I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5431 

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 

APRIL 5, 2018 

Mr. HIGGINS of New York 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 2018’’. 


khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5431 IH

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 law 

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. 


khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5431 IH

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 striking ‘‘the Commissioner’’ and inserting 

8 the following: ‘‘the Commissioner, in consultation with rel9 evant stakeholders including employee organizations rep10 resenting employees of the Social Security Administration. 

11 Not later than 90 days before a revision of the comprehen12 sive work force plan, the Commissioner shall submit the 

13 document setting forth the revision to the Committee on 

14 Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the 

15 Committee on Finance of the Senate.’’. 

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

17 (a) MORATORIUM ON CLOSURE OR CONSOLIDATION

18 OF FIELD OR HEARING OFFICES OR NEW LIMITATIONS

19 ON ACCESS TO SUCH OFFICES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), the Commissioner of Social Security shall 

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

23 of this Act to close or consolidate field or hearing of24 fices of the Social Security Administration or to othVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:51 Apr 05, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5431.IH H5431

khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5431 IH

1 erwise impose any new limitation on access to such 

2 offices. 

3 (2) CESSATION OF MORATORIUM UPON REPORT

4 TO CONGRESS.—Paragraph (1) shall cease to be ef5 fective 180 days after the Commissioner submits to 

6 the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 

7 Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 

8 the Senate a detailed report outlining and justifying 

9 the process for selecting field or hearing offices to be 

10 closed or consolidated or otherwise to have limited 

11 access. Such report shall include— 

12 (A) an analysis of the criteria used for se13 lecting field or hearing offices for closure, con14 solidation, or limited access; 

15 (B) a description of how the Commissioner 

16 has analyzed and considered relevant factors, 

17 including but not limited to transportation and 

18 communication burdens faced by individuals 

19 serviced by the offices, including elderly and 

20 disabled citizens; and 

21 (C) a description of any method of cost22 benefit analysis applied by the Commissioner in 

23 connection with closures and consolidations of 

24 field or hearing offices, and other limitations on 


khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5431 IH

1 access to field or hearing offices, including any 

2 analysis that takes into account— 

3 (i) the anticipated savings resulting 

4 from the closure, consolidation, or limita5 tion on access; 

6 (ii) the anticipated costs associated 

7 with replacing services lost by the closure, 

8 consolidation, or limitation on access; 

9 (iii) the anticipated effects on employ10 ees of the offices affected; and 

11 (iv) such other relevant factors as 

12 may be determined by the Commissioner, 

13 including but not limited to transportation 

14 and communication burdens faced by indi15 viduals serviced by the offices, including el16 derly and disabled citizens. 

17 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FUTURE CLOSURES, CON18 SOLIDATIONS, AND NEW LIMITATIONS ON ACCESS.— 

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

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

21 at the end the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘Field and Hearing Offices 

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

24 hearing office of the Administration, consolidate two or 

25 more such offices, or otherwise impose any new limitation 


khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5431 IH

1 on public access to any such office, unless the Commis2 sioner complies with the requirements of paragraphs (2), 

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

4 or limitation on public access. 

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

6 in connection with a closure, consolidation, or new limita7 tion on access referred to in paragraph (1) only if— 

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

9 the closure, consolidation, or limitation on access, 

10 the Commissioner provides effective public notice of 

11 the proposed closure, consolidation, or limitation on 

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

13 direct mailing and through community outlets such 

14 as newspapers and posting in heavily frequented 

15 public spaces) to individuals residing in the area 

16 serviced by the affected office or offices; and 

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

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

19 than 45 days before the date of the proposed clo20 sure, consolidation, or limitation on access, the Com21 missioner conducts at least 2 public hearings (sched22 uled so that the first and last such hearings are sep23 arated by at least 10 days), at which the Commis24 sioner presents the justifications for the closure, con25 solidation, or limitation on access described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:51 Apr 05, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5431.IH H5431

khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5431 IH

1 paragraph (B) and provides for attendees an oppor2 tunity to present their views regarding the proposed 

3 closure, consolidation, or limitation on access. 

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

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

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

7 the field or hearing office or offices for closure, con8 solidation, or limited access; 

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

10 analyzed and considered relevant factors, including 

11 but not limited to transportation and communication 

12 burdens faced by individuals serviced by the offices, 

13 including elderly and disabled citizens; and 

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

15 analysis which shall be applied by the Commissioner 

16 in connection with the closure, consolidation, or limi17 tation on access, and which shall take into ac18 count— 

19 ‘‘(I) the anticipated savings resulting from 

20 the closure, consolidation, or limitation on ac21 cess; 

22 ‘‘(II) the anticipated costs associated with 

23 replacing services lost by the closure, consolida24 tion, or limitation on access; 


khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5431 IH

1 ‘‘(III) the anticipated effects on employees 

2 of the offices affected; and 

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

4 be determined by the Commissioner, including 

5 but not limited to transportation and commu6 nication burdens faced by individuals serviced 

7 by the offices, including elderly and disabled 

8 citizens. 

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

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

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

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

13 Commissioner regarding the proposed closure, consolida14 tion, or limitation on access pursuant to paragraph (4). 

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

16 connection with a closure, consolidation, or limitation on 

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

18 30 days before the date of the proposed closure, consolida19 tion, or limitation on access, the Commissioner submits 

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

21 Representatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, 

22 and each Member of the Congress representing a State 

23 or congressional district in which the affected office or of24 fices are located a detailed final report in support of the 


khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5431 IH

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

2 shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) the justifications described in paragraph 

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

5 justifications after the public hearings conducted 

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

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

8 pursuant to the public hearings; 

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

10 closure, consolidation, or new limitation on access 

11 which were commenced pursuant to paragraph (4) 

12 before the date of the report; 

13 ‘‘(D) the final decision of the Commissioner re14 garding the closure, consolidation, or new limitation 

15 on access; and 

16 ‘‘(E) such other information as the Commis17 sioner considers relevant. 

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

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

20 in connection with a proposed closure, consolidation, or 

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

22 Commissioner shall give such individual an opportunity for 

23 a hearing with respect to the closure, consolidation, or lim24 itation on access. The request for the hearing shall be con25 sidered timely only if it is made not later than 30 days 


khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5431 IH

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

2 limitation on access. The Commissioner shall submit to 

3 the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Rep4 resentatives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and 

5 each Member of the Congress representing a State or con6 gressional district in which the affected office or offices 

7 are located the Commissioner’s findings based on the 

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

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

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

11 consist of a showing that— 

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

13 close a field or hearing office, consolidate field or 

14 hearing offices, or impose a new limitation on access 

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

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

17 or not based on substantial evidence; or 

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

19 procedures required by law in connection with the 

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

21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

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

23 respect to closures and consolidations of field or 

24 hearing offices and impositions of new limitations on 

25 access to such offices occurring after the cessation 


khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5431 IH

1 of the moratorium under subsection (a) of this sec2 tion. 

3 SEC. 4. GAO STUDY ON DISABILITY HEARINGS. 

4 Not later than January 1, 2019, the Comptroller 

5 General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 

6 report that describes the average length of time after a 

7 request for review of an initial adverse determination with 

8 respect to an application for a disability insurance benefit 

9 under title II of the Social Security Act has been made 

10 until a final decision is issued with respect to such applica11 tion. 

Æ 


khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS