I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3997 

To amend title VII of the Social Security Act to require the President 

to transmit the annual budget of the Social Security Administration 

without revisions to Congress, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 5, 2014 

Mr. HIGGINS (for himself, Mr. SERRANO, and Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means 

A BILL 

To amend title VII of the Social Security Act to require 

the President to transmit the annual budget of the Social 

Security Administration without revisions to Congress, 

and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Security Admin5 istration Accountability Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDING SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

2 BUDGETARY MATTERS. 

3 (a) ANNUAL BUDGET.—Section 704(b)(1)(A) of the 

4 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 904(b)(1)(A)) is amended 

5 to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(b)(1)(A) The Commissioner shall prepare and sub7 mit an annual budget estimate for the Administration di8 rectly to the President and Congress.’’. 

9 (b) CONTENTS OF BUDGET.—Section 704(b)(1)(B) 

10 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 904(b)(1)(B)) is amended to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) The Commissioner shall include in the annual 

13 budget prepared pursuant to subparagraph (A) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(i) The total number of cases pending at each 

16 hearing office, listed by hearing office, and an aggre17 gate total of all cases pending at all hearing offices. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The total number of cases pending for over 

19 the preceding year at each hearing office, listed by 

20 both hearing office and presiding administrative 

21 judge, and an aggregate total of all cases pending 

22 for over such year at all hearing offices. 

23 ‘‘(iii) The average duration of time to process 

24 each case at each hearing office, listed by hearing of25 fice. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The staffing levels at each hearing office 

2 and field office, including a listing of job titles, clas3 sifications, and the number of staff within each title 

4 and classification.’’. 

5 (c) COMPREHENSIVE WORK FORCE PLAN.—Section 

6 704(b)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 904(b)(2)(A)) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Not later 

8 than 90 days before a revision of the comprehensive work 

9 force plan, the Commissioner shall submit the document 

10 setting forth the revision to the Committee on Ways and 

11 Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

12 on Finance of the Senate.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. CLOSURE OF FIELD OR HEARING OFFICES. 

14 (a) MORATORIUM ON CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION

15 OF FIELD OR HEARING OFFICES OR NEW LIMITATIONS

16 ON ACCESS TO SUCH OFFICES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), the Commissioner of Social Security shall 

19 take no action on or after the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act to close or consolidate field or hearing of21 fices of the Social Security Administration or to oth22 erwise impose any new limitation on access to such 

23 offices. 

24 (2) CESSATION OF MORATORIUM UPON REPORT

25 TO CONGRESS.—Paragraph (1) shall cease to be efVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:58 Feb 06, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3997.IH H3997

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1 fective 180 days after the Commissioner submits to 

2 the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

3 Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 

4 the Senate a detailed report outlining and justifying 

5 the process for selecting field or hearing offices to be 

6 closed or consolidated or otherwise to have limited 

7 access. Such report shall include— 

8 (A) an analysis of the criteria used for se9 lecting field or hearing offices for closure, con10 solidation, or limited access; 

11 (B) a description of how the Commissioner 

12 has analyzed and considered relevant factors, 

13 including but not limited to transportation and 

14 communication burdens faced by individuals 

15 serviced by the offices, including elderly and 

16 disabled citizens; and 

17 (C) a description of any method of cost18 benefit analysis applied by the Commissioner in 

19 connection with closures and consolidations of 

20 field or hearing offices, and other limitations on 

21 access to field or hearing offices, including any 

22 analysis that takes into account— 

23 (i) the anticipated savings resulting 

24 from the closure, consolidation, or limita25 tion on access; 


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1 (ii) the anticipated costs associated 

2 with replacing services lost by the closure, 

3 consolidation, or limitation on access; 

4 (iii) the anticipated effects on employ5 ees of the offices affected; and 

6 (iv) such other relevant factors as 

7 may be determined by the Commissioner, 

8 including but not limited to transportation 

9 and communication burdens faced by indi10 viduals serviced by the offices, including el11 derly and disabled citizens. 

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURE CLOSURES, CON13 SOLIDATIONS, AND NEW LIMITATIONS ON ACCESS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 704 of the Social 

15 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 904) is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘Field and Hearing Offices 

18 ‘‘(f)(1) The Commissioner may not close a field or 

19 hearing office of the Administration, consolidate two or 

20 more such offices, or otherwise impose any new limitation 

21 on public access to any such office, unless the Commis22 sioner complies with the requirements of paragraphs (2), 

23 (3), and (4) in connection with the closure, consolidation, 

24 or limitation on public access. 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) The requirements of this paragraph are met 

2 in connection with a closure, consolidation, or new limita3 tion on access referred to in paragraph (1) only if— 

4 ‘‘(i) not later than 120 days before the date of 

5 the closure, consolidation, or limitation on access, 

6 the Commissioner provides effective public notice of 

7 the proposed closure, consolidation, or limitation on 

8 access (including, to the extent practicable, notice by 

9 direct mailing and through community outlets such 

10 as newspapers and posting in heavily frequented 

11 public spaces) to individuals residing in the area 

12 serviced by the affected office or offices; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) not earlier than 30 days after the issuance 

14 of public notice pursuant to clause (i) and not later 

15 than 45 days before the date of the proposed clo16 sure, consolidation, or limitation on access, the Com17 missioner conducts at least 2 public hearings (sched18 uled so that the first and last such hearings are sep19 arated by at least 10 days), at which the Commis20 sioner presents the justifications for the closure, con21 solidation, or limitation on access described in sub22 paragraph (B) and provides for attendees an oppor23 tunity to present their views regarding the proposed 

24 closure, consolidation, or limitation on access. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The justifications referred to in subparagraph 

2 (A)(ii) shall consist of the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) an analysis of the criteria used for selecting 

4 the field or hearing office or offices for closure, con5 solidation, or limited access; 

6 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the Commissioner has 

7 analyzed and considered relevant factors, including 

8 but not limited to transportation and communication 

9 burdens faced by individuals serviced by the offices, 

10 including elderly and disabled citizens; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) a description of a method of cost-benefit 

12 analysis which shall be applied by the Commissioner 

13 in connection with the closure, consolidation, or limi14 tation on access, and which shall take into ac15 count— 

16 ‘‘(I) the anticipated savings resulting from 

17 the closure, consolidation, or limitation on ac18 cess; 

19 ‘‘(II) the anticipated costs associated with 

20 replacing services lost by the closure, consolida21 tion, or limitation on access; 

22 ‘‘(III) the anticipated effects on employees 

23 of the offices affected; and 

24 ‘‘(IV) such other relevant factors as may 

25 be determined by the Commissioner, including 


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1 but not limited to transportation and commu2 nication burdens faced by individuals serviced 

3 by the offices, including elderly and disabled 

4 citizens. 

5 ‘‘(C) The notice provided pursuant to subparagraph 

6 (A)(i) shall include notice of the time and place of the 

7 public hearings to be conducted pursuant to clause (A)(ii) 

8 and of the right of aggrieved individuals to appeal to the 

9 Commissioner regarding the proposed closure, consolida10 tion, or limitation on access pursuant to paragraph (4). 

11 ‘‘(3) The requirements of this paragraph are met in 

12 connection with a closure, consolidation, or limitation on 

13 access referred to in paragraph (1) only if, not later than 

14 30 days before the date of the proposed closure, consolida15 tion, or limitation on access, the Commissioner submits 

16 to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

17 Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, 

18 and each Member of the Congress representing a State 

19 or congressional district in which the affected office or of20 fices are located a detailed final report in support of the 

21 closure, consolidation, or limitation on access. Such report 

22 shall include— 

23 ‘‘(A) the justifications described in paragraph 

24 (2)(B), (including any amendments made to such 


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1 justifications after the public hearings conducted 

2 pursuant to paragraph (2)(A)); 

3 ‘‘(B) any findings made by the Commissioner 

4 pursuant to the public hearings; 

5 ‘‘(C) the status of any appeals regarding the 

6 closure, consolidation, or new limitation on access 

7 which were commenced pursuant to paragraph (4) 

8 before the date of the report; 

9 ‘‘(D) the final decision of the Commissioner re10 garding the closure, consolidation, or new limitation 

11 on access; and 

12 ‘‘(E) such other information as the Commis13 sioner considers relevant. 

14 ‘‘(4)(A) Upon timely request by any individual who 

15 makes a showing in writing described in subparagraph (B) 

16 in connection with a proposed closure, consolidation, or 

17 limitation on access referred to in subparagraph (A), the 

18 Commissioner shall give such individual an opportunity for 

19 a hearing with respect to the closure, consolidation, or lim20 itation on access. The request for the hearing shall be con21 sidered timely only if it is made not later than 30 days 

22 before the proposed date of the closure, consolidation, or 

23 limitation on access. The Commissioner shall submit to 

24 the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep25 resentatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and 


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1 each Member of the Congress representing a State or con2 gressional district in which the affected office or offices 

3 are located the Commissioner’s findings based on the 

4 hearing and a description of any action taken or to be 

5 taken by the Commissioner on the basis of such findings. 

6 ‘‘(B) A showing described in subparagraph (A) shall 

7 consist of a showing that— 

8 ‘‘(i) the determination of the Commissioner to 

9 close a field or hearing office, consolidate field or 

10 hearing offices, or impose a new limitation on access 

11 to a field or hearing office is arbitrary, capricious, 

12 an abuse of discretion, not in accordance with law, 

13 or not based on substantial evidence; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) the Commissioner has failed to observe 

15 procedures required by law in connection with the 

16 closure, consolidation, or new limitation on access.’’. 

17 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

18 by paragraph (1) of this subsection shall apply with 

19 respect to closures and consolidations of field or 

20 hearing offices and impositions of new limitations on 

21 access to such offices occurring after the cessation 

22 of the moratorium under subsection (a) of this sec23 tion. 

Æ 


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