zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Measuring American Poverty Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau), in collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), to calculate modern poverty thresholds and modern poverty rates for each calendar year. Directs the Census Bureau and the BLS to choose: (1) the most appropriate distribution of consumption expenditures on food, clothing, and shelter, which may exclude families receiving subsidies for food, clothing, or shelter; and (2) the reference family for the modern poverty measure. Declares that the modern poverty threshold for a reference family shall be an amount equal to the average of 120% of the 33rd percentile of the distribution chosen, allowing for calculations to rely on a limited band converging on this percentile, during four or more of the most recent years for which data is available from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, a superior federal government source of data, or some combination of such sources. Prescribes requirements for determining modern poverty rates. Directs the Census Bureau, in collaboration with the BLS, to contract with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to develop and publish methods of: (1) calculating a decent living standard threshold; and (2) measuring the extent to which the income of families in the United States is sufficient to meet it. Directs the Census Bureau, in collaboration with the BLS, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to contract with NAS to develop and publish a method of: (1) measuring the extent of medical care risk in the United States; and (2) calculating the number and percentage of individuals in the United States who lack adequate health insurance, leaving them at risk of being unable to afford needed treatment. Directs the Census Bureau to contract with NAS to develop a set of recommendations for methods to implement annual modern poverty measurement at the state and local level and a timeframe for the implementation.

Date: 2009-08-06
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Fort Hood Victims and Families Benefits Protection Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) any member of the Armed Forces who was killed or wounded in the attack at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009, and the family members of those victims, should receive the same treatment and benefits as the victims and families of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States; (2) such members and families have made tremendous sacrifices, and the United States should provide them with the maximum level of benefits available, identical to that available to those killed or wounded in an overseas combat zone such as Iraq or Afghanistan; and (3) the Department of Defense (DOD) should honor the Americans killed or injured in such attack with awards that recognize their sacrifices, including the Purple Heart for members and the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom for civilian DOD employees. Treats members and DOD civilian employees killed or wounded in the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, as members killed or wounded in a combat zone or civilian employees killed or wounded in a terrorist attack or while serving in a contingency operation, respectively, for purposes of specified laws, regulations, and policies concerning compensation, awards, and other benefits for which such members and employees are eligible.

Date: 2009-11-20
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Blind Persons Return to Work Act of 2010 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) apply a specified earnings test in the determination of the amount of monthly insurance benefits for blind beneficiaries; (2) limit to once a year any review of a determination of disability based on blindness; and (3) reduce any excess earnings of blind beneficiaries by the amount of impairment related work expenses. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security, with respect to the mandatory annual report of earnings by an individual entitled to a monthly insurance benefit, to develop procedures to avoid paying less than the correct amount of benefits to any such individual as a result, during the year, of a termination of employment or a significant reduction in hours of work.

Date: 2010-01-28
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Improving the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes Act of 2010 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine to conduct a study on nursing homes, including: (1) the current structure and methods for surveying and evaluating nursing homes; (2) the nature of the relationship between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and nursing homes and how it affects efforts to improve quality; (3) the relationship between CMS and state agencies; (4) the methodology used by CMS to survey and evaluate nursing homes; (5) an evaluation of how the states and the District of Columbia implement federal requirements and the resulting variations and differences; (6) the objectivity and accuracy of the survey process and criteria used to assess nursing homes; (7) the effectiveness of the current enforcement system in promoting and encouraging systemic organizational change leading to measurable and sustained quality improvement within the nursing home; and (8) alternatives to the current system. Requires the Institute to report to the Secretary and Congress on the study results and recommendations regarding changes in regulatory policies and procedures to enhance the ability of the regulatory system to assure that nursing home residents receive quality care.

