zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Improve Nutrition Program Integrity and Deficit Reduction Act of 2013 - Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to make households in which each member receives state assistance under the temporary assistance to needy families program (TANF), the supplemental security income program (SSI), or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled program (AABD) eligible for the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program). (Current law bases categorical SNAP eligibility upon state benefits received rather than assistance.)

States that any household in which a member receives substantial lottery or gambling winnings shall lose SNAP eligibility immediately upon receipt of such winnings and shall remain ineligible until the household meets the allowable financial resources and income eligibility requirements.

Eliminates: (1) the exclusion of low-income home energy assistance from SNAP household income determinations, (2) bonuses for states that demonstrate high or most improved performance, (3) inflation adjustments for emergency food assistance resources, (4) inflation adjustments for countable financial resources, (5) funding of employment and training programs, (6) the nutrition education grant program, and (7) funding of Workfare administrative expenses.

Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to: (1) terminate after February 1, 2013, the value of SNAP benefits and consolidated block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa from being calculated by using 113.6% of the June 2008 value of the thrifty food plan; and (2) permit the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce the value of the maximum allotments, minimum allotments, or consolidated block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa below the FY2009 level.

Date: 2013-03-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Amends the National Housing Act to require that, to be eligible for insurance under the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program for elderly homeowners, a mortgage contain terms and provisions with respect to property maintenance as well as for establishing escrow accounts, performing financial assessments, or limiting the amount of any payment made available under the mortgage.

Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish any additional or alternative requirements necessary to more effectively carry out such Act.

Date: 2013-03-06
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Housing and community development
Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe special rules for the determination of taxable wages and self-employment income above the contribution and benefit base after 2013.

Amends SSA title II to include surplus average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) in the determination of primary OASDI amounts.

Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-EC) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals in the United States who have attained early retirement age for purposes of an old-age, wife's, or husband's insurance benefit.

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to make the CPI-EC the applicable Consumer Price Index (CPI) for computation of cost-of-living increases in OASDI benefits for such individuals.

Date: 2013-03-14
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Totalization Agreement Reform Act of 2013 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide that any agreement to establish a totalization arrangement which is entered into with another country shall enter into force with respect to the United States if (and only if): (1) the President, at least 90 calendar days before the date on which he enters into the agreement, notifies each House of Congress of his intention to enter into it, and promply thereafter publishes notice of such intention in the Federal Register; (2) he transmits the text of such agreement to each House of the Congress; and (3) a joint resolution regarding such agreement has passed both Houses of Congress and been enacted into federal law.

Sets forth procedures for the consideration of such a joint resolution.

Date: 2013-04-18
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Fairness Act of 2013 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the government pension offset requirement applicable to and reducing husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and divorced mother's and divorced father's insurance benefits with respect to federal, state, or local government employees who receive a government pension and did not pay Social Security taxes during their years of government service, and so did not earn entitlement to Social Security benefits for those years.

Repeals also the windfall elimination requirement with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount under which OASDI retirement or disability benefits are reduced if the individual receives a federal, state, or local government pension, did not pay Social Security taxes during the years of government service, and so did not earn entitlement to Social Security benefits for those years.

Date: 2013-05-08
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services and Elder Justice) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to the highest courts of states to conduct demonstration programs that: (1) assess adult guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, including the appointment and the monitoring of the performance of court-appointed guardians and conservators; and (2) implement changes deemed necessary as a result of the assessments, such as requiring background checks for all potential guardians and conservators, and establishing systems that enable electronic filing and review of the annual accountings and other required conservatorship and guardianship filings.

Requires any grants the Secretary awards to the highest state courts for such programs to be based on recommendations of the Attorney General and the State Justice Institute.

Requires the highest court of a state awarded such a grant to collaborate with the state's own Unit on Aging and its Adult Protective Services agency in conducting the demonstration program.

Date: 2013-05-16
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Law
Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to make it the duty of the Assistant Secretary of Aging, acting through the designee responsible for elder abuse prevention and services, to: (1) establish best practices for state-based enforcement of a Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights through a Plan for Enforcement, (2) assist states with the development of such Bills of Rights and Plans for Enforcement to support the shift from institutional care to home and community-based long-term care (LTC) services, and (3) develop and use a process for review and approval of state Home Care Consumer Bills of Rights and Plans for Enforcement.

Establishes additional state plan requirements,including that a state have a Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and a Plan for Enforcement.

