A bill to authorize an appropriation to reimburse certain expenditures for social services provided by the States prior to October 1, 1975, under titles I, IV-A, VI, X, XIV, and XVI of the Social Security Act.
PL 95-291 (H.R.11370), enacted 06/12/1978

92 STAT. 304 
PUBLIC LAW 95-291—JUNE 12, 1978 
Public Law 95-291 
95th Congress 
June 12, 1978 
[H.R. 11370] 
Social Security 
Act, expenditure 
reimbursement. 
Appropriation 
authorization. 
42 u s e 1397a 
note. 
42 u s e 301, 
601, 801 note, 
1201 note, 1351 
note, 1381. 
"Unpaid claim." 
42 u s e 1320b 
note. 
42 u s e 1397a 
note. 
42 u s e 301, 
601, 801 note, 
1201 note, 1351 
note, 1381. 
An Act 
To authorize an appropriation to reimburKe certain expenditures for social 
services provided by the States prior to October 1, 1975, under titles I, IV-A, 
VI, X, XIV, and XVI of the S(x;ial Security Act. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of A7nerica in Congress assembled, That (a) there is 
authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year which ends on 
September 30, 1979, not to exceed $543,000,000, to remain available 
until expended, to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to any 
State the amount determined by the Secretary of Health, Education, 
and Welfare (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the "Secretary"), 
in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this Act, to be payable 
to the State in settlement of the unpaid claim of the State against the 
United States for reimbursement of expenditures made by the State 
prior to October 1,1975, with respect to services (and related adminis-
trative costs) which the State asserts were provided (or incurred) 
under an approved State plan pursuant to title I, IV-A, VI, X, XIV, 
or XVI of the Social Security Act. 
(b) For purposes of this Act, the term "unpaid claim" of any State 
means (subject to the succeeding sentence) the total amount of Federal 
reimbursement for expenditures of the type specified in subsection (a) 
which has not been paid to such State prior to the date of enactment 
of this Act. In determining such total amount in the case of any State, 
any portion thereof attributable to expenditures made in any fiscal 
year with respect to which the provisions of section 1130 of the Social 
Security Act (as then in effect) were applicable shall be reduced (but 
not below zero) by the excess (if any) of (1) the aggregate of the 
portion of such total amount attributable to expenditures made in such 
year and the total amount of the Federal reimbursement paid prior to 
the date of enactment of this Act to such State with respect to expend-
itures made in such year, over (2) the State's allotment determined 
under such section 1130 for such year. 
SEC. 2. (a) In the case of that portion of the unpaid claim of a State 
that the Secretary determines was asserted against the United States, 
in the form and manner prescribed by the Secretary with respect to 
the filing of claims under titles I, IV-A, VI, X, XIV, and XVI of the 
Social Security Act, prior to April 1,1977, the Secretary shall certify 
to the Secretary of the Treasury for pavments to the State the sum 
of— 
(1) an amount equal to 38 percent of so much of such portion 
as does not exceed $50,000,000; 
(2) an amount equal to 35 percent of so much of such portion 
as exceeds $50,000,000 but does not exceed $150,000,000; and 
(3) an amount equal to 21 percent of so much of such portion 
as exceeds $150,000,000; 
except that the percentage specified in paragraph (1) shall be 58 
percent and the percentage specified in paragraph (2) shall be 50 
percent in the case of a State if the portion of the unpaid claim of such 
State referred to in the preceding provisions of this subsection equals 
or exceeds 85 percent of the sum of (A) such portion and (B) the 
PUBLIC LAW 95-291—JUNE 12, 1978 
92 STAT. 305 
total amount of Federal reimbursement for expenditures of the type 
specified in the first section of this Act which has been paid to such 
State prior to the date of enactment of this Act but with respect to 
which formal steps have been initiated by the Secretary to recover 
such reimbursement. 
(b) (1) In the case of the portion of the unpaid claims of a State 
that the Secretary determines meets the requirements of subsection 
(a), except that the claim was asserted, in the form and manner pre-
scribed by the Secretary, on or after April 1, 1977, but prior to the 
ninety-first day following the date upon which this Act is enacted, 
the Secretary shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for pay-
ment to the State, subject to paragraph (2), an amount equal to 15 
percent of so much of such portion as he finds to be for the provision 
of services that he finds the State provided and for which lie has not 
provided reimbursement, but the expenditures for which were reim-
bursable under title I, IV-A, VI, X, XIV, or X V I of the Social Secu-
rity Act prior to April 1,1977, or, if not services the expenditures for 
which were reimbursable, are services of a similar kind and are not 
otherwise reimbursable under this Act. 
(2) The Secretary may not certify for payment to any State under 
the authority of this subsection an aggregate amount that exceeds 5 
percent of that State's allotment for the fiscal year 1973 of social serv-
ice funds under titles I, IV-A, X, X I V , and X V I of the Social Secu-
rity Act, as determined in accordance with section 1130(b) of such Act, 
less the amount certified for payment to the State under subsection (a) 
of this section. 
(3) The Secretary shall have no authority", by regulations or other-
wise, to extend the time period specified in paragraph (1) or to waive 
the time limit for assertion of a claim. 
SEC. 3. (a) Except with respect to amounts paid by the Secretary to a 
State prior to April 1, 1977, no State is entitled to reimbursement of 
expenditures described by the first section of this Act, except as pro-
vided by this Act. 
(b) Xeither the Secretary nor any other official of the Federal 
Government may seek to recover any amount paid to a State prior to 
April 1,1977, or pursuant to this Act, as reimbursement of expenditures 
made by the State of the type described by the first section of this Act. 
SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary is authorized to enter into agreements 
with any State in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and 
agreements entered into prior to the enactment of this Act, to the 
extent not inconsistent with the terms hereof, shall have the same force 
and effect as agreements entered into subsequent to enactment of 
this Act. 
(b) In the absence of an agreement, a State dissatisfied with a 
determination by the Secretary under this Act may, by application to 
the Secretary within 60 days after the date of notice to the State of 
that determination, obtain the Secretary's review of that determina-
tion. If the application requests a hearing, the Secretary shall conduct 
a hearing after reasonable notice to the State, and shall, on the basis 
of evidence adduced at the hearing, affirm, modify, or reverse his 
determination. If the Secretary does not preside at the reception of the 
evidence at the hearing, the decision of the presiding official or body 
shall be the decision of the Secretary. 
42 use 301, 
601, 801 note, 
1201 note, 1351 
note, 1381. 
42 use 1320b 
note. 
42 use 1397a 
note. 
Agreements. 
42 use 1397a 
note. 
Notice and 
hearing. 
92 STAT. 306 
PUBLIC LAW 95-291—JUNE 12, 1978 
42 use 1397a 
note. 
Jurisdiction. 
(c) No court of the United States has jurisdiction to entertain any 
action seeking the review of any determination or finding of the Secre-
tary under this Act, or otherwise seeking to compel a determination 
by the Secretary to certify for payment any claim described by the 
first section of this Act; except that the appropriate district court 
shall have jurisdiction over any action seeking enforcement of an 
agreement of the kind referred to in subsection (a). 
SEC. 5. (a) Amounts appropriated under the first section of this 
Act shall be first applied in settlement of the portions of unpaid claims 
described in section 2(a). If, after that payment, the amounts remain-
ing are insufficient to pay the amounts established by section 2(b) 
with respect to the portions of unpaid claims asserted under section 
2(b), the Secretary shall certify for payment with respect to each such 
portion an amount that bears the same relationship to that portion as 
the total of such remaining available amounts bears to the total of all 
portions of unpaid claims asserted under section 2(b). 
(b) A reduction effected by subsection (a) of this section in the 
amount payable to a State under section 2(b) does not give rise to an 
entitlement of the State to the difference between the amount payable 
under section 2(b) (without regard to subsection (a) of this section) 
and the amount payable under section 2(b) after application of sub-
section (a) of this section. 
(c) In the event that the amount appropriated pursuant to the first 
section of this Act exceeds the payable portions of unpaid claims 
under subsections (a) and (b) of section 2, the amount paid to any 
State receiving a payment computed with respect to paragraph (3) 
of section 2(a) shall be increased (to the extent of such excess) by an 
amount equal to the difference between the amount it received under 
section 2(a) and the amount it Avould have so received if the per-
centage in such paragraph had been 25 percent. 
42 use 1397a 
SEC. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to each State, out 
note. 
of amounts appropriated pursuant to the first section of this Act, all 
amounts certified by the Secretary as payable to that State under the 
tenns of this Act. 
Approved June 12, 1978. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 95-1114, Pt. I (Comm. on the Judiciary) and 95-1114, Pt. II 
(Comm. on Ways and Means). 
SENATE REPORT No. 95-632 accompanying S. 2360 (Comm. on Finance). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, VoL 124 (1978): 
May 23, considered and passed House. 
May 25, considered and passed Senate. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, VoL 14, No. 24: 
June 12, Presidential statement.