Date: 2010-05-25
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Amends the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to exempt certain type III supporting organizations from the payout requirements that such organizations, to stay exempt from federal taxation, must make distributions of a percentage of either income or assets to supported organizations in order to ensure that a significant amount is paid to such organizations. Limits such exemption to type III supporting organizations classified as such before August 17, 2006, no substantial contributor to which was alive on such date, and having no family member of a substantial contributor as an organization manager or a borrower or lessee of property from the organization, if either: (1) the organization has not accepted any contribution from a substantial contributor after December 31, 1970, other than by operation of the creator's will or other gift instrument executed before December 31, 1970; or (2) the organization normally distributes each year, to keep its tax exemption, at least 85% of its adjusted net income for the immediately preceding year and holds 30% or more of the reasonably estimated value of its total assets, other than those used or held for use directly in carrying out one or more specified religious, charitable, scientific, literary, educational, or related purposes, in the form of assets for which market quotations are not readily available but which normally produce gross investment income.

Date: 2010-05-28
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Labor and employment
Senior Financial Empowerment Act of 2010 - Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): (1) to disseminate to seniors and their families and caregivers information on mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors, including on ways of referring complaints to appropriate law enforcement agencies; (2) in response to a request about a particular entity or individual, to provide publicly available information on any record of civil or criminal law enforcement action for such fraud; and (3) to maintain a website as a resource for such individuals on those kinds of fraud. Directs the Attorney General to establish and administer a competitive grant program for mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud prevention education programs for senior citizens. Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to public awareness of the impact of such fraud on senior citizens.

Date: 2010-06-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
American Liberty Restoration Act - Repeals provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that require individuals to maintain minimum essential health care coverage. Applies the Internal Revenue Code as if such provisions had never been enacted.

Date: 2010-06-17
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Health Care Bureaucrats Elimination Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board charged with developing and submitting to the President, for Congress to consider, detailed proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending.

Date: 2010-07-27
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Children First Act of 2010 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) exclude child care assistance from the determination of the five-year limit on TANF assistance; and (2) increase funding for child care. Requires an eligible state's TANF plan to include a certification by the state's chief executive officer that procedures are in effect to ensure that any child care provider in the state that provides services funded through TANF expenditures or with qualified state expenditures complies with all applicable state or local health and safety requirements under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990. Increases from 5 to 12 the maximum age of a child for which a single custodial parent who is unable to find child care for such child will not penalized with a reduction or termination of TANF assistance based on that individual's refusal to engage in required work in order to take care of the child. Subjects to the individual and case data reporting requirements of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 any TANF funds expended for child care, whether or not transferred to that Act, and exempts such funds from SSA reporting requirements.

Date: 2010-07-29
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Rural America Preservation Act of 2010 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to cap maximum annual direct and counter-cyclical payments to an individual (for covered commodities and peanuts) at $20,000 and $30,000, respectively. Revises limitation provisions for marketing loan gains, loan deficiency payments, and commodity certificate transactions, and establishes an annual combined limitation of $75,000 for such payments. Doubles payment limitations for single farming operations. Limits an individual or a legal entity to a combined annual payment of $250,000. Sets forth attribution of payment provisions for: (1) individuals; (2) legal entities; and (3) embedded legal entities. Revises provisions respecting limitation of benefits to active farmers. Makes a person who commits fraud in connection with a scheme or device to evade certain program limitations ineligible for farm benefits for six years. Makes foreign individuals and foreign entities ineligible for agricultural program benefits.

Date: 2010-08-04
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Extended TRICARE Coverage for Military Families Now Act - Prohibits terminating the eligibility of an individual who qualifies for treatment as a dependent under TRICARE (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed care program) solely by reason of exceeding the age limit of 21 years, or 23 years if enrolled in a full-time course of study at an approved institution of higher learning and is, or was at the time of the member's or former member's death, in fact dependent on the member or former member for over one-half of the child's support. Requires the continuation of such coverage for the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on the earlier of September 30, 2011, or the effective date of the extension of dependent coverage under TRICARE to individuals up to the age of 26. Provides for the reenrollment of individuals whose eligibility ceased during the period beginning on June 1, 2010, and ending on the date of enactment of this Act by reason of exceeding such age limit.

Date: 2010-09-27
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Protecting Seniors' Access to Doctors Act of 2010 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to set at 1% from December 1, 2010, through December 31, 2011, the update to the single conversion factor in the formula for determining the physician fee payment schedule.

Date: 2010-11-18
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Incentives for Older Workers Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to prohibit a reduction in benefits for an employee under a defined benefit pension plan who has begun a phased retirement and was employed on a substantially full-time basis during the previous 12-month period before phased retirement. Defines "phased retirement" as the period when an employee is employed on substantially less than a full-time basis or with substantially reduced responsibilities after reaching age 50 or completing 30 years of creditable service under the plan. Amends the Social Security Act to raise from 70 to 72 the age up to which inidividuals are allowed to earn delayed retirement credits for purposes of the calculation of increased old-age insurance benefit payments. Revises federal old-age, survivors, and disability insurance benefits requirements to eliminate the 50% reduction in such benefits due to an individual who claims benefits before reaching 66 years old and who continues to work. (Retains the 33 1/3% offset.) Directs the Secretary of Labor to award a grant to establish a National Resource Center on Aging and the Workforce to act as a national information clearinghouse on workforce issues, challenges, and solutions for older workers. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) to revise the composition of state and local workforce investment boards to include representatives of older individuals. Sets aside 5% of WIA funds allocated to local areas for certain adult employment and training activities for activities for older workers. Amends the IRC to expand eligibility for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to qualified older workers (age 55 or older whose income does not exceed 125% of the poverty line). Allows certain defined benefit pension plans to define normal retirement age as the earlier of the attainment of: (1) a specified allowed age; or (2) at least 30 years of service.

Date: 2010-12-07
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Labor and employment
Social Security for Americans Only Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) prohibit the wages earned, and self-employment income derived, by individuals who are not U.S. citizens or nationals from being credited for coverage under the OASDI program; and (2) authorize the President to enter into (totalization) agreements with other nations to resolve entitlement and participation questions about their respective social security systems, taking into account such limitation on the crediting of wages and self-employment.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Beneficiary Tax Reduction Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, effective January 1, 2011, the 1993 increase in income taxes on Social Security benefits.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the inclusion of any social security or tier I railroad retirement benefits in gross income. Appropriates funds to cover reductions in transfers to the Social Security and Railroad Retirement Trust Funds resulting from the enactment of this Act. Expresses the sense of Congress against using tax increases to provide revenue necessary to carry out this Act.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Social Security Preservation Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require the Managing Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security Trust Funds) to ensure that the annual surplus of the Social Security Trust Funds is invested in: (1) marketable interest-bearing obligations of the United States or obligations guaranteed by the United States; or (2) certificates of deposit in insured depository institutions. Outlines requirements for determining the annual surplus of the Trust Funds. Prohibits disinvestment of Social Security Trust Fund amounts from public debt obligations, any refraining from making such investments, or any delay in making normal deposits in such Trust Funds for public debt limit-related purposes. Authorizes, with certain conditions, the sale of Social Security Trust Fund public debt obligations for the payment of cash benefits and administrative expenses.

Date: 2011-01-07
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit using a Social Security account number except for specified Social Security and tax purposes. Prohibits the Social Security Administration from divulging the Social Security account number of an individual to any federal, state, or local government agency or instrumentality, or to any other individual. Amends the Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit any federal, state, or local government agency or instrumentality from requesting an individual to disclose his Social Security account number on either a mandatory or a voluntary basis. Prohibits any two federal agencies or instrumentalities from implementing the same identifying number with respect to any individual (except as authorized by the Social Security Act). Prohibits any federal agency from: (1) establishing or mandating a uniform standard for identification of an individual that is required to be used by any other federal or state agency, or by a private person, for any purpose other than that of conducting the authorized activities of the standard-establishing or -mandating federal agency; or (2) conditioning receipt of any federal grant, contract, or other federal funding on the adoption, by a state or local government, or by a state agency, of such a uniform standard.

Date: 2011-01-07
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Savings for Seniors Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to establish in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund a Social Security Surplus Protection Account to hold the Social Security surplus.Denies the availability of the balance in the Account for investment by the Managing Trustee.Establishes in the executive branch of Government a Social Security Investment Commission to study and report to the President and Congress on the most effective vehicles for investment of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, other than investment in the form of U.S. obligations resulting in the transfer of Trust Fund assets to the general fund of the Treasury.

Date: 2011-01-07
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Notch Baby Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act with respect to the benefit computation formula for individuals affected by the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977 who became eligible (at age 62) for (early retirement) old-age insurance benefits after 1978 and before 1989 (and reached age 65 for full-retirement benefits after 1981 and before 1992).Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 60% to 10% keyed to the year an individual became eligible for (early retirement) benefits between 1978 and 1989.

Date: 2011-01-07
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Number Fraudulent Use Notification Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require the Commissioner of Social Security to notify an individual when: (1) the Social Security account number ascribed to the individual in the wage records provided by an employer to the Social Security Administration does not match relevant Administration records; or (2) the individual's Social Security account number has otherwise been used by any other person in a fraudulent or otherwise illegal manner.

Date: 2011-01-18
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Medicaid Newborn Coverage Act of 2011 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to waive the requirement for proof of citizenship during the first year of life for children born in the United States to a Medicaid-eligible mother.

Date: 2011-01-19
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act of 2011 - Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals aged 62 years of age or older. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to provide for the use of such new CPI in the computation of cost-of-living increases for Social Security benefits.

Date: 2011-01-26
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase to 51 cents per mile the standard mileage rate for the tax deduction for the charitable use of a passenger automobile to deliver meals to homebound individuals who are elderly, disabled, frail, or at risk.

Date: 2011-01-26
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Preserving Our Promise to Seniors Act - Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish for each calendar month a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPIEC) that indicates changes over time in consumption expenditures typical for individuals in the United States 62 years of age or older. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to tie the CPIEC to computation of cost-of-lving increases in OASDI benefits. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to disburse a cash payment of $250 (adjusted for inflation) for each non-COLA year to certain recipients of OASDI benefits, railroad retirement benefits, veterans disability compensation or pension benefits, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits under SSA title XVI. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe special rules for the determination of wages and self-employment income above the contribution and benefit base after 2011. Amends SSA title II to include surplus average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) in the determination of primary OASDI amounts. Develops points of order in the House of Representatives and the Senate with respect to consideration of any legislation whose effect would be a program: (1) reducing OASDI benefits in connection with contributions to individual beneficiary accounts in the private sector; or (2) providing for investment of amounts in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund in any investment vehicle other than interest-bearing U.S. obligations or U.S.-guaranteed obligations.

Date: 2011-02-08
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Senior Investor Protections Enhancement Act of 2011 - Amends the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to authorize the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to impose, in addition to any other civil penalty, a maximum civil penalty of $50,000 for each violation that is directed toward, targets, or is committed against a person who at the time of the violation is age 62 or older. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements to ensure that guideline offense levels and enhancements appropriately punish criminal violations of the securities laws against seniors.

Date: 2011-02-17
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Requires any organization that is established to raise funds for a presidential archival depository or depository facilities to submit by each January 31 to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs information about every contributor who made contributions of $200 or more for the previous year for a depository of a President currently serving or for which the Archivist of the United States has not accepted, taken title to, or entered into an agreement to use any land or facility. Requires the Archivist to make information required to be disclosed by this Act available to the public through the Internet or a successor technology. Imposes criminal penalties on contributors or fundraising organizations who knowingly and willfully submit false information or omit material information with respect to organizations raising funds for presidential archival depositories.

Date: 2011-02-17
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Graduation Promise Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for differentiated high school improvement systems targeting support to schools with low student achievement and graduation rates after such schools fail for two consecutive years to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) pursuant to state academic performance standards. Allots grant funds to states pursuant to a formula that favors states with low graduation rates and a high percentage of students attending low-income LEAs. Requires state grantees to establish comprehensive school performance indicators and minimum annual improvement benchmarks for use, in addition to current AYP measures, in analyzing school performance and determining the improvement category into which a school is placed. Directs LEA subgrantees to: (1) categorize each of their schools that fail to make AYP for two consecutive years as needing targeted intervention, whole school reforms, or replacement; (2) convene a local school improvement team for each of such schools that will use performance indicators, AYP measures, and other relevant data to conduct a school needs assessment and develop a multiyear school improvement plan tailored to the school's need categorization; and (3) support the successful implementation of such plans and district-wide high school improvement strategies. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to LEAs, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education to develop and implement, or replicate, effective secondary school models for struggling students and dropouts.

Date: 2011-02-17
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Education
Social Security Protection and Truth in Budgeting Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the receipts and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security trust funds) from being included in the federal budget baseline for any fiscal year and from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of offsetting any tax decrease or spending increase. Excludes Social Security trust fund receipts and disbursements totals from official Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congressional Budget Office (CBO) budget pronouncements. Makes proceeds to the Social Security trust funds from Social Security taxes available solely for OASDI purposes. Prohibits their availability for the establishment or funding of private accounts.

Date: 2011-02-18
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Colonel Charles Young Home Study Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Colonel Charles Young Home, a National Historic Landmark in Xenia, Ohio, to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the Home as a unit of the National Park System. (Colonel Charles Young was a distinguished African-American officer in the U.S. Army, a pioneer of techniques in military intelligence, as well as a commander of troops in combat in the Spanish-American War and the Mexican expedition against Pancho Villa.)

Date: 2011-02-18
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Retirement Security for Today's Four-Year Olds Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to increase the age for retirement to 70 and the early retirement age to 65 as of January 1, 2069. Revises requirements accordingly for calculation of the first and the second retirement age increase factors.

Date: 2011-03-02
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Federal Withholding Tax Repeal Act of 2011- Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code requiring withholding of income, social security, and railroad retirement taxes from wages.

Date: 2011-03-03
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to provide that the value of certain funeral and burial arrangements involving an irrevocable trust whose named beneficiary is the funeral provider are not to be considered, under the SSI program, as resources available to the individual.

Date: 2011-03-03
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Seniors' Identity Protection Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to prohibit the use of Social Security account numbers on identification cards issued by the U.S. government in connection with benefits under SSA titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP). Declares the sense of Congress that private entities should not use Social Security account numbers as a method identifying individuals on documents made available to the public or on personal identification cards.

Date: 2011-03-09
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Notch Fairness Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for the computation of minimum Old Age Insurance benefits for individuals who reached age 65 in or after 1979, and to whom applies the 15-year transition period for the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55% to 5% and keyed to the year an individual became eligible for such benefits between 1979 and 1988. Allows such beneficiaries, in the alternative, to receive lump sum payments over four years totaling $5,000.

Date: 2011-03-10
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Guarantee Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a benefit guarantee certificate to each individual entitled to benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act. States that any such certificate constitutes budget authority in advance of appropriations Acts, and represents the obligation of the federal government to provide for payment of OASDI benefits named on the certificate, as adjusted (for inflation or otherwise), to the individual to whom it is issued.

Date: 2011-03-11
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2011 - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate the abstinence-only education program, (2) rescind unobligated FY2010-FY2011 program appropriations, and (3) reprogram such rescinded appropriations for the personal responsibility education program (PREP) for FY2012-FY2014.

Date: 2011-03-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Families
CPI for Seniors Act of 2011 - Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly index, to be known as the Consumer Price Index for Seniors (CPI-S), that indicates monthly changes in expenditures for consumption that are typical for individuals in the United States who are 62 years of age or older.

Date: 2011-03-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Social Security Protection Act of 2011 - Makes it out of order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any legislation that: (1) increases the retirement age or the early retirement age for individuals receiving benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act on or after the enactment of this Act; (2) reduces cost-of-living increases for them; (3) reduces benefit payment amounts for them; or (4) creates private retirement accounts for any of the OSADI benefits they receive.

Date: 2011-03-16
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Congress
Senior Citizens Income Security Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) to replace the formula for including social security benefits in gross income for income tax purposes with the formula in existence prior to the enactment of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993; (2) eliminate mandatory withdrawals from retirement accounts after age 70-1/2; (3) eliminate employment taxes on individuals receiving social security retirement and Medicare benefits; and (4) allow an exclusion from gross income, up to $250 ($500 for joint returns), for dividends, interest, and capital gains. Appropriates additional amounts to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund to compensate for losses in revenue resulting from the revision of the formula for including social security benefits in gross income. Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a procedure for allowing Medicare beneficiaries to waive Medicare entitlements and be automatically enrolled in the Medicare Alternative Voucher Program established by this Act. Requires the authority of the Department of the Treasury to pay the principal and interest on debt held by the public, and the authority of the Commissioner of Social Security to pay monthly old-age, survivors', and disability insurance benefits under title II of the Social Security Act, to take priority over all other obligations incurred by the government in the event the federal debt reaches the statutory limit.

Date: 2011-03-16
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to change the funding mechanism for personal responsibility education programs from direct appropriations to an authorization of appropriations, and rescinds unobligated funds available to such programs.

Date: 2011-03-29
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Social Security Fairness Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) government pension offset requirements applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination requirements with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount.

Date: 2011-04-01
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security and Medicare Protection Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any concurrent resolution on the budget (or related measure) that would set forth a surplus for any fiscal year less than the combined surpluses of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund for that fiscal year. Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any (spending or tax) measure if its enactment would cause the surplus for any fiscal year covered by the most recently agreed to budget resolution to be less than such combined Fund surpluses.

Date: 2011-04-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality and Access Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require alignment of updates for ambulatory surgical center (ASC) services under a revised prospective payment system (PPS) with updates for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services. Revises requirements for the reporting of quality measure data by ASCs and hospital OPDs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish an ASC value-based purchasing program under which each ASC that the Secretary determines meets (or exceeds) performance standards established, with respect to selected quality measures, for the performance period for a calendar year is eligible for shared savings in the form of a payment increase determined according to a specified formula. Revises requirements for the composition of the expert outside advisory panel the Secretary of HHS is required to consult during the annual review of the clinical integrity of the groups and payment weights in the PPS for hospital OPD services. Requires the panel to include suppliers subject to the PPS as well as at least one ASC representative. States that the conditions for coverage of ASC services specified by the Secretary shall not prohibit ASCs from providing individuals with any notice of rights or other required notice on the date of a procedure if more advanced notice is not feasible under the circumstances, including when a procedure is scheduled and performed on the same day.

Date: 2011-06-03
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
STEAM (Stripping the E-Prescribe Arbitrary Mandates) Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to Medicare payments for physicians' services to: (1) repeal administrative penalties (payment adjustments) for eligible professionals who are not successful electronic prescribers, (2) remove e-prescribing as an element for demonstrating meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology, and (3) exclude e-prescribing from shared savings program reporting requirements.

