I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7269 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to make the Social Security 
Trustees Report process more accountable and transparent, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 12, 2018 
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to make the 
Social Security Trustees Report process more account-
able and transparent, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Security Trust-
ees Report Accountability, Transparency, and Improve-
ment Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST FUNDS. 
Section 201(c) of the Social Security Act is amended 
to read as follows: 
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‘‘(c)(1) With respect to the Federal Old-Age and Sur-
vivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability 
Insurance Trust Fund (hereinafter in this title called the 
‘Trust Funds’) there is hereby created a body to be known 
as the Board of Trustees of the Trust Funds (hereinafter 
in this title called the ‘Board of Trustees’) which Board 
of Trustees shall be composed of the Commissioner of So-
cial Security, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary 
of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, all ex officio, and of four members of the public (here-
inafter in this title called ‘public trustees’), to be ap-
pointed in accordance with paragraph (2). The Secretary 
of the Treasury shall be the Managing Trustee of the 
Board of Trustees (hereinafter in this title called the 
‘Managing Trustee’). The Deputy Commissioner of Social 
Security shall serve as Secretary of the Board of Trustees. 
The Board of Trustees shall meet not less frequently than 
once each calendar year. A person serving on the Board 
of Trustees shall not be considered to be a fiduciary and 
shall not be personally liable for actions taken in such ca-
pacity with respect to the Trust Funds.’’. 
SEC. 3. APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF PUBLIC TRUSTEES. 
Section 201(c) of the Social Security Act, as amended 
by section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
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‘‘(2)(A) Public trustees shall be appointed as follows: 
‘‘(i) Two members (each member from a dif-
ferent political party) shall be appointed by the 
President pro tempore of the Senate with the advice 
of the Chairman and the Ranking Minority Member 
of the Senate Committee on Finance. 
‘‘(ii) Two members (each member from a dif-
ferent political party) shall be appointed by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, with the 
advice of the Chairman and the Ranking Minority 
Member of the House Committee on Ways and 
Means 
‘‘(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (iii), each public 
trustee shall serve for a term beginning on the day after 
the expiration of the term of such member’s predecessor 
and expiring on the fourth April 1 occurring during such 
term (or, if later, the date on which the fourth report of 
the Board is issued under paragraph (3)(A)(ii) during 
such term). 
‘‘(ii) A public trustee may not serve more than two 
consecutive full terms. A public trustee nominated and 
confirmed to fill a vacancy occurring during a term shall 
be nominated and confirmed only for the remainder of 
such term. 
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‘‘(iii) Clause (i) shall be applied with respect to initial 
appointments under this paragraph— 
‘‘(I) by substituting ‘first’ for ‘fourth’ each 
place it appears in clause (i) with respect to one of 
the public trustees appointed by the President pro 
tempore of the Senate (as designated by the Presi-
dent pro tempore of the Senate at the time of nomi-
nation); 
‘‘(II) by substituting ‘second’ for ‘fourth’ each 
place it appears in clause (i) with respect to one of 
the public trustees appointed by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives (as designated by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives at the time 
of nomination); and 
‘‘(III) by substituting ‘third’ for ‘fourth’ each 
place it appears in clause (i) with respect to one of 
the public trustees appointed by the President pro 
tempore of the Senate (as designated by the Presi-
dent pro tempore of Senate at the time of nomina-
tion).’’. 
SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC TRUST-
EES. 
Section 201(c) of the Social Security Act, as amended 
by sections 2 and 3, is further amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
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‘‘(3)(A) It shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees 
to— 
‘‘(i) hold the Trust Funds; 
‘‘(ii) report to the Congress not later than the 
first day of April of each year on the operation and 
status of the Trust Funds during the preceding cal-
endar year (and during the preceding fiscal year) 
and on their expected operation and status during 
the next ensuing 75 calendar years (and during the 
next ensuing 75 fiscal years); 
‘‘(iii) report immediately to the Congress when-
ever the Board of Trustees is of the opinion that the 
amount of either of the Trust Funds is unduly 
small; 
‘‘(iv) recommend improvements in administra-
tive procedures and policies designed to effectuate 
the proper coordination of the Old-Age, Survivors, 
and Disability Insurance program and the Federal- 
State unemployment compensation program; and 
‘‘(v) review the general policies followed in man-
aging the Trust Funds, and recommend changes in 
such policies, including necessary changes in the 
provisions of the law which govern the way in which 
the Trust Funds are to be managed. 
‘‘(B) It shall be the duty of the public trustees to— 
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‘‘(i) in any case in which the Board of Trustees 
determines that the report provided for in subpara-
graph (A)(ii) will not be completed by the first day 
of April, to provide written notification of the ex-
pected issue date to the Committee on Ways and 
Means of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Finance of the Senate not later than 
the first day of March, and written notification of an 
updated expected issue date not later than 14 days 
prior to the issue date; and 
‘‘(ii) at the time such report is issued, report to 
the Congress responding to recommendations from 
the Social Security Advisory Board received during 
the previous year regarding the techniques, meth-
odologies, actuarial assumptions, and cost estimates 
used in such report.’’. 
SEC. 5. TRUSTEES REPORT. 
Section 201(c) of the Social Security Act, as amended 
by sections 2, 3, and 4, is further amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(4) The report provided for in paragraph (3)(A)(ii) 
shall include the following: 
‘‘(A) A statement of the assets of, and the dis-
bursements made from, the Trust Funds during the 
preceding calendar year (and during the preceding 
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fiscal year) and an estimate of the expected future 
income to, and disbursements to be made from, the 
Trust Funds during each of the next ensuing 75 cal-
endar years (and during the next ensuing 75 fiscal 
years). 
‘‘(B) A statement of the actuarial status of the 
Trust Funds, including— 
‘‘(i) a finding by the Board of Trustees as 
to whether the Federal Old-Age and Survivors 
Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Dis-
ability Insurance Trust Fund, individually and 
collectively, are in close actuarial balance (as 
defined by the Board of Trustees); and 
‘‘(ii) an actuarial opinion by the Chief Ac-
tuary of the Social Security Administration cer-
tifying that the techniques and methodologies 
used are generally accepted within the actuarial 
profession and that the assumptions and cost 
estimates used are reasonable. 
‘‘(C) An assessment of the previous annual re-
port made in the first calendar year of the 10-cal-
endar year period ending on the first day of the cal-
endar year in which such report is made comparing 
the projected values in such previous annual report 
of each demographic and economic assumption made 
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for each of the 10 calendar years in such period with 
the actual data available with respect to each such 
assumption for each such calendar year. 
‘‘(D) An actuarial analysis of the benefit dis-
bursements made from the Federal Old-Age and 
Survivors Insurance Trust Fund with respect to dis-
abled beneficiaries. 
Such report shall be printed as a House document of the 
session of the Congress to which the report is made. Such 
report shall also include the full names of the attendees 
of the Trustees Working Group during the report’s devel-
opment.’’. 
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments make by this Act shall apply with 
respect to public trustees appointed for terms beginning 
after April 1, 2019, and with respect to reports issued for 
fiscal years after 2018. 
Æ 
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