I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4126 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit individuals serving 
as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five 
years of such service, and to support State medical training programs 
for caregivers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2019 
Mrs. LOWEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit individ-
uals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with 
deemed wages for up to five years of such service, and 
to support State medical training programs for care-
givers. 
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 Care-
giver Credit Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REP-
RESENTATIVES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that: 
(1) Caregiving is an essential element of family 
life and a vital service for children, the ill, the dis-
abled, and the elderly. 
(2) The establishment of a caregiver credit 
would bolster the economic prospects of unpaid care-
givers and would provide them with vital retirement 
security. 
(3) The 2018 Annual Report of the Board of 
Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors In-
surance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust 
Funds concluded that the combined Trust Funds 
will be able to pay scheduled benefits in full until 
2034. 
(b) SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 
It is the sense of House of Representatives that the United 
States Congress must address the unfair exclusion of pro-
fessional and hardworking home care providers who are 
not eligible to receive Social Security or Medicare because 
they provide paid care to a family member with a disability 
under programs operated at the State and local level for 
general health and welfare protection. 
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SEC. 3. DEEMED WAGES FOR CAREGIVERS OF DEPENDENT 
RELATIVES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Social Security Act 
is amended by adding after section 234 (42 U.S.C. 434) 
the following new section: 
‘‘DEEMED WAGES FOR CAREGIVERS OF DEPENDENT 
RELATIVES 
‘‘SEC. 235. (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 
section— 
‘‘(1)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the term 
‘qualifying month’ means, in connection with an in-
dividual, any month— 
‘‘(i) beginning after the date which is 60 
months prior to the date of the enactment of 
the Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 
2019; and 
‘‘(ii) during which such individual was en-
gaged for not less than 80 hours in providing 
care to a dependent relative without monetary 
compensation. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘qualifying month’ does not in-
clude any month ending after the date on which 
such individual attains retirement age (as defined in 
section 216(l)). 
‘‘(2) The term ‘dependent relative’ means, in 
connection with an individual— 
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‘‘(A) a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew 
(of such individual or such individual’s spouse 
or domestic partner), or a child to which the in-
dividual or the individual’s spouse or domestic 
partner is standing in loco parentis, who is 
under the age of 12; or 
‘‘(B) a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew 
(of such individual or such individual’s spouse 
or domestic partner), a child to which the indi-
vidual or the individual’s spouse or domestic 
partner is standing in loco parentis, a parent, 
grandparent, sibling, aunt, or uncle (of such in-
dividual or his or her spouse or domestic part-
ner), or such individual’s spouse or domestic 
partner, if such child, grandchild, niece, neph-
ew, parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, 
spouse, or domestic partner is a chronically de-
pendent individual. 
‘‘(3)(A) The term ‘chronically dependent indi-
vidual’ means an individual who— 
‘‘(i) is dependent on a daily basis on verbal 
reminding, physical cueing, supervision, or 
other assistance provided to the individual by 
another person in the performance of at least 
two of the activities of daily living (described in 
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subparagraph (B)) or instrumental activities of 
daily living (described in subparagraph (C)); 
and 
‘‘(ii) without the assistance described in 
clause (i), could not perform such activities of 
daily living or instrumental activities of daily 
living. 
‘‘(B) The ‘activities of daily living’ referred to 
in subparagraph (A) means basic personal everyday 
activities, including— 
‘‘(i) eating; 
‘‘(ii) bathing; 
‘‘(iii) dressing; 
‘‘(iv) toileting; and 
‘‘(v) transferring in and out of a bed or in 
and out of a chair. 
‘‘(C) The ‘instrumental activities of daily living’ 
referred to in subparagraph (A) means activities re-
lated to living independently in the community, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(i) meal planning and preparation; 
‘‘(ii) managing finances; 
‘‘(iii) shopping for food, clothing, or other 
essential items; 
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‘‘(ii) in the case of any other qualifying month, 
the excess of the amount determined under clause (i) 
over 1⁄2 of the wages or self-employment income ac-
tually paid to or derived by such individual during 
such month. 
‘‘(B) In any case in which there are more than 60 
qualifying months for an individual, only the last 60 of 
such months shall be taken into account for purposes of 
this section. 
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be applicable in the case 
of any monthly benefit or lump-sum death payment if a 
larger such benefit or payment, as the case may be, would 
be payable without its application. 
‘‘(3) Any assistance or support services provided to 
caregivers under section 1720G of title 38, United States 
Code, shall not be considered wages or self-employment 
income for the purposes of determining entitlement to and 
the amount of any monthly benefit payable under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(c) RULES AND REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this section, the Commissioner of 
Social Security shall promulgate such regulations as 
are necessary to carry out this section and to pre-
vent fraud and abuse with respect to the benefits 
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under this section, including regulations establishing 
procedures for the application and certification re-
quirements described in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) A qualifying month shall not be taken into 
account under this section with respect to an indi-
vidual unless— 
‘‘(A) the individual submits to the Com-
missioner of Social Security an application for 
benefits under this section that includes— 
‘‘(i) the name and identifying infor-
mation of the dependent relative with re-
spect to whom the individual was engaged 
in providing care during such month; 
‘‘(ii) if the dependent relative is not a 
child under the age of 12, documentation 
from the physician of the dependent rel-
ative explaining why the dependent relative 
is a chronically dependent individual; and 
‘‘(iii) such other information as the 
Commissioner may require to verify the 
status of the dependent relative; and 
‘‘(B) for every qualifying month or period 
of up to 12 consecutive qualifying months that 
occurs after the first period of 12 consecutive 
qualifying months, the individual certifies, in 
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such form and manner as the Commissioner 
shall require, that the information provided in 
the individual’s application for benefits under 
this section has not changed.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 209(k)(1) 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 409(k)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘230(b)(2)’’ the 
first time it appears; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘and 235(b)(1)(A)(i),’’ after 
‘‘1977),’’. 
SEC. 4. PROMOTING STATE PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE MED-
ICAL TRAINING TO CAREGIVERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services is authorized to make grants to States 
to support State programs that provide medical training 
to individuals who provide care to dependent relatives 
without monetary compensation. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this section. 
Æ 
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