Date: 2011-06-03
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the seven-year restriction on eligibility for widow's and widower's insurance benefits based on disability.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the two-year waiting period following a divorce for a divorced spouse to become entitled to a spouse's OASDI benefits.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide for full benefits for disabled widows and widowers without regard to age or any previous reduction in OASDI benefits. Declares that there shall be no reduction in the widow's or widower's insurance benefit of an individual for any month in which such individual is under a disability.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide for: (1) increases in widow's and widower's insurance benefits by reason of delayed retirement, and (2) the treatment of delayed retirement in cases of simultaneous entitlement to OASDI benefits and widow's or widower's insurance benefits.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Seniors Emergency Hardship Relief Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude a qualified senior distribution from gross income for income tax purposes. Defines a "qualified senior distribution" as any distribution to an individual from a tax-exempt retirement plan if such individual is at least age 65 at the time of the distribution and the distribution does not exceed the lesser of $10,000 or an amount equal to the sum of necessary repairs to the taxpayer's principal residence, medical care not compensated for by insurance, and expenses incurred in a disaster area in which the taxpayer's principal residence is located.

Date: 2011-06-24
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Former Soviet Union State Pension Fairness Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of State and the Commissioner of Social Security to continue to work with the governments of the states of the former Soviet Union to encourage them to adopt policies that would allow receipt of pensions for individuals who worked in any such state and earned a pension and currently reside in the United States.

Date: 2011-07-11
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: International affairs
Social Security Check Guarantee Act of 2011 - Declares that the public debt limitation shall not be construed to preclude or limit timely payment in full of Social Security benefits.

Date: 2011-07-18
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Medicare Firewall Act of 2011 - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, to defund as of the end of FY2011: (1) the convening of multi-stakeholder groups for input into the selection of health care quality measures, (2) the Independence at Home Demonstration Program, (3) the Community-Based Care Transitions Program, (4) the demonstration project on separate payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for complex diagnostic laboratory tests, (5) outreach and assistance for specified state and local low-income programs, (6) the Independent Medicare Advisory Board, (7) evaluation of community-based prevention and wellness programs, and (8) the pilot program for care of certain individuals residing in emergency declaration areas. Restores to the Medicare Trust Funds unobligated amounts that were originally transferred from them for such programs and activities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report to Congress on demonstration, pilot, or similar projects undertaken with funding from any of the Medicare Trust Funds, especially those for which the initial period of the project has: (1) not demonstrated that the project has met its objectives, or (2) resulted in net expenditures from the Medicare Trust Funds. Requires the Secretary to include with this report a plan for termination or modification of each such project.

Date: 2011-07-29
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Seniors Protection Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, for each non-cost-of-living (non-COLA) year, to disburse a cash payment to recipients of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) under title XVI of the Social Security Act, railroad retirement benefits, and veterans disability compensation or pension benefits. Defines a non-COLA year as a 12-month period for which: (1) a cost-of-living adjustment is generally provided under the pertinent program in relation to an index; but (2) such an adjustment does not take effect by reason of the performance of that index. Makes $250 the payment for any non-COLA year: (1) ending with or during 2011 or 2011, and (2) any non-COLA year not immediately preceded by another non-COLA year. Makes the payment for any non-COLA year ending after 2011 which is immediately preceded by another non-COLA year the same as the payment for that immediately preceding non-COLA year, plus $50.

Date: 2011-07-29
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Protection Act of 2011 - Amends the Budget Control Act of 2011 to prohibit the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction from proposing any cuts in Social Security benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) or under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI).

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Holocaust Survivors Assistance Act of 2011 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to: (1) include specifically within its purview older Americans who are Holocaust survivors; (2) authorize the Assistant Secretary for Aging of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate within the Administration of Aging an individual who is to have responsibility for such individuals; and (3) create a grant program to increase and improve transportation services for older Americans, with preference for Holocaust survivors.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Public Servant Retirement Protection Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to repeal the current windfall elimination provision (WEP) (that reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security) for individuals first performing non-covered service beginning one year after enactment of this Act. Establishes a new formula for the treatment of non-covered earnings in determining Social Security benefits. Applies such formula to individuals subject to the current WEP if the benefit under the new formula would be higher.

Date: 2011-08-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare