. 205. RULES RELATING TO COLLECTION OF OVERPAY2 MENTS FROM INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED OF

3 CRIMES.

4 (a) WAIVERS INAPPLICABLE TO OVERPAYMENTS BY

5 REASON OF PAYMENT IN MONTHS IN WHICH BENE6 FICIARY IS A PRISONER OR A FUGITIVE.—

7 (1) AMENDMENT TO TITLE II.—Section 204(b)

8 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 404(b)) is

9 amended—

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and

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

12 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to

13 any payment to any person made during a month in which

14 such benefit was not payable under section 202(x).’’.

15 (2) AMENDMENT TO TITLE XVI.—Section

16 1631(b)(1)(B)(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

17 1383(b)(1)(B)(i)) is amended by inserting ‘‘unless

18 (I) section 1611(e)(1) prohibits payment to the per19 son of a benefit under this title for the month by

20 reason of confinement of a type described in clause

21 (i) or (ii) of section 202(x)(1)(A), or (II) section

22 1611(e)(5) prohibits payment to the person of a

23 benefit under this title for the month,’’ after ‘‘ad24 ministration of this title,’’.

25 (b) TEN-YEAR PERIOD OF INELIGIBILITY FOR PER26 SONS FAILING TO NOTIFY COMMISSIONER OF OVERPAY-
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1 MENTS IN MONTHS IN WHICH BENEFICIARY IS A PRIS2 ONER OR A FUGITIVE OR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH RE3 PAYMENT SCHEDULE FOR SUCH OVERPAYMENTS.—

4 (1) AMENDMENT TO TITLE II.—Section 202(x)

5 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(x)) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(4)(A) No person shall be considered entitled to

8 monthly insurance benefits under this section based on the

9 person’s disability or to disability insurance benefits under

10 section 223 otherwise payable during the 10-year period

11 that begins on the date the person—

12 ‘‘(i) knowingly fails to timely notify the Com13 missioner of Social Security, in connection with any

14 application for benefits under this title, of any prior

15 receipt by such person of any benefit under this title

16 or title XVI in any month in which such benefit was

17 not payable under the preceding provisions of this

18 subsection; or

19 ‘‘(ii) knowingly fails to comply with any sched20 ule imposed by the Commissioner which is for repay21 ment of overpayments comprised of payments de22 scribed in subparagraph (A) and which is in compli23 ance with section 204.

24 ‘‘(B) The Commissioner of Social Security shall, in

25 addition to any other relevant factors, take into account
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1 any mental or linguistic limitations of a person (including

2 any lack of facility with the English language) in deter3 mining whether the person has knowingly failed to comply

4 with a requirement of clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph

5 (A).’’.

6 (2) AMENDMENT TO TITLE XVI.—Section

7 1611(e)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)) is

8 amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(J)(i) A person shall not be considered an eligible

10 individual or eligible spouse for purposes of benefits under

11 this title by reason of disability, during the 10-year period

12 that begins on the date the person—

13 ‘‘(I) knowingly fails to timely notify the Com14 missioner of Social Security, in an application for

15 benefits under this title, of any prior receipt by the

16 person of a benefit under this title or title II in a

17 month in which payment to the person of a benefit

18 under this title was prohibited by—

19 ‘‘(aa) the preceding provisions of this para20 graph by reason of confinement of a type de21 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of section

22 202(x)(1)(A); or

23 ‘‘(bb) section 1611(e)(4); or

24 ‘‘(II) knowingly fails to comply with any sched25 ule imposed by the Commissioner which is for repay-
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1 ment of overpayments comprised of payments de2 scribed in clause (i) of this subparagraph and which

3 is in compliance with section 1631(b).

4 ‘‘(ii) The Commissioner of Social Security shall, in

5 addition to any other relevant factors, take into account

6 any mental or linguistic limitations of a person (including

7 any lack of facility with the English language) in deter8 mining whether the person has knowingly failed to comply

9 with a requirement of subclause (I) or (II) of clause (i).’’.

10 (c) CONTINUED COLLECTION EFFORTS AGAINST

11 PRISONERS.—

12 (1) AMENDMENT TO TITLE II.—Section 204(b)

13 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 404(b)), as amended by sub14 section (a)(1) of this section, is amended further by

15 adding at the end the following new paragraph:

16 ‘‘(3) The Commissioner shall not refrain from recov17 ering overpayments from resources currently available to

18 any overpaid person or to such person’s estate solely be19 cause such individual is confined as described in clause

20 (i) or (ii) of section 202(x)(1)(A).’’.

21 (2) AMENDMENT TO TITLE XVI.—Section

22 1631(b)(1)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

23 1383(b)(1)(A)) is amended by adding after and

24 below clause (ii) the following flush left sentence:
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1 ‘‘The Commissioner shall not refrain from recovering over2 payments from resources currently available to any indi3 vidual solely because the individual is confined as de4 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of section 202(x)(1)(A).’’.

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

6 this section shall apply to overpayments made in, and to

7 benefits payable for, months beginning 24 months or more

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

9 SEC. 206. TREATMENT OF ASSETS HELD IN TRUST UNDER

10 THE SSI PROGRAM.

11 (a) TREATMENT AS RESOURCE.—Section 1613 of the

12 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following:

14 ‘‘Trusts

15 ‘‘(e)(1) In determining the resources of an individual,

16 paragraph (3) shall apply to a trust (other than a trust

17 described in paragraph (5)) established by the individual.

18 ‘‘(2)(A) For purposes of this subsection, an individual

19 shall be considered to have established a trust if any assets

20 of the individual (or of the individual’s spouse) are trans21 ferred to the trust other than by will.

22 ‘‘(B) In the case of an irrevocable trust to which are

23 transferred the assets of an individual (or of the individ24 ual’s spouse) and the assets of any other person, this sub25 section shall apply to the portion of the trust attributable
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1 to the assets of the individual (or of the individual’s

2 spouse).

3 ‘‘(C) This subsection shall apply to a trust without

4 regard to—

5 ‘‘(i) the purposes for which the trust is estab6 lished;

7 ‘‘(ii) whether the trustees have or exercise any

8 discretion under the trust;

9 ‘‘(iii) any restrictions on when or whether dis10 tributions may be made from the trust; or

11 ‘‘(iv) any restrictions on the use of distributions

12 from the trust.

13 ‘‘(3)(A) In the case of a revocable trust established

14 by an individual, the corpus of the trust shall be consid15 ered a resource available to the individual.

16 ‘‘(B) In the case of an irrevocable trust established

17 by an individual, if there are any circumstances under

18 which payment from the trust could be made to or for

19 the benefit of the individual or the individual’s spouse, the

20 portion of the corpus from which payment to or for the

21 benefit of the individual or the individual’s spouse could

22 be made shall be considered a resource available to the

23 individual.

24 ‘‘(4) The Commissioner of Social Security may waive

25 the application of this subsection with respect to an indi-
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1 vidual if the Commissioner determines that such applica2 tion would work an undue hardship (as determined on the

3 basis of criteria established by the Commissioner) on the

4 individual.

5 ‘‘(5) This subsection shall not apply to a trust de6 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (C) of section 1917(d)(4).

7 ‘‘(6) For purposes of this subsection—

8 ‘‘(A) the term ‘trust’ includes any legal instru9 ment or device that is similar to a trust;

10 ‘‘(B) the term ‘corpus’ means, with respect to

11 a trust, all property and other interests held by the

12 trust, including accumulated earnings and any other

13 addition to the trust after its establishment (except

14 that such term does not include any such earnings

15 or addition in the month in which the earnings or

16 addition is credited or otherwise transferred to the

17 trust); and

18 ‘‘(C) the term ‘asset’ includes any income or re19 source of the individual or of the individual’s spouse,

20 including—

21 ‘‘(i) any income excluded by section

22 1612(b);

23 ‘‘(ii) any resource otherwise excluded by

24 this section; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) any other payment or property to

2 which the individual or the individual’s spouse

3 is entitled but does not receive or have access

4 to because of action by—

5 ‘‘(I) the individual or spouse;

6 ‘‘(II) a person or entity (including a

7 court) with legal authority to act in place

8 of, or on behalf of, the individual or

9 spouse; or

10 ‘‘(III) a person or entity (including a

11 court) acting at the direction of, or on the

12 request of, the individual or spouse.’’.

13 (b) TREATMENT AS INCOME.—Section 1612(a)(2) of

14 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(a)(2)) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara16 graph (E);

17 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub18 paragraph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

19 (3) by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(G) any earnings of, and additions to, the cor21 pus of a trust established by an individual (within

22 the meaning of section 1613(e)), of which the indi23 vidual is a beneficiary, to which section 1613(e) ap24 plies, and, in the case of an irrevocable trust, with

25 respect to which circumstances exist under which a
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1 payment from the earnings or additions could be

2 made to or for the benefit of the individual.’’.

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

4 1902(a)(10) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

5 1396a(a)(10)) is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara7 graph (E);

8 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara9 graph (F); and

10 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(G) that, in applying eligibility criteria of

13 the supplemental security income program

14 under title XVI for purposes of determining eli15 gibility for medical assistance under the State

16 plan of an individual who is not receiving sup17 plemental security income, the State will dis18 regard the provisions of section 1613(e);’’.

19 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

20 this section shall take effect on January 1, 2000, and shall

21 apply to trusts established on or after such date.

