I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6532 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to update and improve eligibility 
criteria for the Social Security Disability Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2018 
Mr. ROKITA (for himself and Mr. WEBSTER of Florida) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 
and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to update 
and improve eligibility criteria for the Social Security 
Disability Program, 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 ‘‘Making DI Work For 
All Americans Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
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Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
TITLE I—ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES 
Sec. 101. Strengthening the administrative law judge quality review process. 
Sec. 102. Applying judicial code of conduct to administrative law judges. 
Sec. 103. Compensation for claimant representatives. 
Sec. 104. Minimum monthly withholding to recover overpayments. 
Sec. 105. Disqualification on receipt of disability insurance benefits in a month 
for which unemployment compensation is received. 
Sec. 106. Elimination of reconsideration review application stages. 
Sec. 107. Report on hiring new administrative law judges and staff. 
TITLE II—ELIGIBILITY 
Sec. 201. Updating of medical-vocational guidelines. 
Sec. 202. Review of social media activity. 
Sec. 203. Updating data on work which exists in national economy. 
TITLE III—CONTINUING DISABILITY REVIEWS 
Sec. 301. Study on impact of medical review standard. 
Sec. 302. Additional training relating to MIRS exceptions. 
Sec. 303. Increased frequency of continuing disability reviews. 
Sec. 304. Communication relating to termination of benefits. 
Sec. 305. Communication relating to reporting requirements. 
TITLE IV—BENEFITS 
Sec. 401. Establishment of annual poverty guideline based disability insurance 
benefits. 
Sec. 402. Retroactive payment of benefits. 
Sec. 403. Inclusion of unearned income in determination of substantial gainful 
activity. 
TITLE I—ADMINISTRATIVE 
CHANGES 
SEC. 101. STRENGTHENING THE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 
JUDGE QUALITY REVIEW PROCESS. 
(a) REVIEW.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Divi-
sion of Quality of the Office of Appellate Operations of 
the Social Security Administration shall conduct a review 
of a sample of determinations that individuals are entitled 
to disability insurance benefits by outlier administrative 
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law judges and identify any determinations that are not 
supported by the evidence. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than December 1 of each 
year in which a review described in subsection (a) is con-
ducted, the Division of Quality Review of the Office of Ap-
pellate Operations of the Social Security Administration 
shall submit a report containing the results of such review, 
including all determinations that were found to be unsup-
ported by the evidence, together with any recommenda-
tions for administrative action or proposed legislation that 
the Division determines appropriate, to— 
(1) the Inspector General of the Social Security 
Administration; 
(2) the Commissioner of the Social Security Ad-
ministration; 
(3) the Committees on Ways and Means and 
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
Representatives; and 
(4) the Committees on Finance and Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 
(c) DEFINITION OF OUTLIER ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 
JUDGE.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘outlier 
administrative law judge’’ means an administrative law 
judge within the Office of Disability Adjudication and Re-
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view of the Social Security Administration who, in a given 
year— 
(1) determines that the applicant is entitled to 
disability insurance benefits more often than 90 per-
cent of administrative law judges making determina-
tions under this title; or 
(2) issues more decisions than 90 percent of ad-
ministrative law judges making determinations 
under this title. 
SEC. 102. APPLYING JUDICIAL CODE OF CONDUCT TO AD-
MINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3105 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Each agency’’ and inserting 
‘‘(a) Each agency’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) The Code of Conduct for United States Judges 
adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United States 
shall apply to administrative law judges appointed under 
this section. 
‘‘(c) If, in applying a standard of conduct to an ad-
ministrative law judge appointed under this section, there 
is a conflict between the Code of Conduct for United 
States Judges and any other law or regulation, the stricter 
standard of conduct shall apply. 
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‘‘(d) Pursuant to section 7301, the President may 
issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 
subsections (b) and (c).’’. 
(b) LIMITATION ON REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Sec-
tion 1305 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ‘‘3105’’ and inserting ‘‘3105(a)’’. 
SEC. 103. COMPENSATION FOR CLAIMANT REPRESENTA-
TIVES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 206 of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 406) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘REPRESENTATION OF CLAIMANTS 
‘‘SEC. 206. (a)(1) The Commissioner of Social Secu-
rity may prescribe rules and regulations governing the rec-
ognition of agents or other persons, other than attorneys 
as hereinafter provided, representing claimants before the 
Commissioner of Social Security, and may require of such 
agents or other persons, before being recognized as rep-
resentatives of claimants that they shall show that they 
are of good character and in good repute, possessed of 
the necessary qualifications to enable them to render such 
claimants valuable service, and otherwise competent to ad-
vise and assist such claimants in the presentation of their 
cases. An attorney in good standing who is admitted to 
practice before the highest court of the State, Territory, 
District, or insular possession of his residence or before 
the Supreme Court of the United States or the inferior 
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Federal courts, shall be entitled to represent claimants be-
fore the Commissioner of Social Security. 
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Commis-
sioner, after due notice and opportunity for hearing— 
‘‘(A) may refuse to recognize as a representa-
tive, and may disqualify a representative already rec-
ognized, any attorney who has been disbarred or 
suspended from any court or bar to which he or she 
was previously admitted to practice or who has been 
disqualified from participating in or appearing be-
fore any Federal program or agency, and 
‘‘(B) may refuse to recognize, and may dis-
qualify, as a non-attorney representative any attor-
ney who has been disbarred or suspended from any 
court or bar to which he or she was previously ad-
mitted to practice. 
‘‘(3) The Commissioner of Social Security may, after 
due notice and opportunity for hearing, suspend or pro-
hibit from further practice before the Commissioner any 
such person, agent, or attorney who refuses to comply with 
the Commissioner’s rules and regulations. 
‘‘(b) In prescribing the rules and regulations de-
scribed in subsection (a), the Commissioner of Social Se-
curity may not prescribe any rules or regulations regard-
ing the permissible fees which may be charged for services 
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performed in connection with any claim before the Com-
missioner of Social Security under this title or title XVI. 
In no case shall the Commissioner certify any amount for 
payment to any representative out of any benefits payable 
to a claimant under this title or title XVI.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO TITLE XVI.— 
Section 1631(d)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1383(d)(2)) is amended— 
(1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) The provisions of section 206 shall apply to this 
part to the same extent as they apply in the case of title 
II.’’; and 
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub-
paragraph (B). 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to applications for 
benefits filed on or after January 1, 2019. 
SEC. 104. MINIMUM MONTHLY WITHHOLDING TO RECOVER 
OVERPAYMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(a)(1) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 404(a)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (A) as 
clause (i) of subparagraph (A); 
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(2) in subparagraph (A)(i) (as so redesignated), 
by striking ‘‘With’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to clause 
(ii), with’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(ii) If the Commissioner determines that 
withholding the full amount of a monthly dis-
ability insurance benefit payment to which an 
individual is otherwise entitled under this title 
to recover an overpayment pursuant to this sec-
tion would defeat the purpose of this title, the 
Commissioner may withhold from such payment 
an amount that is less than such full amount 
but not less than 10 percent of such full 
amount.’’. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Commissioner of Social Se-
curity shall prescribe such regulations and make any con-
forming changes to regulations as the Commissioner de-
termines appropriate to carry out the amendments made 
by this subsection. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this subsection shall apply with respect to overpayments 
made on or after January 1, 2019. 
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SEC. 105. DISQUALIFICATION ON RECEIPT OF DISABILITY 
INSURANCE BENEFITS IN A MONTH FOR 
WHICH UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION IS 
RECEIVED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 223(d)(4) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 423(d)(4)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(D)(i) If for any week ending within a month an 
individual is paid unemployment compensation, such indi-
vidual shall be deemed to have engaged in substantial 
gainful activity for such month. 
‘‘(ii) For purposes of clause (i), the term ‘unemploy-
ment compensation’ means— 
‘‘(I) ‘regular compensation’, ‘extended com-
pensation’, and ‘additional compensation’ (as such 
terms are defined by section 205 of the Federal- 
State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act 
(26 U.S.C. 3304 note)); and 
‘‘(II) trade readjustment allowance under title 
II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251 et 
seq.).’’. 
(b) TRIAL WORK PERIOD.—Section 222(c) of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 422(c)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(6)(A) For purposes of this subsection, an individual 
shall be deemed to have rendered services in a month if 
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the individual is paid unemployment compensation for any 
week ending within such month. 
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term 
‘unemployment compensation’ means— 
‘‘(i) ‘regular compensation’, ‘extended com-
pensation’, and ‘additional compensation’ (as such 
terms are defined by section 205 of the Federal- 
State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act 
(26 U.S.C. 3304 note)); and 
‘‘(ii) trade readjustment allowance under title II 
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2251 et 
seq.).’’. 
(c) DATA MATCHING.—The Commissioner of Social 
Security shall implement the amendments made by this 
section using appropriate electronic data. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to individuals who ini-
tially apply for disability insurance benefits on or after 
January 1, 2019, and are paid unemployment compensa-
tion for any week ending on or after January 1, 2019. 
SEC. 106. ELIMINATION OF RECONSIDERATION REVIEW AP-
PLICATION STAGES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(b) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 405(b)) is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 
following new sentence: ‘‘Opportunity for a hearing 
under this title in accordance with this subsection 
with respect to any initial decision or determination 
under this title shall be available without any re-
quirement for intervening reconsideration.’’; 
(2) by striking paragraph (2); 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (2); and 
(4) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘or an adverse determination on reconsider-
ation of such an initial determination’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title II of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), as amended by subsection 
(a), is further amended— 
(1) in section 201(j), by striking ‘‘reconsider-
ation interviews and’’; and 
(2) in section 221(i)(3)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘reconsideration of such 
initial termination or’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘reconsideration or’’ before 
‘‘hearing’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to any initial deter-
mination of entitlement to a benefit under title II of the 
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