Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3763 To amend title XVI of the Social Security Act to update eligibility for the supplemental security income program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 8, 2021 Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. KILMER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. BASS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. COOPER, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. NORTON, Ms. KAP- TUR, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. SMITH of Wash- ington, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Mr. DEUTCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend title XVI of the Social Security Act to update eligibility for the supplemental security income program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3763 IH Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Update in eligibility for the supplemental security income program. Sec. 3. Update in supplemental security income benefit amounts and repeal of marriage penalty. Sec. 4. Support and maintenance furnished in kind not included as income. Sec. 5. Exclusion of retirement accounts from resources. Sec. 6. Repeal of penalty for disposal of resources for less than fair market value. Sec. 7. Clarifying the treatment of certain State tax credits. Sec. 8. Elimination of dedicated accounts for certain past-due benefits. Sec. 9. Elimination of installment payment requirement. Sec. 10. Extension of period of exclusion of certain payments from countable resources. Sec. 11. Modification of rules to determine marital relationships. Sec. 12. Effective date. SEC. 2. UPDATE IN ELIGIBILITY FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL 1 SECURITY INCOME PROGRAM. 2 (a) UPDATE IN GENERAL INCOME EXCLUSION.— 3 Section 1612(b)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 4 U.S.C. 1382a(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘$240’’ 5 and inserting ‘‘$1,476 (increased as described in section 6 1617(d) for each calendar year after 2022)’’. 7 (b) UPDATE IN EARNED INCOME EXCLUSION.—Sec- 8 tion 1612(b)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)(4)) is 9 amended by striking ‘‘$780’’ each place it appears and 10 inserting ‘‘$4,788 (increased as described in section 11 1617(d) for each calendar year after 2022)’’. 12 (c) UPDATE IN RESOURCE LIMIT FOR INDIVIDUALS 13 AND COUPLES.—Section 1611(a)(3) of such Act (42 14 U.S.C. 1382(a)(3)) is amended— 15 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘$2,250’’ 16 and all that follows through the end of the subpara- 17 graph and inserting ‘‘$20,000 in calendar year 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3763 IH 2022, and shall be increased as described in section 1 1617(d) for each subsequent calendar year.’’; and 2 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘$1,500’’ 3 and all that follows through the end of the subpara- 4 graph and inserting ‘‘$10,000 in calendar year 5 2022, and shall be increased as described in section 6 1617(d) for each subsequent calendar year.’’. 7 (d) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 1617 of such 8 Act (42 U.S.C. 1382f) is amended— 9 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘; IN- 10 FLATION ADJUSTMENT’’ after ‘‘BENEFITS’’; and 11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(d) In the case of any calendar year after 2022, each 13 of the amounts specified in sections 1611(a)(3), 14 1612(b)(2)(A), and 1612(b)(4) shall be increased by mul- 15 tiplying each such amount by the quotient (not less than 16 1) obtained by dividing— 17 ‘‘(1) the average of the Consumer Price Index 18 for Elderly Consumers (CPI–E, as published by the 19 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 20 Labor) for the 12-month period ending with Sep- 21 tember of the preceding calendar year, by 22 ‘‘(2) such average for the 12-month period end- 23 ing with September 2021.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3763 IH SEC. 3. UPDATE IN SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME 1 BENEFIT AMOUNTS AND REPEAL OF MAR- 2 RIAGE PENALTY. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1611(b) of the Social Se- 4 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(b)) is amended to read as fol- 5 lows: 6 ‘‘Amounts of Benefits 7 ‘‘(b)(1) The benefit under this title for an individual 8 who does not have an eligible spouse shall be payable— 9 ‘‘(A) for calendar years 1974 through 2021, at 10 the rate of $1,752 (or, if greater, the amount deter- 11 mined under section 1617), and 12 ‘‘(B) for calendar years after 2021, at the rate 13 equal to the annual poverty guideline for the cal- 14 endar year preceding such calendar year (as updated 15 annually in the Federal Register by the Department 16 of Health and Human Services under the authority 17 of section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconcili- 18 ation Act of 1981) as applicable to a single indi- 19 vidual, 20 reduced by the amount of income, not excluded pursuant 21 to section 1612(b), of such individual. 