22 SEC. 207. DISPOSAL OF RESOURCES FOR LESS THAN FAIR

23 MARKET VALUE UNDER THE SSI PROGRAM.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1613(c) of the Social Se25 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(c)) is amended—
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1 (1) in the caption, by striking ‘‘Notification of

2 Medicaid Policy Restricting Eligibility of Institu3 tionalized Individuals for Benefits Based on’’;

4 (2) in paragraph (1)—

5 (A) in subparagraph (A)—

6 (i) by inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) and’’

7 after ‘‘provisions of’’;

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘title XIX’’ the first

9 place it appears and inserting ‘‘this title

10 and title XIX, respectively,’’;

11 (iii) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’

12 and inserting ‘‘clause (ii)’’;

13 (iv) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’;

15 (B) in subparagraph (B)—

16 (i) by striking ‘‘by the State agency’’;

17 and

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 1917(c)’’ and

19 all that follows and inserting ‘‘paragraph

20 (1) or section 1917(c).’’; and

21 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)

22 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;

23 (3) in paragraph (2)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(B)’’;

25 and
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)(ii)’’;

3 (4) by striking ‘‘(c)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)(A)’’;

4 and

5 (5) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re6 designated by paragraph (4) of this subsection) the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(c)(1)(A)(i) If an individual or the spouse of an indi9 vidual disposes of resources for less than fair market value

10 on or after the look-back date described in clause (ii)(I),

11 the individual is ineligible for benefits under this title for

12 months during the period beginning on the date described

13 in clause (iii) and equal to the number of months cal14 culated as provided in clause (iv).

15 ‘‘(ii)(I) The look-back date described in this sub16 clause is a date that is 36 months before the date de17 scribed in subclause (II).

18 ‘‘(II) The date described in this subclause is the date

19 on which the individual applies for benefits under this title

20 or, if later, the date on which the individual (or the spouse

21 of the individual) disposes of resources for less than fair

22 market value.

23 ‘‘(iii) The date described in this clause is the first

24 day of the first month in or after which resources were

25 disposed of for less than fair market value and which does
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1 not occur in any other period of ineligibility under this

2 paragraph.

3 ‘‘(iv) The number of months calculated under this

4 clause shall be equal to—

5 ‘‘(I) the total, cumulative uncompensated value

6 of all resources so disposed of by the individual (or

7 the spouse of the individual) on or after the look8 back date described in clause (ii)(I); divided by

9 ‘‘(II) the amount of the maximum monthly ben10 efit payable under section 1611(b), plus the amount

11 (if any) of the maximum State supplementary pay12 ment corresponding to the State’s payment level ap13 plicable to the individual’s living arrangement and

14 eligibility category that would otherwise be payable

15 to the individual by the Commissioner pursuant to

16 an agreement under section 1616(a) of this Act or

17 section 212(b) of Public Law 93–66, for the month

18 in which occurs the date described in clause (ii)(II),

19 rounded, in the case of any fraction, to the nearest whole

20 number, but shall not in any case exceed 36 months.

21 ‘‘(B)(i) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), this sub22 section shall not apply to a transfer of a resource to a

23 trust if the portion of the trust attributable to the resource

24 is considered a resource available to the individual pursu-
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1 ant to subsection (e)(3) (or would be so considered but

2 for the application of subsection (e)(4)).

3 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a trust established by an indi4 vidual or an individual’s spouse (within the meaning of

5 subsection (e)), if from such portion of the trust, if any,

6 that is considered a resource available to the individual

7 pursuant to subsection (e)(3) (or would be so considered

8 but for the application of subsection (e)(4)) or the residue

9 of the portion on the termination of the trust—

10 ‘‘(I) there is made a payment other than to or

11 for the benefit of the individual; or

12 ‘‘(II) no payment could under any circumstance

13 be made to the individual,

14 then, for purposes of this subsection, the payment de15 scribed in clause (I) or the foreclosure of payment de16 scribed in clause (II) shall be considered a transfer of re17 sources by the individual or the individual’s spouse as of

18 the date of the payment or foreclosure, as the case may

19 be.

20 ‘‘(C) An individual shall not be ineligible for benefits

21 under this title by reason of the application of this para22 graph to a disposal of resources by the individual or the

23 spouse of the individual, to the extent that—

24 ‘‘(i) the resources are a home and title to the

25 home was transferred to—
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1 ‘‘(I) the spouse of the transferor;

2 ‘‘(II) a child of the transferor who has not

3 attained 21 years of age, or is blind or disabled;

4 ‘‘(III) a sibling of the transferor who has

5 an equity interest in such home and who was

6 residing in the transferor’s home for a period of

7 at least 1 year immediately before the date the

8 transferor becomes an institutionalized indi9 vidual; or

10 ‘‘(IV) a son or daughter of the transferor

11 (other than a child described in subclause (II))

12 who was residing in the transferor’s home for

13 a period of at least 2 years immediately before

14 the date the transferor becomes an institu15 tionalized individual, and who provided care to

16 the transferor which permitted the transferor to

17 reside at home rather than in such an institu18 tion or facility;

19 ‘‘(ii) the resources—

20 ‘‘(I) were transferred to the transferor’s

21 spouse or to another for the sole benefit of the

22 transferor’s spouse;

23 ‘‘(II) were transferred from the trans24 feror’s spouse to another for the sole benefit of

25 the transferor’s spouse;
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1 ‘‘(III) were transferred to, or to a trust

2 (including a trust described in section

3 1917(d)(4)) established solely for the benefit of,

4 the transferor’s child who is blind or disabled;

5 or

6 ‘‘(IV) were transferred to a trust (includ7 ing a trust described in section 1917(d)(4)) es8 tablished solely for the benefit of an individual

9 who has not attained 65 years of age and who

10 is disabled;

11 ‘‘(iii) a satisfactory showing is made to the

12 Commissioner of Social Security (in accordance with

13 regulations promulgated by the Commissioner)

14 that—

15 ‘‘(I) the individual who disposed of the re16 sources intended to dispose of the resources ei17 ther at fair market value, or for other valuable

18 consideration;

19 ‘‘(II) the resources were transferred exclu20 sively for a purpose other than to qualify for

21 benefits under this title; or

22 ‘‘(III) all resources transferred for less

23 than fair market value have been returned to

24 the transferor; or
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1 ‘‘(iv) the Commissioner determines, under pro2 cedures established by the Commissioner, that the

3 denial of eligibility would work an undue hardship as

4 determined on the basis of criteria established by the

5 Commissioner.

6 ‘‘(D) For purposes of this subsection, in the case of

7 a resource held by an individual in common with another

8 person or persons in a joint tenancy, tenancy in common,

9 or similar arrangement, the resource (or the affected por10 tion of such resource) shall be considered to be disposed

11 of by the individual when any action is taken, either by

12 the individual or by any other person, that reduces or

13 eliminates the individual’s ownership or control of such re14 source.

15 ‘‘(E) In the case of a transfer by the spouse of an

16 individual that results in a period of ineligibility for the

17 individual under this subsection, the Commissioner shall

18 apportion the period (or any portion of the period) among

19 the individual and the individual’s spouse if the spouse be20 comes eligible for benefits under this title.

21 ‘‘(F) For purposes of this paragraph—

22 ‘‘(i) the term ‘benefits under this title’ includes

23 payments of the type described in section 1616(a) of

24 this Act and of the type described in section 212(b)

25 of Public Law 93–66;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘institutionalized individual’ has

2 the meaning given such term in section 1917(e)(3);

3 and

4 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘trust’ has the meaning given

5 such term in subsection (e)(6)(A) of this section.’’.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

7 1902(a)(10) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

8 1396a(a)(10)), as amended by section 206(c) of this Act,

9 is amended by striking ‘‘section 1613(e)’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘subsections (c) and (e) of section 1613’’.

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

12 this section shall be effective with respect to disposals

13 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

14 SEC. 208. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR IMPOSING

15 PENALTIES FOR FALSE OR MISLEADING

16 STATEMENTS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title XI of the Social

18 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by in19 serting after section 1129 the following:

20 ‘‘SEC. 1129A. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR IMPOSING

21 PENALTIES FOR FALSE OR MISLEADING

22 STATEMENTS.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who makes, or

24 causes to be made, a statement or representation of a ma-
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1 terial fact for use in determining any initial or continuing

2 right to or the amount of—

3 ‘‘(1) monthly insurance benefits under title II;

4 or

5 ‘‘(2) benefits or payments under title XVI,

6 that the person knows or should know is false or mis7 leading or knows or should know omits a material fact

8 or makes such a statement with knowing disregard for the

9 truth shall be subject to, in addition to any other penalties

10 that may be prescribed by law, a penalty described in sub11 section (b) to be imposed by the Commissioner of Social

12 Security.

13 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—The penalty described in this sub14 section is—

15 ‘‘(1) nonpayment of benefits under title II that

16 would otherwise be payable to the person; and

17 ‘‘(2) ineligibility for cash benefits under title

18 XVI,

19 for each month that begins during the applicable period

20 described in subsection (c).

21 ‘‘(c) DURATION OF PENALTY.—The duration of the

22 applicable period, with respect to a determination by the

23 Commissioner under subsection (a) that a person has en24 gaged in conduct described in subsection (a), shall be—
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1 ‘‘(1) six consecutive months, in the case of a

2 first such determination with respect to the person;

3 ‘‘(2) twelve consecutive months, in the case of

4 a second such determination with respect to the per5 son; and

6 ‘‘(3) twenty-four consecutive months, in the

7 case of a third or subsequent such determination

8 with respect to the person.

