zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Feeding America through Farm Flexibility Act of 2015

This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to increase the number of acres on which agricultural producers are authorized to grow fruits and vegetables without a resulting reduction in the payment acres used to calculate price loss coverage and agriculture risk coverage payments.

The increases are permitted if the crops on the additional acres are grown for sale or donation in a food desert, which is a census tract that: (1) has a poverty rate of at least 20%, and (2) provides difficult access to a retail outlet that provides a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Date: 2015-07-15
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Local Farm Vehicle Flexibility Act

This bill prohibits the Department of Transportation from terminating, reducing, limitoing, or otherwise interfering with the amount or timing of grants a state is otherwise eligible to receive as a result of any minimum standard or exemption the state gives a covered farm vehicle or the driver of such vehicle less stringent than federal requirements for commercial motor vehicles and drivers.

A covered farm vehicle means any motor vehicle meeting certain gross weight requirements and:

 registered or otherwise designated by a state for use in, or transportation activities related to, the operation of farms; operated by a farm or ranch owner or operator, or an employee or family member; transporting to or from a farm or ranch agricultural commodities, livestock, agricultural supplies, or machinery; and not used in the operations of a for-hire motor carrier, nor transporting materials requiring a placard. A covered farm vehicle may also be one meeting these requirements but operated pursuant to a crop share farm lease agreement, owned by a tenant under that agreement, and transporting the landlord's portion of the crops.

Date: 2015-09-10
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Land-Grant Opportunity Act 

This bill amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to modify the formula that the Department of Agriculture uses to distribute funds for land-grant colleges and universities to provide additional funding for certain historically black colleges and universities.

Date: 2015-10-26
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Crop Insurance Restoration Act 

This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to repeal changes regarding the Standard Reinsurance Agreement that were enacted as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

The bill eliminates provisions that: (1) require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to renegotiate the Standard Reinsurance Agreement no later than December 31, 2016, and at least once every five years thereafter, and (2) establish an 8.9% cap on the overall rate of return for insurance providers under the agreement.

(The Standard Reinsurance Agreement is an agreement between USDA and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program. It specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing between USDA and the companies in the operation of the program.)

Date: 2015-10-28
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 16, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Emergency Citrus Disease Response Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a full deduction in the current taxable year of the cost of replanting lost or damaged citrus plants. The taxpayer must own an equity interest of at least 50% in such replanted plants and may deduct costs paid or incurred through 2025.

Date: 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Taxation
Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures Act or the AFFIRM Act 

This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce federal crop insurance payments and disclose details regarding subsidies.

The bill prohibits premium subsidies: (1) for additional coverage for any person or legal entity that has an average adjusted gross income that exceeds $250,000, (2) that exceed $40,000 per year for any person or legal entity, or (3) for policies that are based on the actual market price of an agricultural commodity at the time of harvest.

The bill establishes an annual cap on total reimbursements for administrative and operating costs of crop insurance providers that begins at $900 million for 2015 and is adjusted for inflation in each subsequent year. The overall rate of return for insurance providers is capped at 8.9%.

The bill eliminates a requirement that any renegotiated Standard Insurance Agreement (SRA) be budget-neutral. (The SRA is an agreement between USDA and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program that specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing. Eliminating the budget neutrality requirement permits USDA to use the renegotiation of the SRA to achieve savings.)

USDA must annually disclose to the public specified details regarding the recipients and amounts of federal crop insurance subsidies.

Date: 2015-11-05
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Facilitating Farmers' Access to Resources and Machinery Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to private activity bond financing for first-time farmers, to: (1) increase from $450,000 to $520,000 (adjusted annually for inflation) the amount of bond proceeds that may be used by a first-time farmer to acquire land for farming purposes, (2) repeal the separate dollar limitation on the use of bond proceeds for used farm equipment, and (3) modify the definition of "substantial farmland" to determine farm size by reference to the average (instead of median) size of a farm in the county in which the farm is located.