22 ‘‘(2) The benefit under this title for an individual who 23 has an eligible spouse shall be payable— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3763 IH ‘‘(A) for calendar years 1974 through 2021, at 1 the rate of $2,628 (or, if greater, the amount deter- 2 mined under section 1617), and 3 ‘‘(B) for calendar years after 2021, at the rate 4 equal to twice the rate described in paragraph 5 (1)(B), 6 reduced by the amount of income, not excluded pursuant 7 to section 1612(b), of such individual and spouse.’’. 8 (b) CONFORMING CHANGES TO COST-OF-LIVING AD- 9 JUSTMENTS.—Section 1617(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 10 1382f(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(a)(1)(A), (a)(2)(A), 11 (b)(1), and (b)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)(1)(A) and 12 (a)(2)(A)’’. 13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 14 this section shall apply with respect to calendar years after 15 2021. 16 SEC. 4. SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE FURNISHED IN KIND 17 NOT INCLUDED AS INCOME. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1612(a)(2) of such Act 19 (42 U.S.C. 1382a(a)(2)) is amended— 20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(other than support or main- 21 tenance furnished in kind)’’ after ‘‘all other income’’; 22 and 23 (2) in subparagraph (A)— 24 (A) by striking ‘‘or kind’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3763 IH (B) by striking clause (i) and redesig- 1 nating clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses (i) and 2 (ii), respectively; and 3 (C) in clause (ii) (as so redesignated), by 4 striking ‘‘and the provisions of clause (i) shall 5 not be applicable’’. 6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 7 (1) Section 1611(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 8 1382(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (6) and 9 redesignating paragraphs (7) through (10) as para- 10 graphs (6) through (9), respectively. 11 (2) Section 1612(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12 1382a(a)(2)) is amended— 13 (A) in subparagraph (F), by inserting 14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 15 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘; 16 and’’ and inserting a period; 17 (C) by moving subparagraph (G) 2 ems to 18 the right; and 19 (D) by striking subparagraph (H). 20 (3) Section 1621(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 21 1382j(c)) is amended to read as follows: 22 ‘‘(c) In determining the amount of income of an alien 23 during the period of 5 years after such alien’s entry into 24 the United States, support or maintenance furnished in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3763 IH cash to the alien by such alien’s sponsor (to the extent 1 that it reflects income or resources which were taken into 2 account in determining the amount of income and re- 3 sources to be deemed to the alien under subsection (a) 4 or (b) of this section) shall not be considered to be income 5 of such alien under section 1612(a)(2)(A).’’. 6 SEC. 5. EXCLUSION OF RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS FROM RE- 7 SOURCES. 8 Section 1613(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 9 1382b(a)) is amended— 10 (1) in paragraph (16), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 11 inserting a semicolon; 12 (2) in paragraph (17), by striking the period at 13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (17) the fol- 15 lowing new paragraph: 16 ‘‘(18) any qualified retirement plan or eligible 17 deferred compensation plan (as such terms are de- 18 fined in sections 4974(c) and 457(b), respectively, of 19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).’’. 20 SEC. 6. REPEAL OF PENALTY FOR DISPOSAL OF RE- 21 SOURCES FOR LESS THAN FAIR MARKET 22 VALUE. 23 Section 1613(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(c)) is 24 amended to read as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3763 IH ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF MEDICAID POLICY RESTRICT- 1 ING ELIGIBILITY OF INSTITUTIONALIZED INDIVIDUALS 2 FOR BENEFITS BASED ON DISPOSAL OF RESOURCES FOR 3 LESS THAN FAIR MARKET VALUE.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the time an individual 5 (and the individual’s eligible spouse, if any) applies 6 for benefits under this title, and at the time the eli- 7 gibility of an individual (and such spouse, if any) for 8 such benefits is redetermined, the Commissioner of 9 Social Security shall— 10 ‘‘(A) inform such individual of the provi- 11 sions of section 1917(c) providing for a period 12 of ineligibility for benefits under title XIX for 13 individuals who make certain dispositions of re- 14 sources for less than fair market value, and in- 15 form such individual that information obtained 16 pursuant to subparagraph (B) will be made 17 available to the State agency administering a 18 State plan under title XIX (as provided in 19 paragraph (2)); and 20 ‘‘(B) obtain from such individual informa- 21 tion which may be used by the State agency in 22 determining whether or not a period of ineligi- 23 bility for such benefits would be required by 24 reason of section 1917(c). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3763 IH ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO STATE 1 MEDICAID AGENCIES.—The Commissioner of Social 2 Security shall make the information obtained under 3 paragraph (1)(B) available, on request, to any State 4 agency administering a State plan approved under 5 title XIX.’’. 6 SEC. 7. CLARIFYING THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN STATE 7 TAX CREDITS. 8 Title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 9 1382a) is amended— 10 (1) in section 1612(b)(19), by striking ‘‘and 11 any payment’’ and all that follows through ‘‘credit)’’ 12 and inserting ‘‘and any refund of State income taxes 13 made to such individual (or such spouse) by reason 14 of a State earned income tax credit (as defined by 15 the Secretary)’’; and 16 (2) in section 1613(a)(11)— 17 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, 18 and any refund of State income taxes made to 19 such individual (or such spouse) by reason of a 20 State child tax credit (as defined by the Sec- 21 retary)’’ before the semicolon; and 22 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and 23 any payment’’ and all that follows through 24 ‘‘credit)’’ and inserting ‘‘and any refund of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3763 IH State income taxes made to such individual (or 1 such spouse) by reason of a State earned in- 2 come tax credit (as defined by the Secretary)’’. 3 SEC. 8. ELIMINATION OF DEDICATED ACCOUNTS FOR CER- 4 TAIN PAST-DUE BENEFITS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1631(a)(2) of the Social 6 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)) is amended by strik- 7 ing subparagraph (F). 8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 9 (1) RELATING TO PAYMENTS AND PROCE- 10 DURES.—Section 1631(a)(2) of the Social Security 11 Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)), as amended by sub- 12 section (a), is amended— 13 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (G), 14 (H), and (I) as subparagraphs (F), (G), and 15 (H), respectively; 16 (B) in subparagraph (B)(vii)(I), by strik- 17 ing ‘‘subparagraph (I)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara- 18 graph (H)’’; 19 (C) in subparagraph (D)— 20 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘subpara- 21 graphs (E) and (F)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub- 22 paragraph (E)’’; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3763 IH (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘sub- 1 paragraph (I)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara- 2 graph (H)’’; 3 (D) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘sub- 4 paragraph (H)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara- 5 graph (G)(ii)’’; and 6 (E) in subparagraph (G)(i)(II), as redesig- 7 nated by subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub- 8 paragraph (I)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 9 (H)’’. 10 (2) EXCLUSIONS FROM INCOME.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1612(b) of the 12 Social Security Act is amended— 13 (i) by striking paragraph (21); and 14 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (22) 15 through (26) as paragraphs (21) through 16 (25), respectively. 17 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 18 1613(a)(17) of such Act is amended by striking 19 ‘‘section 1612(b)(26)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 20 1612(b)(25)’’. 21 (3) EXCLUSIONS FROM RESOURCES.—Section 22 1613(a) of the Social Security Act, as amended by 23 section 5, is amended— 24 (A) by striking paragraph (12); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3763.IH H3763 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3763 IH (B) by redesignating paragraphs (13) 1 through (18) as paragraphs (12) through (17), 2 respectively. 3 (c) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED FROM 4 DEDICATED ACCOUNTS.—Amounts transferred from an 5 account established on behalf of an individual as described 6 in section 1631(a)(2)(F) of the Social Security Act (42 7 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)(F)) (as in effect on the day before the 8 date of enactment of this Act) into another account of the 9 indivi [Text truncated for display. 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