Title: Social Security Disability Protection Act
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Social Security Disability Protection Act
This bill prohibits the Social Security Administration from reinstating reconsideration of an initial disability determination in any of the 10 prototype states. (Those states skip the reconsideration level of the disability-benefits determination process and instead go straight to the hearing level.)

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3741 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3741

  To prohibit the Social Security Administration from reinstating the 
reconsideration level of appeal for disability determinations in the 10 
               prototype States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 12, 2018

   Mr. Casey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the Social Security Administration from reinstating the 
reconsideration level of appeal for disability determinations in the 10 
               prototype States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Social Security Disability 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITING SSA FROM REINSTATING THE RECONSIDERATION LEVEL OF 
              APPEAL FOR DISABILITY DETERMINATIONS IN THE 10 PROTOTYPE 
              STATES.

    (a) In General.--The Commissioner of Social Security shall not 
reinstate reconsideration of an initial disability determination by the 
Disability Determination Services of Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, 
Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, 
or California (Los Angeles North and Los Angeles West Branches).
    (b) Improving the Reconsideration Level of Review for Disability 
Determinations.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security 
        shall submit to the applicable committees a detailed plan to--
                    (A) improve the reconsideration level of review for 
                disability determinations; and
                    (B) decrease case processing time for initial 
                disability determinations and appeals.
            (2) Input from stakeholders and other experts.--For 
        purposes of developing the plan described in paragraph (1), the 
        Commissioner of Social Security shall include information and 
        input from--
                    (A) the Chairman of the Administrative Conference 
                of the United States;
                    (B) disability advocates and stakeholders through a 
                National Disability Forum, as well as other outreach 
                methods;
                    (C) data collected from the 1997 Disability 
                Redesign Prototype model, including the elimination of 
                the reconsideration step of the administrative review 
                process for disability determinations in the 10 
                prototype States; and
                    (D) scholarly experts as well as peer-reviewed 
                disability or administrative review studies published 
                by academic or non-profit research institutions.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Applicable committee.--The term ``applicable 
        committees'' means the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
        of Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        House of Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of 
        the Senate, and the Committee on Finance of the Senate.
            (2) Initial disability determination.--The term ``initial 
        disability determination'' means a determination made by a 
        State Disability Determination Services office in regards to 
        whether an individual is disabled for purposes of any benefits 
        under title II or XVI of the Social Security Act based on such 
        individual's status as disabled.
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