Date: 2016-05-25
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Taxation
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Guaranteed Loan Modernization Act of 2016

 This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 1961 to revise the limits for the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) conservation loan guarantee program.

The bill replaces the existing 80% limit on the portion of a loan that USDA may guarantee with limits that range from 80%-90%, depending on the principal amount of the loan. For socially disadvantaged or beginning farmers or ranchers, the bill replaces the existing 90% limit with limits that range from 85%-95%, depending on the principal amount of the loan.

USDA may not guarantee a loan under the program that exceeds $3.5 million.

Date: 2016-07-12
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Beginning Farmers Agenda Act of 2016 

This bill amends various agricultural laws to modify and establish programs to assist beginning farmers.

The bill makes land trusts eligible for certain assistance under the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. In administering the program, USDA may prioritize an application for purchasing an easement that maintains agricultural viability, requires subsequent purchases to be at agricultural value, or both.

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income up to $250,000 in gains from the sale or exchange of certain agricultural property to a beginning, socially disadvantaged, or veteran farmer or rancher, subject to specified conditions.

The bill modifies several agricultural programs to:

 require the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to prequalify loan applicants, increase and index for inflation the limit on the amount of USDA farm ownership loans per borrower, establish minimum funding requirements for agriculture land easements and wetland reserve easements, transfer jurisdiction of the Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers to the FSA, establish an online customer self-service portal, reauthorize the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, and authorize grants for farm viability programs. The FSA must assign state coordinators to promote communication with beginning farmers or ranchers and increase their access to USDA programs.

The General Services Administration may sell surplus farm equipment or property to socially disadvantaged, veteran, or beginning farmers and ranchers.

The bill provides funding for: (1) the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Accounts Pilot Program, and (2) the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Mead Equality And Definition Act of 2016 or the MEAD Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify rules regarding the taxation of mead (honey wine) and other agricultural wines.

The bill repeals the limitations on adding wine spirits to an agricultural wine or using any coloring material, herbs, or other flavoring material (except hops in the case of honey wine) in the production.

The Department of the Treasury must modify regulations for the production of agricultural wine to allow: (1) the use of spirits in the production of agricultural wine; and (2) additional ingredients to be added during the production of mead, including limited amounts of fruits, vegetables, spices, and other ingredients that are suitable for human food consumption and safe for use in an alcoholic beverage.

In modifying the regulations, Treasury must also:

 eliminate limitations on the quantity of hops used in mead; specify certain requirements for the density of the honey and water mixture when additional ingredients are added to mead; limit the alcohol content of mead to 24% by volume; and allow an agricultural wine to be produced for research and development without an approved formula, as long as the wine is not marketed or sold prior to approval of the formula. The bill also: (1) specifies a tax rate of 22.6 cents per gallon for mead containing not more than 0.64 grams of carbon dioxide per hundred milliliters of mead, and (2) allows a credit against such tax on meads for small domestic producers.

Date: 2016-09-13
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Taxation
Farm Risk Abatement and Mitigation Election Act of 2016 or the FRAME Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish tax-exempt farm risk management accounts (FRAME Accounts) and allow taxpayers actively engaged in the business of farming or ranching to use distributions from such accounts to protect the solvency of the farm to which the FRAME Account relates and to procure revenue or crop insurance; (2) allow a deduction from gross income for cash contributions to such accounts; (3) specify minimum levels of contributions to, and maximum levels of distributions from, such accounts; (4) set forth tax rules relating to account distributions, excess contributions, and prohibited transactions; and (5) allow a variable business-related tax credit for contributions made to a FRAME Account in the first nine years after such account is established.

Date: 2016-09-26
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Taxation
Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America Act of 2016 or the ECORA Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income interest received by a lender from real estate loans secured by agricultural real estate or by a leasehold mortgage (with a status as a lien) on agricultural real estate.

Agricultural real estate includes real property that is substantially used for the production of one or more agricultural products. It also includes any single family residence that is: (1) the principal residence of its occupant, (2) located in a rural area which is not within a Metropolitan Statistical Area and has a population of 2,500 or less; and (3) is purchased or improved with the proceeds of a loan secured by property used for the production of one or more agricultural products.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Taxation
This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to limit federal crop insurance premium subsidies provided to agricultural producers to $50,000. The limit applies to the total amount of premiums paid by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation on behalf of a person or legal entity for all policies issued for a crop year.

Date: 2015-02-03
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to prohibit the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation from paying a premium subsidy for a crop insurance policy that is based on the actual market price of an agricultural commodity at the time of harvest.

Date: 2015-02-11
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Sugar Reform Act of 2015 

This bill revises the Department of Agriculture (USDA) sugar program to decrease price support levels and make other modifications.

The bill amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to decrease the rate for price support loans to processors of domestically grown sugarcane and sugar beets. The loan rate is the price level at which processors can take out loans.

The bill amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to require USDA to set the marketing allotments at a level appropriate to maintain adequate domestic supplies at reasonable prices. The allotments limit the amount of sugar that each processor may sell. The allotments may be suspended or modified based on: (1) the interests of consumers, workers, businesses, and agricultural producers; and (2) the relative competitiveness of domestically produced and imported foods containing sugar.

In setting import quotas necessary to comply with trade agreements, USDA must:

 set the quotas at no less than the minimum level necessary for compliance, adjust the quotas to provide adequate domestic supplies at reasonable prices, establish and adjust quotas so that the ratio of sugar stocks to total sugar use at the end of the year will be approximately 15.5% or the target necessary to prevent unreasonably high prices or forfeitures, and permit the temporary transfer of quotas between countries. The bill amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to repeal the Feedstock Flexibility Program for Bioenergy Producers, which requires USDA to purchase sugar from domestic processors and sell it to bioenergy producers for biofuel production.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Exclusion for Deficit Reduction in Agricultural Subsidies Elimination Act or the ERASE Act 

This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to eliminate a requirement that any renegotiated Standard Insurance Agreement (SRA) be budget neutral.

The SRA is an agreement between the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program. It specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing between USDA and the companies in the operation of the program.

Eliminating the budget neutrality requirement permits USDA to use the renegotiation of the SRA to achieve savings.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
This bill amends the United States Cotton Futures Act to exclude cotton future contracts involving cotton that is grown outside of the United States and tendered for delivery from coverage under the Act, including the requirement that the cotton be classified by the Department of Agriculture.

Date: 2015-06-24
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the placed-in-service restriction on the depreciation of certain farming business machinery and equipment and to make permanent the five-year recovery period for such property.

Date: 2015-07-16
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Taxation
Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the placed-in-service restriction on the depreciation of certain farming business machinery and equipment and to make permanent the five-year recovery period for such property.

Date: 2015-10-22
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Taxation
Emergency Citrus Disease Response Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a full deduction in the current taxable year of the cost of replanting lost or damaged citrus plants. The taxpayer must own an equity interest of at least 50% in such replanted plants and may deduct costs paid or incurred through 2025.

Date: 2015-12-02
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Taxation
Farm Payment Loophole Elimination Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to apply to family farms the requirement that recipients of farm subsidies be actively engaged in farming. The bill eliminates the existing exemption for family farms that permits family members that are not actively engaged in farming to receive farm subsidies.

Date: 2016-04-05
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Agriculture Students EARN Act or the Agriculture Students Encourage, Acknowledge, Reward, Nurture Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of a student farmer up to $5,000 of the gain from the sale or exchange of personal property (including livestock, crops, and agricultural mechanics or shop products) produced or raised by the student farmer.

A student farmer is an individual who is under 19 years of age and is enrolled in: (1) a program established by the National FFA Organization; (2) a 4-H Club or other program established by 4-H; or (3) a student agriculture program that is under the direction or guidance of an agricultural educator, advisor, or club leader.

To qualify for the exclusion, the production and sale or exchange of the property must be supervised by one of the specified agriculture programs. The sale or exchange must also occur during qualified public entertainment or convention and trade show activities.