Requires the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights to address a home care consumer's right to: (1) basic safety; (2) information access; (3) choice, participation, and self-determination; (4) care and services provided in a way that promotes each consumer's dignity and individuality; and (5) redress of grievances. Requires the Bill of Rights also to address the role and responsibilities that fiduciaries may have in securing these rights of home care consumers.

Requires that any allotment for vulnerable elder rights protection activities be used to develop a State Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and Plan for Enforcement.

Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish a National Adult Protective Services Resources Center to: (1) improve the capacity of state and local adult protective services programs, and (2) coordinate with the Home Care Ombudsman Program and Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to protect home care consumers and residents of LTC facilities most effectively.

Authorizes appropriations for State Home Care Ombudsman Programs. Directs the Assistant Secretary of Aging to award competitive grants to states for such Programs.

Requires the Assistant Secretary of Aging, in implementing Aging and Disability Resource Centers in all states, to: (1) provide quality measures information about home and community-based LTC programs, service providers, and resources when referring consumers to them; and (2) identify measures of quality for such programs, providers, and resources.

Requires the designated state agency, in promoting a comprehensive, coordinated state system enabling older individuals to receive LTC in home and community-based settings, to provide for distribution of quality measures information about home and community-based LTC programs, service providers, and resources.

Date: 2013-05-21
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Elder Protection and Abuse Prevention Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Aging to: (1) ensure that all programs funded under such Act include appropriate training in elder abuse prevention and the provision of services that address elder justice and exploitation; and (2) update periodically the need for and benefit of such training related to prevention of abuse, neglect, and exploitation (including financial exploitation) of older adults.

Makes it a duty and function of the Administration on Aging to: (1) establish priority information and assistance services for older individuals; (2) ensure full collaboration between all governmental information and assistance systems that serve older individuals; and (3) develop a National Eldercare Locator Service, with a nationwide toll free number.

Directs the Assistant Secretary, by grant or contract with a national nonprofit entity, to establish a National Adult Protective Services Resources Center to improve the capacity of state and local adult protective services programs to: (1) respond effectively to abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults, including home care consumers and residents of long-term care facilities; and (2) coordinate with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.

Requires each area plan to provide that the area agency on aging: (1) increases public awareness of elder abuse and financial exploitation, and removes barriers to elder abuse education, prevention, investigation, and treatment; (2) coordinates elder justice activities of the area agency on aging, community health centers, other public agencies, and nonprofit private organizations; (3) develops standardized, coordinated, and reporting protocols with respect to elder abuse; and (4) reports instances of elder abuse.

Directs the Assistant Secretary to make grants to states under approved state plans for elder abuse and neglect screening.

Requires a state operating a nutrition project to encourage individuals who distribute nutrition services to distribute information on diabetes, elder abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, and the annual Medicare wellness exam.

Requires a state, an area agency on aging, a nonprofit organization, or a tribal organization that receives a grant for an older individuals' protection from violence project to use it to research and replicate successful models of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation prevention and training.

Directs the Assistant Secretary to award grants and enter into contracts with eligible organizations to carry out projects to engage volunteers over 50 years of age in providing support and information to older adults (and their families or caretakers) who have experienced or are at risk of elder abuse.

Allows a state to use funds under the National Family Caregiver Support Program to support the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

Date: 2013-05-22
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Senior Investor Protections Enhancement Act of 2013 - 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: 2013-06-19
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to extend through FY2014 the benefit calculation of 113.6 % of the June 2008 value of the thrifty food plan for the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) as well as the consolidated block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa.

Date: 2013-10-31
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Seniors' Financial Bill of Rights Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA) to make it a duty of the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for Aging to coordinate with other federal agencies any activities and research related to the economic security and financial exploitation of older individuals and to use them to make available to states and local organizations resources, technical assistance, and information to carry out the State Seniors' Financial Bills of Rights, as well as certain other activities.

Requires the state OAA plan to include an assurance that the state will establish a State Seniors' Financial Bill of Rights meeting specified criteria.

Date: 2013-11-19
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
National Silver Alert Act of 2013 - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish a national Silver Alert communications network within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assist regional and local search efforts for missing seniors; (2) ensure that, when feasible, the network is able to operate in coordination with the AMBER Alert communications network; and (3) designate an individual of DOJ to serve as the Silver Alert Coordinator to coordinate the network with states. Defines "missing senior" as any individual who is reported as missing to or by a law enforcement agency and who meets state requirements for designation as a missing senior.

Directs the Coordinator to: (1) establish minimum standards for the issuance and dissemination of alerts issued through the network; and (2) make available to states, local governments, law enforcement agencies, and other concerned entities network training and information.