9 ‘‘(d) EFFECT ON OTHER ASSISTANCE.—A person

10 subject to a period of nonpayment of benefits under title

11 II or ineligibility for title XVI benefits by reason of this

12 section nevertheless shall be considered to be eligible for

13 and receiving such benefits, to the extent that the person

14 would be receiving or eligible for such benefits but for the

15 imposition of the penalty, for purposes of—

16 ‘‘(1) determination of the eligibility of the per17 son for benefits under titles XVIII and XIX; and

18 ‘‘(2) determination of the eligibility or amount

19 of benefits payable under title II or XVI to another

20 person.

21 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘benefits

22 under title XVI’ includes State supplementary payments

23 made by the Commissioner pursuant to an agreement

24 under section 1616(a) of this Act or section 212(b) of

25 Public Law 93–66.
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1 ‘‘(f) CONSULTATIONS.—The Commissioner of Social

2 Security shall consult with the Inspector General of the

3 Social Security Administration regarding initiating actions

4 under this section.’’.

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT PRECLUDING DE6 LAYED RETIREMENT CREDIT FOR ANY MONTH TO WHICH

7 A NONPAYMENT OF BENEFITS PENALTY APPLIES.—Sec8 tion 202(w)(2)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(w)(2)(B))

9 is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i);

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

12 (ii) and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and

13 (3) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(iii) such individual was not subject to a

15 penalty imposed under section 1129A.’’.

16 (c) ELIMINATION OF REDUNDANT PROVISION.—Sec17 tion 1611(e) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)) is

18 amended—

19 (1) by striking paragraph (4);

20 (2) in paragraph (6)(A)(i), by striking ‘‘(5)’’

21 and inserting ‘‘(4)’’; and

22 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as

23 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively.

24 (d) REGULATIONS.—Within 6 months after the date

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Social
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1 Security shall develop regulations that prescribe the ad2 ministrative process for making determinations under sec3 tion 1129A of the Social Security Act (including when the

4 applicable period in subsection (c) of such section shall

5 commence), and shall provide guidance on the exercise of

6 discretion as to whether the penalty should be imposed

7 in particular cases.

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

9 this section shall apply to statements and representations

10 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

11 SEC. 209. EXCLUSION OF REPRESENTATIVES AND HEALTH

12 CARE PROVIDERS CONVICTED OF VIOLA13 TIONS FROM PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL SE14 CURITY PROGRAMS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title XI of the Social

16 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301–1320b–17) is amended by

17 adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘EXCLUSION OF REPRESENTATIVES AND HEALTH CARE

19 PROVIDERS CONVICTED OF VIOLATIONS FROM PAR20 TICIPATION IN SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS

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

22 of Social Security shall exclude from participation in the

23 social security programs any representative or health care

24 provider—

25 ‘‘(1) who is convicted of a violation of section

26 208 or 1632 of this Act;
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1 ‘‘(2) who is convicted of any violation under

2 title 18, United States Code, relating to an initial

3 application for or continuing entitlement to, or

4 amount of, benefits under title II of this Act, or an

5 initial application for or continuing eligibility for, or

6 amount of, benefits under title XVI of this Act; or

7 ‘‘(3) who the Commissioner determines has

8 committed an offense described in section

9 1129(a)(1) of this Act.

10 ‘‘(b) NOTICE, EFFECTIVE DATE, AND PERIOD OF

11 EXCLUSION.—(1) An exclusion under this section shall be

12 effective at such time, for such period, and upon such rea13 sonable notice to the public and to the individual excluded

14 as may be specified in regulations consistent with para15 graph (2).

16 ‘‘(2) Such an exclusion shall be effective with respect

17 to services furnished to any individual on or after the ef18 fective date of the exclusion. Nothing in this section may

19 be construed to preclude, in determining disability under

20 title II or title XVI, consideration of any medical evidence

21 derived from services provided by a health care provider

22 before the effective date of the exclusion of the health care

23 provider under this section.
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1 ‘‘(3)(A) The Commissioner shall specify, in the notice

2 of exclusion under paragraph (1), the period of the exclu3 sion.

4 ‘‘(B) Subject to subparagraph (C), in the case of an

5 exclusion under subsection (a), the minimum period of ex6 clusion shall be five years, except that the Commissioner

7 may waive the exclusion in the case of an individual who

8 is the sole source of essential services in a community. The

9 Commissioner’s decision whether to waive the exclusion

10 shall not be reviewable.

11 ‘‘(C) In the case of an exclusion of an individual

12 under subsection (a) based on a conviction or a determina13 tion described in subsection (a)(3) occurring on or after

14 the date of the enactment of this section, if the individual

15 has (before, on, or after such date of the enactment) been

16 convicted, or if such a determination has been made with

17 respect to the individual—

18 ‘‘(i) on one previous occasion of one or more of19 fenses for which an exclusion may be effected under

20 such subsection, the period of the exclusion shall be

21 not less than 10 years; or

22 ‘‘(ii) on two or more previous occasions of one

23 or more offenses for which an exclusion may be ef24 fected under such subsection, the period of the ex25 clusion shall be permanent.
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1 ‘‘(c) NOTICE TO STATE AGENCIES.—The Commis2 sioner shall promptly notify each appropriate State agency

3 employed for the purpose of making disability determina4 tions under section 221 or 1633(a)—

5 ‘‘(1) of the fact and circumstances of each ex6 clusion effected against an individual under this sec7 tion; and

8 ‘‘(2) of the period (described in subsection

9 (b)(3)) for which the State agency is directed to ex10 clude the individual from participation in the activi11 ties of the State agency in the course of its employ12 ment.

13 ‘‘(d) NOTICE TO STATE LICENSING AGENCIES.—The

14 Commissioner shall—

15 ‘‘(1) promptly notify the appropriate State or

16 local agency or authority having responsibility for

17 the licensing or certification of an individual ex18 cluded from participation under this section of the

19 fact and circumstances of the exclusion;

20 ‘‘(2) request that appropriate investigations be

21 made and sanctions invoked in accordance with ap22 plicable State law and policy; and

23 ‘‘(3) request that the State or local agency or

24 authority keep the Commissioner and the Inspector

25 General of the Social Security Administration fully
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1 and currently informed with respect to any actions

2 taken in response to the request.

3 ‘‘(e) NOTICE, HEARING, AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

4 (1) Any individual who is excluded (or directed to be ex5 cluded) from participation under this section is entitled

6 to reasonable notice and opportunity for a hearing thereon

7 by the Commissioner to the same extent as is provided

8 in section 205(b), and to judicial review of the Commis9 sioner’s final decision after such hearing as is provided

10 in section 205(g).

11 ‘‘(2) The provisions of section 205(h) shall apply with

12 respect to this section to the same extent as it is applicable

13 with respect to title II.

14 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION FOR TERMINATION OF EXCLU15 SION.—(1) An individual excluded from participation

16 under this section may apply to the Commissioner, in the

17 manner specified by the Commissioner in regulations and

18 at the end of the minimum period of exclusion provided

19 under subsection (b)(3) and at such other times as the

20 Commissioner may provide, for termination of the exclu21 sion effected under this section.

22 ‘‘(2) The Commissioner may terminate the exclusion

23 if the Commissioner determines, on the basis of the con24 duct of the applicant which occurred after the date of the
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1 notice of exclusion or which was unknown to the Commis2 sioner at the time of the exclusion, that—

3 ‘‘(A) there is no basis under subsection (a) for

4 a continuation of the exclusion; and

5 ‘‘(B) there are reasonable assurances that the

6 types of actions which formed the basis for the origi7 nal exclusion have not recurred and will not recur.

8 ‘‘(3) The Commissioner shall promptly notify each

9 State agency employed for the purpose of making dis10 ability determinations under section 221 or 1633(a) of the

11 fact and circumstances of each termination of exclusion

12 made under this subsection.

13 ‘‘(g) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS OF EXCLUDED

14 REPRESENTATIVES AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.—

15 Nothing in this section shall be construed to have the ef16 fect of limiting access by any applicant or beneficiary

17 under title II or XVI, any State agency acting under sec18 tion 221 or 1633(a), or the Commissioner to records main19 tained by any representative or health care provider in

20 connection with services provided to the applicant or bene21 ficiary prior to the exclusion of such representative or

22 health care provider under this section.

23 ‘‘(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Any representa24 tive or health care provider participating in, or seeking

25 to participate in, a social security program shall inform
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1 the Commissioner, in such form and manner as the Com2 missioner shall prescribe by regulation, whether such rep3 resentative or health care provider has been convicted of

4 a violation described in subsection (a).

5 ‘‘(i) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The Commis6 sioner may delegate authority granted by this section to

7 the Inspector General.

8 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

9 ‘‘(1) EXCLUDE.—The term ‘exclude’ from par10 ticipation means—

11 ‘‘(A) in connection with a representative,

12 to prohibit from engaging in representation of

13 an applicant for, or recipient of, benefits, as a

14 representative payee under section 205(j) or

15 1631(a)(2)(A)(ii), or otherwise as a representa16 tive, in any hearing or other proceeding relating

17 to entitlement to benefits; and

18 ‘‘(B) in connection with a health care pro19 vider, to prohibit from providing items or serv20 ices to an applicant for, or recipient of, benefits

21 for the purpose of assisting such applicant or

22 recipient in demonstrating disability.

23 ‘‘(2) SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM.—The term

24 ‘social security programs’ means the program pro25 viding for monthly insurance benefits under title II,
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1 and the program providing for monthly supplemental

2 security income benefits to individuals under title

3 XVI (including State supplementary payments made

4 by the Commissioner pursuant to an agreement

5 under section 1616(a) of this Act or section 212(b)

6 of Public Law 93–66).

7 ‘‘(3) CONVICTED.—An individual is considered

8 to have been ‘convicted’ of a violation—

9 ‘‘(A) when a judgment of conviction has

10 been entered against the individual by a Fed11 eral, State, or local court, except if the judg12 ment of conviction has been set aside or ex13 punged;

14 ‘‘(B) when there has been a finding of

15 guilt against the individual by a Federal, State,

16 or local court;

17 ‘‘(C) when a plea of guilty or nolo

18 contendere by the individual has been accepted

19 by a Federal, State, or local court; or

20 ‘‘(D) when the individual has entered into

21 participation in a first offender, deferred adju22 dication, or other arrangement or program

23 where judgment of conviction has been with24 held.’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 this section shall apply with respect to convictions of viola3 tions described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section

4 1148(a) of the Social Security Act and determinations de5 scribed in paragraph (3) of such section occurring on or

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

7 SEC. 210. STATE DATA EXCHANGES.

8 Whenever the Commissioner of Social Security re9 quests information from a State for the purpose of

10 ascertaining an individual’s eligibility for benefits (or the

11 correct amount of such benefits) under title II or XVI of

12 the Social Security Act, the standards of the Commis13 sioner promulgated pursuant to section 1106 of such Act

14 or any other Federal law for the use, safeguarding, and

15 disclosure of information are deemed to meet any stand16 ards of the State that would otherwise apply to the disclo17 sure of information by the State to the Commissioner.

18 SEC. 211. STUDY ON POSSIBLE MEASURES TO IMPROVE

19 FRAUD PREVENTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE

20 PROCESSING.

21 (a) STUDY.—As soon as practicable after the date of

22 the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Se23 curity, in consultation with the Inspector General of the

24 Social Security Administration and the Attorney General,

25 shall conduct a study of possible measures to improve—
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1 (1) prevention of fraud on the part of individ2 uals entitled to disability benefits under section 223

3 of the Social Security Act or benefits under section

4 202 of such Act based on the beneficiary’s disability,

5 individuals eligible for supplemental security income

6 benefits under title XVI of such Act, and applicants

7 for any such benefits; and

8 (2) timely processing of reported income

9 changes by individuals receiving such benefits.

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall sub12 mit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House

13 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the

14 Senate a written report that contains the results of the

15 Commissioner’s study under subsection (a). The report

16 shall contain such recommendations for legislative and ad17 ministrative changes as the Commissioner considers ap18 propriate.

19 SEC. 212. ANNUAL REPORT ON AMOUNTS NECESSARY TO

20 COMBAT FRAUD.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 704(b)(1) of the Social

22 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 904(b)(1)) is amended—

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(b)(1)’’; and

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub25 paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(B) The Commissioner shall include in the annual

2 budget prepared pursuant to subparagraph (A) an

3 itemization of the amount of funds required by the Social

4 Security Administration for the fiscal year covered by the

5 budget to support efforts to combat fraud committed by

6 applicants and beneficiaries.’’.

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

8 this section shall apply with respect to annual budgets pre9 pared for fiscal years after fiscal year 1999.

10 SEC. 213. COMPUTER MATCHES WITH MEDICARE AND MED11 ICAID INSTITUTIONALIZATION DATA.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1611(e)(1) of the Social

13 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)), as amended by sec14 tion 205(b)(2) of this Act, is further amended by adding

15 at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(K) For the purpose of carrying out this paragraph,

17 the Commissioner of Social Security shall conduct periodic

18 computer matches with data maintained by the Secretary

19 of Health and Human Services under title XVIII or XIX.

20 The Secretary shall furnish to the Commissioner, in such

21 form and manner and under such terms as the Commis22 sioner and the Secretary shall mutually agree, such infor23 mation as the Commissioner may request for this purpose.

24 Information obtained pursuant to such a match may be
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1 substituted for the physician’s certification otherwise re2 quired under subparagraph (G)(i).’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

4 1611(e)(1)(G) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(e)(1)(G)) is

5 amended by striking ‘‘subparagraph (H)’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘subparagraph (H) or (K)’’.

7 SEC. 214. ACCESS TO INFORMATION HELD BY FINANCIAL

8 INSTITUTIONS.

9 Section 1631(e)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42

10 U.S.C. 1383(e)(1)(B)) is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘(B) The’’ and inserting ‘‘(B)(i)

12 The’’; and

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new

14 clause:

15 ‘‘(ii)(I) The Commissioner of Social Security may re16 quire each applicant for, or recipient of, benefits under

17 this title to provide authorization by the applicant or re18 cipient (or by any other person whose income or resources

19 are material to the determination of the eligibility of the

20 applicant or recipient for such benefits) for the Commis21 sioner to obtain (subject to the cost reimbursement re22 quirements of section 1115(a) of the Right to Financial

23 Privacy Act) from any financial institution (within the

24 meaning of section 1101(1) of such Act) any financial

25 record (within the meaning of section 1101(2) of such
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1 Act) held by the institution with respect to the applicant

2 or recipient (or any such other person) whenever the Com3 missioner determines the record is needed in connection

4 with a determination with respect to such eligibility or the

5 amount of such benefits.

6 ‘‘(II) Notwithstanding section 1104(a)(1) of the

7 Right to Financial Privacy Act, an authorization provided

8 by an applicant or recipient (or any other person whose

9 income or resources are material to the determination of

10 the eligibility of the applicant or recipient) pursuant to

11 subclause (I) of this clause shall remain effective until the

12 earliest of—

13 ‘‘(aa) the rendering of a final adverse decision

14 on the applicant’s application for eligibility for bene15 fits under this title;

16 ‘‘(bb) the cessation of the recipient’s eligibility

17 for benefits under this title; or

18 ‘‘(cc) the express revocation by the applicant or

19 recipient (or such other person referred to in sub20 clause (I)) of the authorization, in a written notifica21 tion to the Commissioner.

22 ‘‘(III)(aa) An authorization obtained by the Commis23 sioner of Social Security pursuant to this clause shall be

24 considered to meet the requirements of the Right to Fi25 nancial Privacy Act for purposes of section 1103(a) of
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1 such Act, and need not be furnished to the financial insti2 tution, notwithstanding section 1104(a) of such Act.

3 ‘‘(bb) The certification requirements of section

4 1103(b) of the Right to Financial Privacy Act shall not

5 apply to requests by the Commissioner of Social Security

6 pursuant to an authorization provided under this clause.

7 ‘‘(cc) A request by the Commissioner pursuant to an

8 authorization provided under this clause is deemed to meet

9 the requirements of section 1104(a)(3) of the Right to Fi10 nancial Privacy Act and the flush language of section

11 1102 of such Act.

12 ‘‘(IV) The Commissioner shall inform any person who

13 provides authorization pursuant to this clause of the dura14 tion and scope of the authorization.

15 ‘‘(V) If an applicant for, or recipient of, benefits

16 under this title (or any such other person referred to in

17 subclause (I)) refuses to provide, or revokes, any author18 ization made by the applicant or recipient for the Commis19 sioner of Social Security to obtain from any financial insti20 tution any financial record, the Commissioner may, on

21 that basis, determine that the applicant or recipient is in22 eligible for benefits under this title.’’.
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1 Subtitle B—Special Benefits For

2 Certain World War II Veterans

3 SEC. 251. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM OF SPECIAL BEN4 EFITS FOR CERTAIN WORLD WAR II VET5 ERANS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Social Security Act is amend7 ed by inserting after title VII the following:

8 ‘‘TITLE VIII—SPECIAL BENEFITS

9 FOR CERTAIN WORLD WAR II

10 VETERANS

‘‘TABLE OF CONTENTS

‘‘Sec. 801. Basic entitlement to benefits.

‘‘Sec. 802. Qualified individuals.

‘‘Sec. 803. Residence outside the United States.

‘‘Sec. 804. Disqualifications.

‘‘Sec. 805. Benefit amount.

‘‘Sec. 806. Applications and furnishing of information.

‘‘Sec. 807. Representative payees.

‘‘Sec. 808. Overpayments and underpayments.

‘‘Sec. 809. Hearings and review.

‘‘Sec. 810. Other administrative provisions.

‘‘Sec. 811. Penalties for fraud.

‘‘Sec. 812. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 813. Appropriations.

11 ‘‘SEC. 801. BASIC ENTITLEMENT TO BENEFITS.

12 ‘‘Every individual who is a qualified individual under

13 section 802 shall, in accordance with and subject to the

14 provisions of this title, be entitled to a monthly benefit

15 paid by the Commissioner of Social Security for each

16 month after September 2000 (or such earlier month, if

17 the Commissioner determines is administratively feasible)

18 the individual resides outside the United States.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 802. QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.

2 ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this title, an

3 individual—

4 ‘‘(1) who has attained the age of 65 on or be5 fore the date of the enactment of this title;

6 ‘‘(2) who is a World War II veteran;

7 ‘‘(3) who is eligible for a supplemental security

8 income benefit under title XVI for—

9 ‘‘(A) the month in which this title is en10 acted; and

11 ‘‘(B) the month in which the individual

12 files an application for benefits under this title;

13 ‘‘(4) whose total benefit income is less than 75

14 percent of the Federal benefit rate under title XVI;

15 ‘‘(5) who has filed an application for benefits

16 under this title; and

17 ‘‘(6) who is in compliance with all requirements

18 imposed by the Commissioner of Social Security

19 under this title,

20 shall be a qualified individual for purposes of this title.

21 ‘‘SEC. 803. RESIDENCE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

22 For purposes of section 801, with respect to any

23 month, an individual shall be regarded as residing outside

24 the United States if, on the first day of the month, the

25 individual so resides outside the United States.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 804. DISQUALIFICATIONS.

2 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 802, an individual may not

3 be a qualified individual for any month—

4 ‘‘(1) that begins after the month in which the

5 Commissioner of Social Security is notified by the

6 Attorney General that the individual has been re7 moved from the United States pursuant to section

8 237(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and

9 before the month in which the Commissioner of So10 cial Security is notified by the Attorney General that

11 the individual is lawfully admitted to the United

12 States for permanent residence;

13 ‘‘(2) during any part of which the individual is

14 outside the United States due to flight to avoid pros15 ecution, or custody or confinement after conviction,

16 under the laws of the United States or the jurisdic17 tion within the United States from which the person

18 has fled, for a crime, or an attempt to commit a

19 crime, that is a felony under the laws of the place

20 from which the individual has fled, or which, in the

21 case of the State of New Jersey, is a high mis22 demeanor under the laws of such State;

23 ‘‘(3) during any part of which which the indi24 vidual violates a condition of probation or parole im25 posed under Federal or State law; or
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1 ‘‘(4) during any part of which the individual is

2 confined in a jail, prison, or other penal institution

3 or correctional facility pursuant to a conviction of an

4 offense.

5 ‘‘SEC. 805. BENEFIT AMOUNT.

6 ‘‘The benefit under this title payable to a qualified

7 individual for any month shall be in an amount equal to

8 75 percent of the Federal benefit rate under title XVI for

9 the month, reduced by the amount of the qualified individ10 ual’s benefit income for the month.

11 ‘‘SEC. 806. APPLICATIONS AND FURNISHING OF INFORMA12 TION.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Social Se14 curity shall, subject to subsection (b), prescribe such re15 quirements with respect to the filing of applications, the

16 furnishing of information and other material, and the re17 porting of events and changes in circumstances, as may

18 be necessary for the effective and efficient administration

19 of this title.

20 ‘‘(b) VERIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The require21 ments prescribed by the Commissioner of Social Security

22 under subsection (a) shall preclude any determination of

23 entitlement to benefits under this title solely on the basis

24 of declarations by the individual concerning qualifications

25 or other material facts, and shall provide for verification
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1 of material information from independent or collateral

2 sources, and the procurement of additional information as

3 necessary in order to ensure that the benefits are provided

4 only to qualified individuals (or their representative pay5 ees) in correct amounts.

6 ‘‘SEC. 807. REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Commissioner of Social

8 Security determines that the interest of any qualified indi9 vidual under this title would be served thereby, payment

10 of the qualified individual’s benefit under this title may

11 be made, regardless of the legal competency or incom12 petency of the qualified individual, either directly to the

13 qualified individual, or for his or her benefit, to another

14 person (the meaning of which term, for purposes of this

15 section, includes an organization) with respect to whom

16 the requirements of subsection (b) have been met (in this

17 section referred to as the qualified individual’s ’representa18 tive payee’). If the Commissioner of Social Security deter19 mines that a representative payee has misused any benefit

20 paid to the representative payee pursuant to this section,

21 section 205(j), or section 1631(a)(2), the Commissioner

22 of Social Security shall promptly revoke the person’s des23 ignation as the qualified individual’s representative payee

24 under this subsection, and shall make payment to an alter25 native representative payee or, if the interest of the quali-
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1 fied individual under this title would be served thereby,

2 to the qualified individual.

3 ‘‘(b) EXAMINATION OF FITNESS OF PROSPECTIVE

4 REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE.—

5 ‘‘(1) Any determination under subsection (a) to

6 pay the benefits of a qualified individual to a rep7 resentative payee shall be made on the basis of—

8 ‘‘(A) an investigation by the Commissioner

9 of Social Security of the person to serve as rep10 resentative payee, which shall be conducted in

11 advance of the determination and shall, to the

12 extent practicable, include a face-to-face inter13 view with the person (or, in the case of an orga14 nization, a representative of the organization);

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) adequate evidence that the arrange17 ment is in the interest of the qualified indi18 vidual.

19 ‘‘(2) As part of the investigation referred to in

20 paragraph (1), the Commissioner of Social Security

21 shall—

22 ‘‘(A) require the person being investigated

23 to submit documented proof of the identity of

24 the person;
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a person who has a so2 cial security account number issued for pur3 poses of the program under title II or an em4 ployer identification number issued for purposes

5 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, verify

6 the number;

7 ‘‘(C) determine whether the person has

8 been convicted of a violation of section 208,

9 811, or 1632; and

10 ‘‘(D) determine whether payment of bene11 fits to the person in the capacity as representa12 tive payee has been revoked or terminated pur13 suant to this section, section 205(j), or section

14 1631(a)(2)(A)(iii) by reason of misuse of funds

15 paid as benefits under this title, title II, or title

16 XVI, respectively.

17 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT FOR CENTRALIZED FILE.—The

18 Commissioner of Social Security shall establish and main19 tain a centralized file, which shall be updated periodically

20 and which shall be in a form that renders it readily retriev21 able by each servicing office of the Social Security Admin22 istration. The file shall consist of—

23 ‘‘(1) a list of the names and social security ac24 count numbers or employer identification numbers

25 (if issued) of all persons with respect to whom, in
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1 the capacity of representative payee, the payment of

2 benefits has been revoked or terminated under this

3 section, section 205(j), or section 1631(a)(2)(A)(iii)

4 by reason of misuse of funds paid as benefits under

5 this title, title II, or title XVI, respectively; and

6 ‘‘(2) a list of the names and social security ac7 count numbers or employer identification numbers

8 (if issued) of all persons who have been convicted of

9 a violation of section 208, 811, or 1632.

10 ‘‘(d) PERSONS INELIGIBLE TO SERVE AS REP11 RESENTATIVE PAYEES.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The benefits of a qualified

13 individual may not be paid to any other person pur14 suant to this section if—

15 ‘‘(A) the person has been convicted of a

16 violation of section 208, 811, or 1632;

17 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (2),

18 payment of benefits to the person in the capac19 ity of representative payee has been revoked or

20 terminated under this section, section 205(j), or

21 section 1631(a)(2)(A)(ii) by reason of misuse of

22 funds paid as benefits under this title, title II,

23 or title XVI, respectively; or

24 ‘‘(C) except as provided in paragraph

25 (2)(B), the person is a creditor of the qualified
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1 individual and provides the qualified individual

2 with goods or services for consideration.

3 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—

4 ‘‘(A) The Commissioner of Social Security

5 may prescribe circumstances under which the

6 Commissioner of Social Security may grant an

7 exemption from paragraph (1) to any person on

8 a case-by-case basis if the exemption is in the

9 best interest of the qualified individual whose

10 benefits would be paid to the person pursuant

11 to this section.

12 ‘‘(B) Paragraph (1)(C) shall not apply

13 with respect to any person who is a creditor re14 ferred to in such paragraph if the creditor is—

15 ‘‘(i) a relative of the qualified indi16 vidual and the relative resides in the same

17 household as the qualified individual;

18 ‘‘(ii) a legal guardian or legal rep19 resentative of the individual;

20 ‘‘(iii) a facility that is licensed or cer21 tified as a care facility under the law of

22 the political jurisdiction in which the quali23 fied individual resides;

24 ‘‘(iv) a person who is an adminis25 trator, owner, or employee of a facility re-
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1 ferred to in clause (iii), if the qualified in2 dividual resides in the facility, and the pay3 ment to the facility or the person is made

4 only after the Commissioner of Social Se5 curity has made a good faith effort to lo6 cate an alternative representative payee to

7 whom payment would serve the best inter8 ests of the qualified individual; or

9 ‘‘(v) a person who is determined by

10 the Commissioner of Social Security, on

11 the basis of written findings and pursuant

12 to procedures prescribed by the Commis13 sioner of Social Security, to be acceptable

14 to serve as a representative payee.

15 ‘‘(C) The procedures referred to in sub16 paragraph (B)(v) shall require the person who

17 will serve as representative payee to establish,

18 to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of So19 cial Security, that—

20 ‘‘(i) the person poses no risk to the

21 qualified individual;

22 ‘‘(ii) the financial relationship of the

23 person to the qualified individual poses no

24 substantial conflict of interest; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) no other more suitable rep2 resentative payee can be found.

3 ‘‘(e) DEFERRAL OF PAYMENT PENDING APPOINT4 MENT OF REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

6 if the Commissioner of Social Security makes a de7 termination described in the first sentence of sub8 section (a) with respect to any qualified individual’s

9 benefit and determines that direct payment of the

10 benefit to the qualified individual would cause sub11 stantial harm to the qualified individual, the Com12 missioner of Social Security may defer (in the case

13 of initial entitlement) or suspend (in the case of ex14 isting entitlement) direct payment of the benefit to

15 the qualified individual, until such time as the selec16 tion of a representative payee is made pursuant to

17 this section.

18 ‘‘(2) TIME LIMITATION.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

20 subparagraph (B), any deferral or suspension of

21 direct payment of a benefit pursuant to para22 graph (1) shall be for a period of not more than

23 1 month.

24 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION IN THE CASE OF INCOM25 PETENCY.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply
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1 in any case in which the qualified individual is,

2 as of the date of the Commissioner of Social

3 Security’s determination, legally incompetent

4 under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the

5 individual resides.

6 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT OF RETROACTIVE BENEFITS.—

7 Payment of any benefits which are deferred or sus8 pended pending the selection of a representative

9 payee shall be made to the qualified individual or the

10 representative payee as a single sum or over such

11 period of time as the Commissioner of Social Secu12 rity determines is in the best interest of the qualified

13 individual.

14 ‘‘(f) HEARING.—Any qualified individual who is dis15 satisfied with a determination by the Commissioner of So16 cial Security to make payment of the qualified individual’s

17 benefit to a representative payee under subsection (a) of

18 this section or with the designation of a particular person

19 to serve as representative payee shall be entitled to a hear20 ing by the Commissioner of Social Security to the same

21 extent as is provided in section 809(a), and to judicial re22 view of the Commissioner of Social Security’s final deci23 sion as is provided in section 809(b).

24 ‘‘(g) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In advance of the payment

2 of a qualified individual’s benefit to a representative

3 payee under subsection (a), the Commissioner of So4 cial Security shall provide written notice of the Com5 missioner’s initial determination to so make the pay6 ment. The notice shall be provided to the qualified

7 individual, except that, if the qualified individual is

8 legally incompetent, then the notice shall be provided

9 solely to the legal guardian or legal representative of

10 the qualified individual.

11 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—Any notice re12 quired by paragraph (1) shall be clearly written in

13 language that is easily understandable to the reader,

14 shall identify the person to be designated as the

15 qualified individual’s representative payee, and shall

16 explain to the reader the right under subsection (f)

17 of the qualified individual or of the qualified individ18 ual’s legal guardian or legal representative—

19 ‘‘(A) to appeal a determination that a rep20 resentative payee is necessary for the qualified

21 individual;

22 ‘‘(B) to appeal the designation of a par23 ticular person to serve as the representative

24 payee of qualified individual; and
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1 ‘‘(C) to review the evidence upon which the

2 designation is based and to submit additional

3 evidence.

4 ‘‘(h) ACCOUNTABILITY MONITORING.—

5 ‘‘(1) In any case where payment under this title

6 is made to a person other than the qualified indi7 vidual entitled to the payment, the Commissioner of

8 Social Security shall establish a system of account9 ability monitoring under which the person shall re10 port not less often than annually with respect to the

11 use of the payments. The Commissioner of Social

12 Security shall establish and implement statistically

13 valid procedures for reviewing the reports in order to

14 identify instances in which persons are not properly

15 using the payments.

16 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL REPORTS.—Notwithstanding

17 paragraph (1), the Commissioner of Social Security

18 may require a report at any time from any person

19 receiving payments on behalf of a qualified indi20 vidual, if the Commissioner of Social Security has

21 reason to believe that the person receiving the pay22 ments is misusing the payments.

23 ‘‘(3) CENTRALIZED FILE.—The Commissioner

24 of Social Security shall maintain a centralized file,
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1 which shall be updated periodically and which shall

2 be in a form that is readily retrievable, of—

3 ‘‘(A) the name, address, and (if issued) the

4 social security account number or employer

5 identification number of each representative

6 payee who is receiving benefit payments pursu7 ant to this section, section 205(j), or section

8 1631(a)(2); and

9 ‘‘(B) the name, address, and social security

10 account number of each individual for whom

11 each representative payee is reported to be pro12 viding services as representative payee pursuant

13 to this section, section 205(j), or section

14 1631(a)(2).

15 ‘‘(4) The Commissioner of Social Security shall

16 maintain a list, which shall be updated periodically,

17 of public agencies and community-based nonprofit

18 social service agencies which are qualified to serve as

19 representative payees pursuant to this section and

20 which are located in the jurisdiction in which any

21 qualified individual resides.

22 ‘‘(i) RESTITUTION.—In any case

23 where the negligent failure of the Commis24 sioner of Social Security to investigate or

25 monitor a representative payee results in
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1 misuse of benefits by the representative

2 payee, the Commissioner of Social Security

3 shall make payment to the qualified indi4 vidual or the individual’s alternative rep5 resentative payee of an amount equal to

6 the misused benefits. The Commissioner of

7 Social Security shall make a good faith ef8 fort to obtain restitution from the termi9 nated representative payee.

10 ‘‘SEC. 808. OVERPAYMENTS AND UNDERPAYMENTS.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Commissioner of

12 Social Security finds that more or less than the correct

13 amount of payment has been made to any person under

14 this title, proper adjustment or recovery shall be made,

15 as follows:

16 ‘‘(1) With respect to payment to a person of

17 more than the correct amount, the Commissioner of

18 Social Security shall decrease any payment under

19 this title to which the overpaid person (if a qualified

20 individual) is entitled, or shall require the overpaid

21 person or his or her estate to refund the amount in

22 excess of the correct amount, or, if recovery is not

23 obtained under these two methods, shall seek or pur24 sue recovery by means of reduction in tax refunds

25 based on notice to the Secretary of the Treasury, as
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1 authorized under section 3720A of title 31, United

2 States Code.

3 ‘‘(2) With respect to payment of less than the

4 correct amount to a qualified individual who, at the

5 time the Commissioner of Social Security is pre6 pared to take action with respect to the

7 underpayment—

8 ‘‘(A) is living, the Commissioner of Social

9 Security shall make payment to the qualified in10 dividual (or the qualified individual’s represent11 ative payee designated under section 807) of

12 the balance of the amount due the underpaid

13 qualified individual; or

14 ‘‘(B) is deceased, the balance of the

15 amount due shall revert to the general fund of

16 the Treasury.

17 ‘‘(b) WAIVER OF RECOVERY OF OVERPAYMENT.—In

18 any case in which more than the correct amount of pay19 ment has been made, there shall be no adjustment of pay20 ments to, or recovery by the United States from, any per21 son who is without fault if the Commissioner of Social Se22 curity determines that the adjustment or recovery would

23 defeat the purpose of this title or would be against equity

24 and good conscience.
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1 ‘‘(c) LIMITED IMMUNITY FOR DISBURSING OFFI2 CERS.—A disbursing officer may not be held liable for any

3 amount paid by the officer if the adjustment or recovery

4 of the amount is waived under subsection (b), or adjust5 ment under subsection (a) is not completed before the

6 death of the qualified individual against whose benefits de7 ductions are authorized.

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED COLLECTION PRACTICES.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any delin10 quent amount, the Commissioner of Social Security

11 may use the collection practices described in sections

12 3711(e), 3716, and 3718 of title 31, United States

13 Code, as in effect on October 1, 1994.

14 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph

15 (1), the term ‘delinquent amount’ means an

16 amount—

17 ‘‘(A) in excess of the correct amount of the

18 payment under this title; and

19 ‘‘(B) determined by the Commissioner of

20 Social Security to be otherwise unrecoverable

21 under this section from a person who is not a

22 qualified individual under this title.

23 ‘‘SEC. 809. HEARINGS AND REVIEW.

24 ‘‘(a) HEARINGS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of So2 cial Security shall make findings of fact and deci3 sions as to the rights of any individual applying for

4 payment under this title. The Commissioner of So5 cial Security shall provide reasonable notice and op6 portunity for a hearing to any individual who is or

7 claims to be a qualified individual and is in disagree8 ment with any determination under this title with

9 respect to entitlement to, or the amount of, benefits

10 under this title, if the individual requests a hearing

11 on the matter in disagreement within 60 days after

12 notice of the determination is received, and, if a

13 hearing is held, shall, on the basis of evidence ad14 duced at the hearing affirm, modify, or reverse the

15 Commissioner of Social Security’s findings of fact

16 and the decision. The Commissioner of Social Secu17 rity may, on the Commissioner of Social Security’s

18 own motion, hold such hearings and to conduct such

19 investigations and other proceedings as the Commis20 sioner of Social Security deems necessary or proper

21 for the administration of this title. In the course of

22 any hearing, investigation, or other proceeding, the

23 Commissioner may administer oaths and affirma24 tions, examine witnesses, and receive evidence. Evi25 dence may be received at any hearing before the
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1 Commissioner of Social Security even though inad2 missible under the rules of evidence applicable to

3 court procedure. The Commissioner of Social Secu4 rity shall specifically take into account any physical,

5 mental, educational, or linguistic limitation of the in6 dividual (including any lack of facility with the

7 English language) in determining, with respect to

8 the entitlement of the individual for benefits under

9 this title, whether the individual acted in good faith

10 or was at fault, and in determining fraud, deception,

11 or intent.

12 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO TIMELY REQUEST

13 REVIEW.—A failure to timely request review of an

14 initial adverse determination with respect to an ap15 plication for any payment under this title or an ad16 verse determination on reconsideration of such an

17 initial determination shall not serve as a basis for

18 denial of a subsequent application for any payment

19 under this title if the applicant demonstrates that

20 the applicant failed to so request such a review act21 ing in good faith reliance upon incorrect, incomplete,

22 or misleading information, relating to the con23 sequences of reapplying for payments in lieu of seek24 ing review of an adverse determination, provided by
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1 any officer or employee of the Social Security Ad2 ministration.

3 ‘‘(3) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—In any notice of

4 an adverse determination with respect to which a re5 view may be requested under paragraph (1), the

6 Commissioner of Social Security shall describe in

7 clear and specific language the effect on possible en8 titlement to benefits under this title of choosing to

9 reapply in lieu of requesting review of the deter10 mination.

11 ‘‘(b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The final determination of

12 the Commissioner of Social Security after a hearing under

13 subsection (a)(1) shall be subject to judicial review as pro14 vided in section 205(g) to the same extent as the Commis15 sioner of Social Security’s final determinations under sec16 tion 205.

17 ‘‘SEC. 810. OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

18 ‘‘(a) REGULATIONS AND ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGE19 MENTS.—The Commissioner of Social Security may pre20 scribe such regulations, and make such administrative and

21 other arrangements, as may be necessary or appropriate

22 to carry out this title.

23 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT OF BENEFITS.—Benefits under this

24 title shall be paid at such time or times and in such install-
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1 ments as the Commissioner of Social Security determines

2 are in the interests of economy and efficiency.

3 ‘‘(c) ENTITLEMENT REDETERMINATIONS.—An indi4 vidual’s entitlement to benefits under this title, and the

5 amount of the benefits, may be redetermined at such time

6 or times as the Commissioner of Social Security deter7 mines to be appropriate.

8 ‘‘(d) SUSPENSION OF BENEFITS.—Regulations pre9 scribed by the Commissioner of Social Security under sub10 section (a) may provide for the temporary suspension of

11 entitlement to benefits under this title as the Commis12 sioner determines is appropriate.

13 ‘‘SEC. 811. PENALTIES FOR FRAUD.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever—

15 ‘‘(1) knowingly and willfully makes or causes to

16 be made any false statement or representation of a

17 material fact in an application for benefits under

18 this title;

19 ‘‘(2) at any time knowingly and willfully makes

20 or causes to be made any false statement or rep21 resentation of a material fact for use in determining

22 any right to the benefits;

23 ‘‘(3) having knowledge of the occurrence of any

24 event affecting—
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1 ‘‘(A) his or her initial or continued right to

2 the benefits; or

3 ‘‘(B) the initial or continued right to the

4 benefits of any other individual in whose behalf

5 he or she has applied for or is receiving the

6 benefit,

7 conceals or fails to disclose the event with an intent

8 fraudulently to secure the benefit either in a greater

9 amount or quantity than is due or when no such

10 benefit is authorized; or

11 ‘‘(4) having made application to receive any

12 such benefit for the use and benefit of another and

13 having received it, knowingly and willfully converts

14 the benefit or any part thereof to a use other than

15 for the use and benefit of the other individual,

16 shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, impris17 oned not more than 5 years, or both.

18 ‘‘(b) RESTITUTION BY REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE.—If

19 a person or organization violates subsection (a) in the per20 son’s or organization’s role as, or in applying to become,

21 a representative payee under section 807 on behalf of a

22 qualified individual, and the violation includes a willful

23 misuse of funds by the person or entity, the court may

24 also require that full or partial restitution of funds be

25 made to the qualified individual.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 812. DEFINITIONS.

2 ‘‘In this title:

3 ‘‘(1) WORLD WAR II VETERAN.—The term

4 ‘World War II veteran’ means a person who served

5 during World War II—

6 ‘‘(A) in the active military, naval, or air

7 service of the United States during World War

8 II, and who was discharged or released there9 from under conditions other than dishonorable

10 after service of 90 days or more; or

11 ‘‘(B) in the organized military forces of the

12 Government of the Commonwealth of the Phil13 ippines, while the forces were in the service of

14 the Armed Forces of the United States pursu15 ant to the military order of the President dated

16 July 26, 1941, including among the military

17 forces organized guerrilla forces under com18 manders appointed, designated, or subsequently

19 recognized by the Commander in Chief, South20 west Pacific Area, or other competent authority

21 in the Army of the United States, in any case

22 in which the service was rendered before De23 cember 31, 1946.

24 ‘‘(2) WORLD WAR II.—The term ‘World War II’

25 means the period beginning on September 16, 1940,

26 and ending on July 24, 1947.
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1 ‘‘(3) SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME BEN2 EFIT UNDER TITLE XVI.—The term ‘supplemental

3 security income benefit under title XVI’, except as

4 otherwise provided, includes State supplementary

5 payments which are paid by the Commissioner of

6 Social Security pursuant to an agreement under sec7 tion 1616(a) of this Act or section 212(b) of Public

8 Law 93–66.

9 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL BENEFIT RATE UNDER TITLE

10 XVI.—The term ‘Federal benefit rate under title

11 XVI’ means, with respect to any month, the amount

12 of the supplemental security income cash benefit

13 (not including any State supplementary payment

14 which is paid by the Commissioner of Social Security

15 pursuant to an agreement under section 1616(a) of

16 this Act or section 212(b) of Public Law 93–66)

17 payable under title XVI for the month to an eligible

18 individual with no income.

19 ‘‘(5) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘United

20 States’ means, notwithstanding section 1101(a)(1),

21 only the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the

22 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

23 ‘‘(6) BENEFIT INCOME.—The term ‘benefit in24 come’ means any recurring payment received by a

25 qualified individual as an annuity, pension, retire-
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1 ment, or disability benefit (including any veterans’

2 compensation or pension, workmen’s compensation

3 payment, old-age, survivors, or disability insurance

4 benefit, railroad retirement annuity or pension, and

5 unemployment insurance benefit), but only if a simi6 lar payment was received by the individual from the

7 same (or a related) source during the 12-month pe8 riod preceding the month in which the individual

9 files an application for benefits under this title.

10 ‘‘SEC. 813. APPROPRIATIONS.

11 ‘‘There are hereby appropriated for fiscal year 2001

12 and subsequent fiscal years such sums as may be nec13 essary to carry out this title.’’.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

15 (1) SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUNDS LAE AC16 COUNT.—Section 201(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

17 401(g)) is amended—

18 (A) in the fourth sentence of paragraph

19 (1)(A), by inserting after ‘‘this title,’’ the fol20 lowing: ‘‘title VIII,’’;

21 (B) in paragraph (1)(B)(i)(I), by inserting

22 after ‘‘this title,’’ the following: ‘‘title VIII,’’;

23 and

24 (C) in paragraph (1)(C)(i), by inserting

25 after ‘‘this title,’’ the following: ‘‘title VIII,’’.
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1 (2) REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE PROVISIONS OF

2 TITLE II.—Section 205(j) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

3 405(j)) is amended—

4 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘807

5 or’’ before ‘‘1631(a)(2)’’;

6 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i)(I), by inserting

7 ‘‘, title VIII,’’ before ‘‘or title XVI’’;

8 (C) in paragraph (2)(B)(i)(III), by insert9 ing ‘‘, 811,’’ before ‘‘or 1632’’;

10 (D) in paragraph (2)(B)(i)(IV)—

11 (i) by inserting ‘‘, the designation of

12 such person as a representative payee has

13 been revoked pursuant to section 807(a),’’

14 before ‘‘or payment of benefits’’; and

15 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, title VIII,’’ before

16 ‘‘or title XVI’’;

17 (E) in paragraph (2)(B)(ii)(I)—

18 (i) by inserting ‘‘whose designation as

19 a representative payee has been revoked

20 pursuant to section 807(a),’’ before ‘‘or

21 with respect to whom’’; and

22 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, title VIII,’’ before

23 ‘‘or title XVI’’;

24 (F) in paragraph (2)(B)(i)(II), by insert25 ing ‘‘, 811,’’ before ‘‘or 1632’’;
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1 (G) in paragraph (2)(C)(i)(II) by inserting

2 ‘‘, the designation of such person as a rep3 resentative payee has been revoked pursuant to

4 section 807(a),’’ before ‘‘or payment of bene5 fits’’;

6 (H) in each of clauses (i) and (ii) of para7 graph (3)(E), by inserting ‘‘, section 807,’’ be8 fore ‘‘or section 1631(a)(2)’’;

9 (I) in paragraph (3)(F), by inserting ‘‘807

10 or’’ before ‘‘1631(a)(2)’’; and

11 (J) in paragraph (4)(B)(i), by inserting

12 ‘‘807 or’’ before ‘‘1631(a)(2)’’.

13 (3) WITHHOLDING FOR CHILD SUPPORT AND

14 ALIMONY OBLIGATIONS.—Section 459(h)(1)(A) of

15 such Act (42 U.S.C. 659(h)(1)(A)) is amended—

16 (A) at the end of clause (iii), by striking

17 ‘‘and’’;

18 (B) at the end of clause (iv), by striking

19 ‘‘but’’ and inserting ‘‘and’’; and

20 (C) by adding at the end a new clause as

21 follows:

22 ‘‘(v) special benefits for certain World

23 War II veterans payable under title VIII;

24 but’’.
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1 (4) SOCIAL SECURITY ADVISORY BOARD.—Sec2 tion 703(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 903(b)) is

3 amended by striking ‘‘title II’’ and inserting ‘‘title

4 II, the program of special benefits for certain World

5 War II veterans under title VIII,’’.

6 (5) DELIVERY OF CHECKS.—Section 708 of

7 such Act (42 U.S.C. 908) is amended—

8 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘title II’’

9 and inserting ‘‘title II, title VIII,’’; and

10 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘title II’’

11 and inserting ‘‘title II, title VIII,’’.

12 (6) CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES.—Section

13 1129 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8) is

14 amended—

15 (A) in the title, by striking ‘‘II’’ and in16 serting ‘‘II, VIII’’;

17 (B) in subsection (a)(1)—

18 (i) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of sub19 paragraph (A);

20 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph

21 (B) as subparagraph (C); and

22 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph

23 (A) the following:

24 ‘‘(B) benefits or payments under title VIII,

25 or’’;
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1 (C) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ‘‘or

2 title VIII,’’ after ‘‘title II’’;

3 (D) in subsection (e)(1)(C)—

4 (i) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of

5 clause (i);

6 (ii) by redesignating clause (ii) as

7 clause (iii); and

8 (iii) by inserting after clause (i) the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(ii) by decrease of any payment

11 under title VIII to which the person is en12 titled, or’’;

13 (E) in subsection (e)(2)(B), by striking

14 ‘‘title XVI’’ and inserting ‘‘title VIII or XVI’’;

15 and

16 (F) in subsection (l), by striking ‘‘title

17 XVI’’ and inserting ‘‘title VIII or XVI’’.

18 (7) RECOVERY OF SSI OVERPAYMENTS.—Sec19 tion 1147 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–17) is

20 amended—

21 (A) in subsection (a)(1)—

22 (i) by inserting ‘‘or VIII’’ after ‘‘title

23 II’’ the first place it appears; and
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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘title II’’ the second

2 place it appears and inserting ‘‘such title’’;

3 and

4 (B) in the title, by striking ‘‘SOCIAL SECU5 RITY’’ and inserting ‘‘OTHER’’.

6 (8) REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE PROVISIONS OF

7 TITLE XVI.—Section 1631(a)(2) of such Act (42

8 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)) is amended—

9 (A) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by inserting

10 ‘‘or 807’’ after ‘‘205(j)(1)’’;

11 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I), by insert12 ing ‘‘, title VIII,’’ before ‘‘or this title’’;

13 (C) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(III), by insert14 ing ‘‘, 811,’’ before ‘‘or 1632’’;

15 (D) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(IV)—

16 (i) by inserting ‘‘whether the designa17 tion of such person as a representative

18 payee has been revoked pursuant to section

19 807(a),’’ before ‘‘and whether certifi20 cation’’; and

21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, title VIII,’’ before

22 ‘‘or this title’’;

23 (E) in subparagraph (B)(iii)(II), by insert24 ing ‘‘the designation of such person as a rep-
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1 resentative payee has been revoked pursuant to

2 section 807(a),’’ before ‘‘or certification’’; and

3 (F) in subparagraph (D)(ii)(II)(aa), by in4 serting ‘‘or 807’’ after ‘‘205(j)(4)’’.

5 (9) ADMINISTRATIVE OFFSET.—Section

6 3716(c)(3)(C) of title 31, United States Code, is

7 amended—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘sections 205(b)(1)’’ and

9 inserting ‘‘sections 205(b)(1), 809(a)(1),’’; and

10 (B) by striking ‘‘either title II’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘title II, VIII,’’.

12 Subtitle C—Study

13 SEC. 261. STUDY OF DENIAL OF SSI BENEFITS FOR FAMILY

14 FARMERS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of Social Secu16 rity shall conduct a study of the reasons why family farm17 ers with resources of less than $100,000 are denied sup18 plemental security income benefits under title XVI of the

19 Social Security Act, including whether the deeming proc20 ess unduly burdens and discriminates against family farm21 ers who do not institutionalize a disabled dependent, and

22 shall determine the number of such farmers who have been

23 denied such benefits during each of the preceding 10

24 years.
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1 (b) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 1 year after

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner

3 of Social Security shall prepare and submit to the Com4 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Representa5 tives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report

6 that contains the results of the study, and the determina7 tion, required by subsection (a).

8 TITLE III—CHILD SUPPORT

9 SEC. 301. NARROWING OF HOLD HARMLESS PROVISION

10 FOR STATE SHARE OF DISTRIBUTION OF COL11 LECTED CHILD SUPPORT.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 457(d) of the Social Secu13 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 657(d)) is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘(d) HOLD HARMLESS PROVISION.—If—

15 ‘‘(1) the amounts collected which could be re16 tained by the State in the fiscal year (to the extent

17 necessary to reimburse the State for amounts paid

18 to families as assistance by the State) are less than

19 the State share of the amounts collected in fiscal

20 year 1995 (determined in accordance with section

21 457 as in effect on the day before the date of the

22 enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work

23 Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996); and

24 ‘‘(2)(A)(i) the State has not retained any of the

25 current support so collected during the preceding fis-
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1 cal year on behalf of any family that is a recipient

2 of assistance under the State program funded under

3 part A (except any such family in a control group

4 required by a waiver granted to the State under sec5 tion 1115); and

6 ‘‘(ii) at least the lesser of $150 or the total

7 amount of current support paid to such a family in

8 any month is disregarded in determining the amount

9 or type of assistance to be provided to the family for

10 the month under the State program funded under

11 part A; or

12 ‘‘(B) the State has distributed to families not

13 less than one-half of the child support arrearages

14 collected pursuant to section 464 during the pre15 ceding fiscal year, that accrued after the families

16 ceased to receive assistance from the State (as de17 fined in subsection (c)(1)),

18 then the State share otherwise determined for the fiscal

19 year shall be increased by an amount equal to one-half

20 of the amount (if any) by which the State share in fiscal

21 year 1995 exceeds the State share for the fiscal year (de22 termined without regard to this subsection).’’.

23 (b) AUTHORITY OF STATE TO PASS THROUGH POR24 TION OF CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGES COLLECTED

25 THROUGH TAX INTERCEPT.—Section 457(a)(2)(B)(iv) of
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1 such Act (42 U.S.C. 657(a)(2)(B)(iv)) is amended in the

2 first sentence by inserting after the second sentence the

3 following: ‘‘After making such payment, the State may

4 distribute to the family not more than one-half of the re5 maining amount so retained.’’.

6 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

7 subsection (a) shall be effective with respect to calendar

8 quarters beginning on or after October 1, 1998.

9 (d) REPEALER.—Effective October 1, 2001, section

10 457 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 657) is amended

11 by striking subsection (d).

12 TITLE IV—TECHNICAL

13 CORRECTIONS

14 SEC. 401. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS RELATING TO AMEND15 MENTS MADE BY THE PERSONAL RESPONSI16 BILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY REC17 ONCILIATION ACT OF 1996.

18 (a) Section 402(a)(1)(B)(iv) of the Social Security

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(B)(iv)) is amended by striking

20 ‘‘Act’’ and inserting ‘‘section’’.

21 (b) Section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)(II) of the Social Security

22 Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(7)(B)(i)(II)) is amended by strik23 ing ‘‘part’’ and inserting ‘‘section’’.
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1 (c) Section 413(g)(1) of the Social Security Act (42

2 U.S.C. 613(g)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘Act’’ and in3 serting ‘‘section’’.

4 (d) Section 416 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

5 616) is amended by striking ‘‘Opportunity Act’’ and in6 serting ‘‘Opportunity Reconciliation Act’’ each place such

7 term appears.

8 (e) Section 431(a)(6) of the Social Security Act (42

9 U.S.C. 629a(a)(6))) is amended—

10 (1) by inserting ‘‘, as in effect before August

11 22, 1986’’ after ‘‘482(i)(5)’’; and

12 (2) by inserting ‘‘, as so in effect’’ after

13 ‘‘482(i)(7)(A)’’.

14 (f) Sections 452(a)(7) and 466(c)(2)(A)(i) of the So15 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(7) and

16 666(c)(2)(A)(i)) are each amended by striking ‘‘Social Se17 curity’’ and inserting ‘‘social security’’.

18 (g) Section 454 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

19 654) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘, or’’ at the end of each of

21 paragraphs (6)(E)(i) and (19)(B)(i) and inserting ‘‘;

22 or’’;

23 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the comma at

24 the end of each of subparagraphs (A), (B), (C) and

25 inserting a semicolon; and
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1 (3) by striking ‘‘, and’’ at the end of each of

2 paragraphs (19)(A) and (24)(A) and inserting ‘‘;

3 and’’.

4 (h) Section 454(24)(B) of the Social Security Act (42

5 U.S.C. 654(24)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘Opportunity

6 Act’’ and inserting ‘‘Opportunity Reconciliation Act’’.

7 (i) Section 344(b)(1)(A) of the Personal Responsi8 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

9 (110 Stat. 2236) is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(A) in paragraph (1), by striking sub11 paragraph (B) and inserting the following:

12 ‘(B) equal to the percent specified in para13 graph (3) of the sums expended during such

14 quarter that are attributable to the planning,

15 design, development, installation or enhance16 ment of an automatic data processing and in17 formation retrieval system (including in such

18 sums the full cost of the hardware components

19 of such system); and’; and’’.

20 (j) Section 457(a)(2)(B)(i)(I) of the Social Security

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 657(a)(2)(B)(i)(I)) is amended by striking

22 ‘‘Act Reconciliation’’ and inserting ‘‘Reconciliation Act’’.

23 (k) Section 457 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

24 657) is amended by striking ‘‘Opportunity Act’’ each place
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1 it appears and inserting ‘‘Opportunity Reconciliation

2 Act’’.

3 (l) Effective on the date of the enactment of this Act,

4 section 404(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

5 604(e)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or tribe’’ after ‘‘State’’

6 the first and second places it appears, and by inserting

7 ‘‘or tribal’’ after ‘‘State’’ the third place it appears.

8 (m) Section 466(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42

9 U.S.C. 666(a)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘1681a(f))’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘1681a(f)))’’.

11 (n) Section 466(b)(6)(A) of the Social Security Act

12 (42 U.S.C. 666(b)(6)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘state’’

13 and inserting ‘‘State’’.

14 (o) Section 471(a)(8) of the Social Security Act (42

15 U.S.C. 671(a)(8)) is amended by striking ‘‘(including ac16 tivities under part F)’’.

17 (p) Section 1137(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42

18 U.S.C. 1320b–7(a)(3)) is amended by striking

19 ‘‘453A(a)(2)(B)(iii))’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘453A(a)(2)(B)(ii)))’’.

21 (q) Except as provided in subsection (l), the amend22 ments made by this section shall take effect as if included
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1 in the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work

2 Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

Passed the House of Representatives June 25, 1999.

Attest:

Clerk.