I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4095 
To amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act to provide for equitable 
treatment of disability beneficiaries with waxing and waning medical 
conditions. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 20, 2005 
Mr. FILNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act 
to provide for equitable treatment of disability bene-
ficiaries with waxing and waning medical conditions. 
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 ‘‘Encourage Initiative 
and Promote Self-Esteem Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE II OF THE SOCIAL SECU-
RITY ACT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 222 of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 422) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘Special Rules for Benefits Based on Waxing and 
Waning Medical Condition 
‘‘(f)(1) In the case of any qualifying disabled indi-
vidual— 
‘‘(A) the termination month for purposes of sec-
tion 223(a)(1) or subsection (d)(1)(G), (e)(1), or 
(f)(1) of section 202 shall be, in lieu of the termi-
nation month otherwise described therein, the third 
month following the end of the individual’s special 
entitlement period, 
‘‘(B) the extent to which benefits of the indi-
vidual under section 223 or subsection (d), (e), or 
(f) of section 202 are payable for any month during 
the individual’s special entitlement period shall be 
determined without regard to whether the individual 
engages in substantial gainful activity, 
‘‘(C) the amount of the individual’s monthly in-
surance benefit payable for any month during the 
special entitlement period shall not exceed the max-
imum benefit payment for the month determined 
under paragraph (4), and
‘‘(D) the Commissioner shall not undertake a 
review of such individual’s disability during any 
month following a month in which such individual 
performs services from which such individual earns 
the greater of $300 or the dollar amount derived for 
the month for purposes of this subparagraph under 
paragraph (6). 
‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘quali-
fying disabled individual’ means an individual— 
‘‘(A) who is entitled to disability insurance ben-
efits under section 223, child’s insurance benefits 
under section 202(d) based on the individual’s dis-
ability, or widow’s or widower’s insurance benefits 
under subsection (e) or (f) of section 202 based on 
the individual’s disability, and 
‘‘(B) whose disability is based (in whole or in 
part) on a waxing and waning medical condition. 
‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), the special enti-
tlement period of an individual under this subsection— 
‘‘(A) begins with the month in which the indi-
vidual becomes entitled to benefits described in para-
graph (2)(A), and 
‘‘(B) ends with any month during which the 
Commissioner determines that the impairment on
the basis of which such benefits are provided has 
ceased, does not exist, or is not disabling. 
‘‘(4) The amount of a qualifying disabled individual’s 
benefit described in paragraph (2) which is payable for 
any month under this title commencing with or after such 
individual’s 7th month of entitlement shall not exceed the 
amount of such benefit otherwise payable under this title, 
reduced (to not less than zero), by 2⁄3 of the individual’s 
excess trial earnings amount for such month. 
‘‘(5) For purposes of this paragraph— 
‘‘(A) The term ‘waxing and waning medical 
condition’ means, in connection with an individual, 
any medical condition which, prior to the first month 
of entitlement of the individual, has been certified to 
the Commissioner by a qualified physician as a con-
dition which, in the case of such individual, may rea-
sonably be expected to involve, in the absence of re-
covery, periods for which the individual will be able 
to engage in substantial gainful activity interspersed 
among periods for which the individual will not, by 
reason of a lack of adequate and reasonably avail-
able assistive technology, be able to engage in sub-
stantial gainful activity. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘excess trial earnings’ of an indi-
vidual for any month means the excess (if any) of—