Date: 2013-12-12
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2014 - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to increase from $240 to $1,320 (increased for inflation each calendar year after 2015) the first amount of general income per year excluded in determining SSI program eligibility.

Increases from: (1) $780 to $4,284 (similarly increased) the first amount of earned income similarly excluded (including for a blind or disabled individual [or spouse] under age 65), (2) $3,000 to $15,000 in calendar year 2015 (increased for inflation) the resource limit for couples, and (3) $2,000 to $10,000 in calendar year 2015 (similarly increased) for individuals without a spouse.

Prescribes an inflation adjustment in benefits in any calendar year after 2015.

Removes support and maintenance furnished in kind from determination of unearned income.

Repeals the administrative penalty that renders individuals (and spouses) ineligible for SSI for a certain period of time if after the look-back date (usually 36 months preceding their application for SSI) they dispose of their resources for less than market value.

Date: 2014-03-06
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Let Seniors Work Act of 2014 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate the payroll tax for individuals who have attained retirement age, and (2) remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which a beneficiary may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits.

Date: 2014-05-14
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Fair Raises for Seniors Act - Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the Department of Labor to publish for each calendar month a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) that indicates the average change over time in the prices paid by individuals in the United States who are age 62 and older for a market basket of consumer goods and services.

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to make the CPI-E the applicable Consumer Price Index (CPI) for computation of cost-of-living increases in OASDI benefits for such individuals.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from wages for purposes of employment and self-employment taxes (under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act [FICA] for OASDI insurance): (1) any remuneration up to $250,000 of the amount of the contribution and benefit base, and (2) only so much of that remuneration that is less than $250,000.

Amends SSA title II to include 1% or $1,000 (whichever is less) of surplus average indexed monthly earnings in the determination of primary OASDI amounts.

Date: 2014-05-22
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Overpayments Fairness Act of 2014 - Reinstates the 10-year statute of limitations period applicable to the collection of amounts paid to Social Security beneficiaries by administrative offset. (This former statute of limitations was repealed effective May 22, 2008.)

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disabillity Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA), with respect to overpayments under OASDI or SSA title XVI (Supplementary Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) (SSI), to prevent the recovery of any such overpayments made to or on behalf of individuals under age 18 by shielding such individuals from liability for the repayment of such amounts.

Date: 2014-06-10
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Retirement and Income Security Enhancements (RAISE) Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to entitle divorced spouses to OASDI benefits after 5 (currently 10) years of marriage. Makes the monthly divorced spouse's benefits equal to one-half of the former spouse's primary insurance amount, reduced 10% for each year less than 10 the individual was married to the former spouse.

Revises the widow's or widower's insurance benefit for any month to equal the greater of: (1) the primary insurance amount of a deceased individual (as under current law); or (2) in the case of a fully-insured widow or surviving divorced spouse, 75% of the sum of any old-age or disability insurance benefit to which the widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse is entitled plus the primary insurance amount of the deceased individual.

Reduces a widow's or widower's insurance benefits for any month if that individual is also entitled to an old age or disability insurance benefit greater than the widow's or widower's insurance benefit. Sets the benefit in such a case at the level of the primary insurance amount of the deceased individual.

Amends SSA title II and the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to extend benefits for full-time students up to age 23 (currently age 19) who are enrolled at an educational institution.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an OASDI surtax of: (1) 2% on an employee's income over $400,000 and 2% on the employer, and (2) 4% on an individual's self-employment income over $400,000. Adjusts the $400,0000 threshold each year according to a specified indexing formula.

Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to apply a similar 2% additional tier 1 tax on railroad employees earning over $400,000 as well as 2% on their railroad employers. Imposes a 4% additional tier 1 tax on representatives of railroad employees earning over $400,000. Specifies a formula to index the $400,000 annually after 2015.

Amends SSA title II to: (1) include 2% of the individual's surplus average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) in OASDI primary insurance amounts; and (2) prescribe a formula for computing an individual's surplus AIME that accounts for the total of the individual's additional wages paid in and additional self-employment income credited to the benefit computation year, up to $500,000, indexed after 2015 according to a specified formula.

Date: 2014-06-10
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Dependent Care Savings Account Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish tax-exempt dependent care savings accounts to pay the employment-related expenses of caring for a dependent of the taxpayer, (2) allow a deduction from gross income (above-the-line deduction) of up to $5,000 in a taxable year for cash contributions to such accounts, (3) set forth rules for the tax treatment of account distributions and for excess contributions to an account, and (4) impose a tax on employers who fail to make comparable contributions to a dependent savings account for all participating employees.