Date: 2016-04-11
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Taxation
Local Cheese Promotion and Dairy Support Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act to establish a Department of Agriculture (USDA) program to provide competitive grants to small cheese producers and cooperative groups of small cheese producers.

In awarding grants, USDA must define the term "small cheese producer" and give preference to producers that: (1) purchase raw dairy product from producers located in the same state as the small cheese producers, or (2) produce raw dairy product on the farms of the small cheese producers.

Grant recipients may use the funds to:

 purchase equipment or renovate and make repairs to production facilities, develop a business plan or perform a feasibility study to grow the business, promote and market cheese, participate in accounting and financial literacy education and training, and carry out food safety upgrades and training. Using no more than 10% of the funds provided for this bill, USDA must establish a cheese production, education, and promotion pilot project at eligible institutions, including:

 land-grant colleges or universities, local offices of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture or other regional USDA offices, groups of regional experts that advise beginning farmers or ranchers, or nonprofit organizations.

Date: 2016-04-18
Topic: Agriculture (Subsidies to Farmers)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Social Security Fairness Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-01-04
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill or joint resolution (or related amendment or conference report) that: (1) reduces or has the effect of reducing any current benefits under the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) programs under title II of the Social Security Act; or (2) provides for or has the effect of providing for cost-of-living increases of OASDI benefits that are less than what would be provided as of the day of the measure's consideration.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Identity Theft Notification Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to require the Commissioner of Social Security to notify individuals and appropriate authorities of evidence of a certain misuse of individual Social Security account numbers. Requires the Commissioner to determine, in certain instances of wage reports involving multiple addresses for the same employee name, whether there is evidence that the wages were not paid to the individual to whom the Social Security account number was assigned.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Earnings Test Repeal Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which a beneficiary may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits.

Date: 2007-01-04
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. 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: 2007-01-04
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Social Security Beneficiary Tax Reduction Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, effective January 1, 2007, the 1993 increase in income taxes on Social Security benefits.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Social Security Preservation Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-01-04
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Totalization Agreement Reform Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-01-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Notch Baby Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-01-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Remarried Widows' and Widowers' Benefits Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow remarried widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses to become or remain entitled to widow's or widower's insurance benefits if the prior marriage was for at least ten years.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise requirements for lump-sum death payments to the surviving spouse of an individual who died as a fully or currently insured individual. Extends such payments to the surviving spouse of the spouse of such an individual (that is, to the fully or currently insured individual if that person's spouse dies). Specifies a formula for determination of the applicable primary insurance amount used in the determination of a lump-sum death benefit.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Notch Fairness Act of 2007 - 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 55% to 5% keyed to the year an individual became eligible for (early retirement) benefits between 1978 and 1989. Provides for an election to receive such payments in a lump sum.

Date: 2007-01-10
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Disability Determination Simplification Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to eliminate any mandatory intervening reconsideration from the benefit entitlement decision review process.

Date: 2007-01-10
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Retirement Security Education Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to provide financial education programs to mid-life and older individuals who reside in local communities in order to: (1) enhance their financial and retirement knowledge; and (2) reduce financial abuse and fraud, including telemarketing, mortgage, and pension fraud, among them.Authorizes the Secretary to award a grant to one or more eligible entities to: (1) create and make available instructional materials and information that promote financial education; and (2) provide training and other related assistance regarding the establishment of financial education programs. Expresses the sense of Congress that organizations with demonstrated experience in providing financial education to older women should receive high priority for assistance under this Act.

Date: 2007-01-17
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Savings for Seniors Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-01-19
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Windfall Elimination Provision Relief Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) restrict the application of the windfall elimination requirement to individuals whose combined monthly income from the primary OASDI insurance amount and the portion of the monthly periodic payment attributable to noncovered service performed after 1956 exceeds the cost-of-living adjusted amount of $2,500; and (2) provide for a graduated implementation of such requirement on amounts above such threshold by applying applicable percentages determined according to a specified formula.

Date: 2007-01-30
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to reduce from 10 to five the number of years of marriage prior to divorce required for a divorced spouse to be eligible for benefits under the OASDI program.

Date: 2007-01-30
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Guarantee Plus Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a Social Security Guarantee Program, to be administered by a Social Security Guarantee Board established within the Social Security Administration. Authorizes any individual age 18 with a Social Security number to elect to enroll as a covered individual and receive in the Social Security guarantee account established for him or her by the Board a calendar year payment of Social Security guarantee refundable credits and interest.Requires designation of a certified account manager by or on behalf of each covered individual to hold the individual's Social Security guarantee account assets for investment, including in common stock portfolios and fixed income securities.Amends the IRC to make the Social Security guarantee accounts benefits taxable as Social Security benefits.Amends the Congressional Budget Act to provide for a lock-box for Social Security surpluses. Amends SSA title II to: (1) repeal the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries age 62 or over may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits; (2) increase widow's and widower's insurance benefits; (3) provide for benefits for disabled widows and widowers without regard to age; (4) repeal the seven-year restriction on eligibility for widow's and widower's insurance benefits based on disability; (5) waive the two-year waiting period for a divorced spouse's benefits if the other spouse remarries; (6) increase the amount of wages and self-employment income credited to years taken into account for beneficiaries precluded from remunerative work by the needs of child care; and (7) reduce the Government pension offset.

Date: 2007-02-15
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: 2007-02-16
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: 2007-02-16
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: 2007-02-16
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act with respect to determining entitlement to and the amount of any monthly benefit, including any lump-sum death payment, payable under OASDI on the basis of the wages and self-employment income of any individual. Deems such an individual to have been paid a wage (according to a specified formula) during each month during which the individual was engaged for at least 80 hours in providing care to a dependent relative without monetary compensation for up to five years of such service. Makes this Act inapplicable in the case of any monthly benefit or lump-sum death payment if a larger benefit or payment would be payable without its application.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, effective January 1, 2007, the 1993 increase in income taxes on Social Security benefits.

Date: 2007-03-06
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Social Security Protection and Truth in Budgeting Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-03-06
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Benefits Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide that, if an OASDI recipient dies during the first 15 days of a month, the last payment of the monthly benefit for that month shall be half the usual benefit amount.

Date: 2007-03-07
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Number Fraudulent Use Notification Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-03-21
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
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: 2007-03-21
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Proportionate Final Benefit Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide that: (1) an individual's entitlement to any OASDI benefit shall continue through the month of his or her death (without affecting any other person's entitlement to benefits for that month); and (2) the benefit shall be payable for such month only to the extent proportionate to the number of days in the month preceding the date of death.

Date: 2007-03-23
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act - 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 and Medicare benefits under such programs.

Date: 2007-04-19
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Individual Social Security Investment Program Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to add a new part B (Individual Social Security Investment Program) to change Social Security into a system of individual accounts where workers born on or after January 1, 1986, as well as electing participants born between January 1, 1953, and January 1, 1986, have ownership of and control over the investment of their retirement funds in various investment vehicles: (1) Tier I Investment Fund; (2) Tier II Investment Fund; and (3) Tier III Investment Accounts. Allows participating workers choosing the individual account option to have 100% of their redirected Social Security contribution for the calendar year (6.2% of the sum of the total wages paid to, and self-employment income derived by, the participant) deposited into the Tier I Investment Fund. Provides for transfer of any amount held in the Tier I Investment Fund into the Tier II Investment Fund, and for an individual's first election of a Tier III investment account once the total balance of the Tier II account exceeds the minimum deposit balance of $10,000. Directs the Executive Director to establish and maintain a part B totalization account for each participant. Provides workers choosing the individual account under the Tier II option with a variety of investment options, with the initial default option set at 60% stocks, and 40% bonds. Provides for retirement distributions, including purchase of annuities.Provides that workers who choose the individual account option shall receive a recognition bond, redeemable upon reaching retirement age, based on the accrued value of their lifetime to date benefits.Provides that, in any case in which a participant is entitled to, or eligible for, need-based cash benefits for any month, the supplemental minimum benefit payments otherwise payable to such participant for such month shall be reduced by the total amount of such recognized governmental cash benefits for such month.Establishes in the executive branch of the Government an Individual Investment Board to administer the program established under this Act.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from income taxation any fund created, account established, or annuity under part B of title II of the Social Security Act, unless subject to taxes on unrelated business income of charitable organizations. Excludes from the gross income of a distributee or payee: (1) any fund or account distribution or any annuity payment; or (2) the value of a recognition bond issued to a participant, or the proceeds from its sale or redemption. Amends SSA title II to provide that, except with respect to determination of disability insurance benefits, a participant shall not be credited with wages or self-employment income under part B of SSA title II.Provides for: (1) consumer price indexing of benefits for non-disability part A beneficiaries; and (2) the maintenance of adequate balances in the Social Security trust funds.

Date: 2007-04-23
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act of 2007 - 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. Authorizes appropriations. Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVIII (Medicare) to provide for the use of such new CPI in the computation of cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits under such programs.

Date: 2007-04-25
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Benefits Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 85 percent maximum tax rate on Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. Appropriates, from the general fund, to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund amounts equal to the reduction in revenues resulting from this repeal.

Date: 2007-05-03
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Social Security Card Fortification Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prescribe requirements for an updated social security card, including security features to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the card for fraudulent purposes and use. Allows the Commissioner of Social Security to charge a reasonable fee to the recipient as a condition for issuance of a card. Authorizes the Commissioner, through a Memorandum of Understanding and a reimbursement of costs, to delegate to the Secretary of Homeland Security the process of meeting the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2007-05-17
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Joseph H. Seall Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to authorize waivers by the Commissioner of Social Security of the five-month waiting period for entitlement to benefits based on disability in cases in which such waiting period would cause undue hardship to terminally ill benefiaries. Requires the Commissioner to study and report to specified congressional committees on possible improvements in disability claims processing.

Date: 2007-06-14
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Public Servant Retirement Protection Act of 2007 - 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: 2007-06-19
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
COLA Fairness Act of 2007 - Requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to establish: (1) a mapping of the United States comprising 14 specified regions; and (2) particular monthly consumer price indices for such regions for computation of cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) benefits.

Date: 2007-07-10
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Government Pension Offset Reform Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to modify the formula for determining the amount of reduced monthly OASDI benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent receiving monthly payments from a federal or state pension plan. Declares that such benefit reductions shall be equal to the amount by which two-thirds of the total amount of the combined monthly benefit (before reduction) and monthly pension exceeds $1,200, adjusted for inflation.

Date: 2007-07-10
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to exclude the first $75,000 of the value of retirement plans (adjusted annually for cost of living) in determining eligibility for, and the amount of benefits under, the SSI program.

Date: 2007-09-27
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to bullion held in individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and other tax-exempt individually directed retirement plans to allow: (1) such bullion to be held in the form of a bar, ingot, or coin; (2) IRA trustees to satisfy physical possession requirements for such bullion by merely holding indicia of ownership; and (3) the transfer of the physical possession of such bullion to a custodian engaged in the business of holding bullion, coins, and precious metals.

Date: 2007-11-06
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Social Security Surplus Protection Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to direct the Managing Trustee to ensure that amounts in either the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund or the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security Trust Funds) equivalent to the annual surplus for such Fund for any calendar year are made available to the Social Security Surplus Investment Board (SSSIB) on a timely basis for purposes of investment. Requires the Managing Trustee also to ensure that Trust Fund assets are available for payment of benefits. Establishes the SSSIB in the executive branch to provide for the investment of such amounts. 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 any amendment to it or conference report on it) that would set forth a deficit for any fiscal year for which there is a projected net surplus in the Social Security Trust Funds. Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report if its enactment would cause a deficit for any fiscal year for which there is a projected net surplus in the Trust Funds.

Date: 2007-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare