I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 288
To amend title II of the Social Security Act so as to remove the limitation
upon the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while
receiving benefits thereunder.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. SWEENEY 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 so as to remove
the limitation upon the amount of outside income which
an individual may earn while receiving benefits there-
under.
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 Earn-
ings Limitation Repeal Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. REPEAL OF PROVISIONS RELATING TO DEDUC-
TIONS ON ACCOUNT OF WORK.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (b), (c)(1), (d), (f),
(h), (j), and (k) of section 203 of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 403) are repealed.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 203 of
such Act (as amended by subsection (a)) is further
amended—
(1) in subsection (c), by redesignating such sub-
section as subsection (b), and—
(A) by striking ‘‘Noncovered Work Outside
the United States or’’ in the heading;
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3),
and (4) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respec-
tively;
(C) by striking ‘‘For purposes of para-
graphs (2), (3), and (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘For
purposes of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)’’; and
(D) by striking the last sentence;
(2) in subsection (e), by redesignating such sub-
section as subsection (c), and by striking ‘‘sub-
sections (c) and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’;
(3) in subsection (g), by redesignating such
subsection as subsection (d), and by striking ‘‘sub-
section (c)’’ each place it appears and inserting
‘‘subsection (b)’’;
(4) in subsection (i), by redesignating such sub-
section as subsection (e), and by striking ‘‘sub-
section (b), (c), (g), or (h)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
sections (b) or (d)’’; and
(5) in subsection (l), by redesignating such sub-
section as subsection (f), and by striking ‘‘subsection
(g) or (h)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d)’’.
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) PROVISIONS RELATING
TO BENEFITS TERMI-
NATED UPON DEPORTATION.—Section 202(n)(1) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(n)(1)) is amended by
striking ‘‘Section 203 (b), (c), and (d)’’ and inserting
‘‘Section 203(b)’’.
(b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS FROM
REDUCTIONS BASED ON EARLY RETIREMENT.—
(1) Section 202(q)(5)(B) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 402(q)(5)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec-
tion 203(c)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 203(b)(1)’’.
(2) Section 202(q)(7)(A) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 402(q)(7)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘de-
ductions under section 203(b), 203(c)(1), 203(d)(1),
or 222(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘deductions on account of
work under section 203 or deductions under section
222(b)’’.
(c) PROVISIONS RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS FROM
REDUCTIONS BASED ON DISREGARD OF CERTAIN ENTI-
TLEMENTS TO CHILD’S INSURANCE BENEFITS.—
(1) Section 202(s)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
402(s)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2),
(3), and (4) of section 203(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 203(b)’’.
(2) Section 202(s)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
402(s)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘The last sen-
tence of subsection (c) of section 203, subsection
(f)(1)(C) of section 203, and subsections’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Subsections’’.
(d) PROVISIONS
RELATING
TO
SUSPENSION
OF
ALIENS’ BENEFITS.—Section 202(t)(7) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 402(t)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘Subsections
(b), (c), and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsection (b)’’.
(e) PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS INCREASED
ON
ACCOUNT
OF
DELAYED
RETIREMENT.—Section
202(w)(2)(B)(ii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(w)(2)(B)(ii))
is amended by striking ‘‘or 203(c)’’.
(f) PROVISIONS RELATING TO REDUCTIONS IN BEN-
EFITS
BASED
ON
MAXIMUM
BENEFITS.—Section
203(a)(3)(B)(iii) 
of 
such 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C.
403(a)(3)(B)(iii)) is amended by striking ‘‘and subsections
(b), (c), and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘and subsection (b)’’.
(g) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR MIS-
REPRESENTATIONS CONCERNING EARNINGS FOR PERI-
ODS SUBJECT TO DEDUCTIONS ON ACCOUNT OF WORK.—
Section 
208(a)(1)(C) 
of 
such 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C.
408(a)(1)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘under section
203(f) of this title for purposes of deductions from bene-
fits’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 203 for purposes of de-
ductions from benefits on account of work’’.
(h) PROVISIONS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT EARNINGS
IN
DETERMINING
BENEFIT
COMPUTATION
YEARS.—
Clause (I) in the next to last sentence of section
215(b)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(b)(2)(A)) is
amended by striking ‘‘no earnings as described in section
203(f)(5) in such year’’ and inserting ‘‘no wages, and no
net earnings from self-employment (in excess of net loss
from self-employment), in such year’’.
(i) PROVISIONS RELATING TO ROUNDING OF BENE-
FITS.—Section 215(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(g)) is
amended by striking ‘‘and any deduction under section
203(b)’’.
(j) PROVISIONS RELATING
TO EARNINGS TAKEN
INTO ACCOUNT IN DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL GAINFUL
ACTIVITY OF BLIND INDIVIDUALS.—The second sentence
of section 223(d)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 423(d)(4))
is amended by striking ‘‘the exempt amount under section
203(f)(8) which is applicable to individuals described in
subparagraph (D) thereof’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘an amount equal to the exempt amount which would have
been applicable under section 203(f)(8), to individuals de-
scribed in subparagraph (D) thereof, if subsections (b)
through (l) of section 203, as in effect for the last taxable
years ending before the date of the enactment of the Social
Security Earnings Limitation Repeal Act of 1997, had re-
mained in effect through the month in which such earn-
ings were derived’’.
(k) PROVISIONS DEFINING INCOME FOR PURPOSES
OF
SSI.—Section 1612(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1382a(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘as determined under section
203(f)(5)(C)’’ in paragraph (1)(A) and inserting ‘‘as
defined in the last two sentences of this subsection’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end (after and below para-
graph (2)(F)) the following new sentences:
‘‘For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the term ‘wages’
means wages as defined in section 209, but computed
without regard to the limitations as to amounts of remu-
neration specified in paragraphs (1), (6)(B), (6)(C),
(7)(B), and (8) of section 209(a). In making the computa-
tion under the preceding sentence, (A) services which do
not constitute employment as defined in section 210, per-
formed within the United States by an individual as an
employee or performed outside the United States in the
active military or naval services of the United States, shall
be deemed to be employment as so defined if the remu-
neration for such services is not includible in computing
the individual’s net earnings or net loss from self-employ-
ment for purposes of title II, and (B) the term ‘wages’
shall be deemed not to include (i) the amount of any pay-
ment made to, or on behalf of, an employee or any of his
or her dependents (including any amount paid by an em-
ployer for insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to pro-
vide for any such payment) on account of retirement, or
(ii) any payment or series of payments by an employer
to an employee or any of his or her dependents upon or
after the termination of the employee’s employment rela-
tionship because of retirement after attaining an age spec-
ified in a plan referred to in section 209(m)(2) or in a
pension plan of the employer.’’.
(l) REPEAL OF DEDUCTIONS ON ACCOUNT OF WORK
UNDER THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT PROGRAM.—Section
2 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C.
231a) is amended by striking subsections (f) and (g)(2).