Date: 2014-09-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Notch Fairness Act of 2015 

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.

("Notch" refers to birth in the United States between 1917 and 1921, as a result of which a retiree born between those years received lower cost-of-living increases in Social Security than others after Congress readjusted Social Security benefits in 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: 2015-01-13
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Stop Punishing Innocent Americans Act 

 Reinstates the 10-year statute of limitations period applicable to the collection of amounts paid to Social Security beneficiaries by administrative offset. (This former statute of limitations was repealed effective May 22, 2008.)

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct), with respect to overpayments under OASDI or SSAct title XVI (Supplementary Security Income) (SSI), to prevent the recovery of any such overpayments made to or on behalf of individuals under age 18 by shielding such individuals from liability for the repayment of such amounts.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit any tax refund offset of Social Security overpayments made to or on behalf of a minor (under age 18).

Date: 2015-01-20
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
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 for income tax purposes.

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: 2015-01-28
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Savings for Seniors Act of 2015

 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 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: 2015-01-28
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Elder Justice Reauthorization Act 

 Reauthorizes the Elder Justice Act of 2009 and funding for its programs through FY2019.

Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to reauthorize through FY2019: (1) the National Training Institute for Federal and State Surveyors, and (2) grants by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to state agencies that perform surveys of skilled nursing facilities or nursing facilities.

Date: 2015-02-13
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Lump-Sum Death Benefit Improvement and Modernization Act of 2015

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to increase from $255 to $1,000 the lump-sum death payment.

Date: 2015-02-26
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Alex's Law 

 Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) 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: 2015-03-16
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security 2100 Act

 Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to:

 increase the primary insurance amount formula factor from 90% to 93% for all eligible beneficiaries, beginning in 2016; revise computation of cost-of-living adjustments to use the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers; increase the special minimum primary insurance amount for lifetime low earners based on years in the workforce. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to increase the gross income threshold for taxation of Social Security benefits from $25,000 to $50,000 for single taxpayers and from $32,000 to $100,000 for married taxpayers filing joint returns, beginning in 2016.

Amends the IRC and SSAct title II to impose the employment tax on all wage income above $400,000, effective in 2016. Requires incremental increases, up to 15.3% in 2084, in the employment and self-employment taxes.

Amends SSAct title II to include 2% of an individual's excess average indexed monthly earnings (over $400,000 per annum) in the formula for determining primary insurance amounts.

Amends IRC to increase the Social Security tax rate on employees and employers and with respect to self-employment income.

Requires reallocation of a portion of employment tax revenues from the OASDI Trust Fund to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund for wages paid after 2014.

Date: 2015-03-17
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Let Seniors Work Act of 2015 

 Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate the payroll tax for individuals who have attained retirement age, and (2) remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which a beneficiary may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits.

Date: 2015-03-17
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security and Medicare Lock-Box Act 

 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 for the fiscal year of the sum of Social Security taxes collected, as well as the aggregate increase in certain tax liabilities, over the sum of benefits paid.

Establishes in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund a Medicare Surplus Protection Account to hold amounts equivalent to the Medicare part A surplus for the fiscal year of the sum of hospital insurance taxes collected over the sum of Medicare part A benefits paid.

Denies the availability of the balance in either Account for investment by the Managing Trustee.

Establishes in the executive branch a Social Security and Medicare Part A Investment Commission to study the most effective vehicles for investment of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (other than investment in the form of U.S. obligations).

Date: 2015-03-19
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Commission Act of 2015 

 Establishes in the legislative branch the Commission on Long Term Social Security Solvency to make recommendations to Congress, including proposed legislation, for achieving solvency in the Social Security trust funds for a period of at least 75 years.

Requires expedited consideration of any proposed legislation approving Commission recommendations.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Enhancement and Protection Act of 2015

 Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for computation of the primary insurance amount (PIA, or the monthly benefit amount payable to a worker upon retirement at full retirement age or upon entitlement to disability benefits), increasing the special minimum benefit for certain earners based on years in the workforce and a specified percentage of 1/12th of the poverty guideline for the previous calendar year.

Prescribes a formula for an increase in OASDI benefit amounts for beneficiaries on account of long-term eligibility (counting from at least 16 years after the individual's applicable date of eligibility).

Extends a child's benefit for certain full-time post-secondary students under age 22.

Amends both SSA title II and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to add an applicable percentage of a certain part of remuneration to the formula for determining taxable wages and the net earning from taxable self-employment income above the contribution and benefit base for Federal Insurance Contribution ACT (FICA, or Social Security) tax purposes beginning in 2017.

Amends SSA title II, with respect to the formula for computation of the PIA, to establish a new bend point, for individuals becoming eligible in 2017, involving the contribution and benefit base. (Bend points are dollar amounts defining brackets of average indexed monthly earnings used in the formula for determining the PIA.) Prescribes another formula for computation of the PIA, based on the new bend point, for those becoming eligible after 2017.

Amends the IRC to increase the FICA tax rates on a graduated basis beginning in 2017.

Disregards any increase in monthly OASDI benefits as a result of this Act from income or resources for any month after December 2016 for the purpose of determining the eligibility of a recipient (or the recipient's spouse or family) for benefits or assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance, under any federal, state, or local program financed in whole or in part with federal funds.

Date: 2015-04-13
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act

 Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish for each calendar month a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-EC) that indicates changes over time in consumption expenditures typical for individuals in the United States age 62 or older.

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to make the CPI-EC the applicable Consumer Price Index for computation of cost-of-living increases in OASDI benefits for such individuals.

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 2015.

Amends SSAct title II to include surplus average indexed monthly earnings in the determination of primary OASDI amounts.

Date: 2015-04-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Protection and Truth in Budgeting Act of 2015

 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 and Congressional Budget Office 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: 2015-04-23
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2015 

 Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to increase from $240 to $1,344 (increased for inflation each calendar year after 2016) the first amount of general income per year excluded in determining SSI program eligibility.

Increases from $780 to $4,368 (similarly increased) the first amount of earned income similarly excluded (including for a blind or disabled individual or spouse under age 65).

Sets at: (1) $15,000 in calendar year 2016 (increased for inflation) the resource limit for couples, and (2) $10,000 in calendar year 2016 (similarly increased) the resource limit for individuals without a spouse.

Prescribes an inflation adjustment in benefits in any calendar year after 2016.

Removes support and maintenance furnished in kind from determination of unearned income.

Repeals the administrative penalty which renders individuals (and spouses) ineligible for SSI for a certain period of time if after the look-back date (usually 36 months preceding their application for SSI) they dispose of their resources for less than market value.

Date: 2015-05-19
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Stop Punishing Innocent Taxpayers Act

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act with respect to overpayments to prohibit the recovery of overpayments through tax refund offsets or by any other means with respect to any overpayment to a person who had not attained the age of 18 at the time the payment was made.

Reduction in Social Security benefits under the earnings test may not apply to the earnings of an individual in any month in which he or she is entitled to a child's insurance benefit.

Date: 2015-06-15
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: 2015-06-15
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: 2015-06-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
CPI for Seniors Act of 2015 

 This bill directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly index, to be known as the Consumer Price Index for Seniors, 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: 2015-07-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
CPI-E Act of 2015

 This bill bases cost-of -living increases in benefits under the Civil Service Retirement System, the Federal Employees Retirement System, military retirement and survivor benefit programs, old-age, survivors, or disability insurance benefit program, and specified veterans benefits programs on increases in the Consumer Price Index for the elderly.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Guaranteed 3 Percent COLA for Seniors Act of 2015 

 Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals in the United States age 62 or older.

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) require the use of such index to compute cost-of-living increases for Social Security benefits; and (2) provide, in the case of individuals who have attained age 62, for an annual cost-of-living increase of at least 3%.

Date: 2015-09-22
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Earned Benefits Payment Act

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require allocations to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund equal to: (1) 2.65% of the amount of wages and self-employment income paid between December 31, 2015, and January 1, 2021, and (2) 1.80% of wages and self-employment income paid after December 31, 2020.

Date: 2015-09-28
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act of 2015

This bill amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) and XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to compute cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits using a new index in place of the current Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics must prepare and publish, for this purpose, a monthly CPI for Elderly Consumers that reflects changes over time to expenditures typical for individuals aged 62 and older.

Date: 2015-11-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Saving the Earnings and Noting the Investment of Our Retired Seniors Act of 2015 or the SENIORS Act of 2015

This bill expresses the sense of Congress on a cost-of-living increase to Social Security benefits for seniors.

The Department of the Treasury shall disburse a one-time payment to certain individuals who are entitled to a benefit under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSAct), an annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, or a veterans benefit, or are eligible for a cash benefit under SSAct title XVI (Supplemental Security Income).

The amount disbursed shall be 12% of the amount of such benefit payment or SSI cash benefit payable to the individual for November 2015.

The Internal Revenue Code is amended to require a Social Security number to claim the refundable portion of the child tax credit.

As offsets for these payments:

 all balances under the United States Enrichment Corporation Fund are hereby permanently rescinded; of the amounts obligated, but not expended, under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 for the Making Home Affordable Program, Treasury shall transfer $2.5 million to the general fund of the Treasury; and of the funds made available to the Department of Energy under the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program Account for the cost of direct loans as authorized by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the unobligated balance is hereby rescinded.

Date: 2015-12-01
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Keeping Our Promise to Seniors Act

This bill directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly Consumer Price Index for Older Americans (CPI-OA) that:

 measures changes over time in the cost of living for a population that consists solely of individuals living in the United States who are age 62 or older; is specifically designed to reflect the geographic areas in which such individuals reside, the goods and services they purchase, and the typical prices for those goods and services; and is not based on any other consumer price index published by the BLS. The bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to use this new CPI-OA in the computation of cost-of-living increases for OASDI benefits.

Date: 2016-02-12
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Economics and public finance
SWEPT Act of 2016

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act with respect to the exception to the windfall elimination provision (WEP) under which an individual's Social Security benefits may be reduced for work for an employer that does not withhold Social Security taxes.

The bill revises the formula for computation of an individual's primary insurance benefit amount to: (1) lower from 30 to 25 the number of years of coverage required for exception to the WEP; (2) alter the determination of partial exemptions for those who have more than 20 but less than 25 years of coverage; and (3) reduce the dollar amount of annual earnings subject to Social Security taxes required to constitute an applicable year of Social Security coverage.

Date: 2016-03-10
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Kevin and Avonte's Law of 2016

TITLE I--MISSING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE PATIENT ALERT PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION

Missing Americans Alert Program Act of 2016

(Sec. 102) This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to revise and rename the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program as the Missing Americans Alert Program and to reauthorize it through FY2021.

It directs the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to award competitive grants to health care, law enforcement, or public safety agencies, and nonprofit organizations, to develop or operate locally based proactive programs to prevent wandering and locate missing individuals with dementia or children with developmental disabilities. The BJA must give preference to law enforcement or public safety agencies partnering with nonprofit organizations that use person-centered plans and are directly linked to individuals, and families of individuals, with dementia or developmental disabilities.

Additionally, it directs the BJA to award grants to health care, law enforcement, or public safety agencies to develop tracking technology programs to locate missing individuals with dementia or children with developmental disabilities.

The bill subjects grants under the Missing Americans Program to accountability provisions. DOJ's Office of Inspector General must conduct annual audits of selected grant recipients. The bill prohibits grants to nonprofit organizations that hold money in an offshore account to avoid tax liability. It also limits the use of grants under this bill for conferences that use more than $20,000 in DOJ funds.

DOJ must identify and report on duplicative grant awards. DOJ must also report annually to Congress certain information regarding the Missing Americans Alert Program.

TITLE II--EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

(Sec. 201) The bill amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to specify that, with respect to training and technical assistance provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, cases involving missing and exploited children include cases involving children with developmental disabilities such as autism.

TITLE III--PRIVACY PROTECTIONS

(Sec. 302) DOJ must establish and certain grant recipients must comply with standards and best practices related to the use of tracking technology to locate missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities.

The bill prohibits the use of data from tracking devices to create a federal database. It also prohibits construing this bill to require a parent or guardian to use a tracking device.

TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS

(Sec. 401) This provision prohibits the authorization of FY2017 funds for the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program.

Date: 2016-04-12
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2016

This bill establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) an Office of Elder Justice to provide information, training, and technical assistance for state and local governments to investigate, prosecute, prevent, and mitigate the impact of elder abuse, exploitation, and neglect. The office must be headed by a director who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

It authorizes the Office of Elder Justice to award grants to states to develop, establish, and operate programs to improve the response to, investigation of, and prosecution of elder abuse cases. An eligible state must have a compensation program for crime victims and a multidisciplinary task force on elder justice.

DOJ must identify, collect, and publish data related to the incidence of elder abuse. It must also develop recommendations for collecting additional data related to elder abuse.

Finally, the bill amends the Social Security Act to include the director of the Office of Elder Justice as the alternate for the Attorney General on the Elder Justice Coordinating Council.

Date: 2016-04-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement