Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2065 To amend title XVI of the Social Security Act to update eligibility for the supplemental security income program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 15, 2021 Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. WARREN, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CASEY, and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 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 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2065 IS 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 ‘‘$1,536 (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 ‘‘$4,992 (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 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2065 IS 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 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2065 IS 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— 5 (1) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by inserting 6 ‘‘through calendar year 2021’’ after ‘‘any calendar 7 year thereafter’’; and 8 (2) by adding at the end the following new 9 paragraph: 10 ‘‘(3) The benefit under this title for calendar 11 year 2022 and each calendar year thereafter shall be 12 equal to— 13 ‘‘(A) for an individual who does not have 14 an eligible spouse, an amount equal to the pov- 15 erty line (as defined in section 2110(c)(5)) ap- 16 plicable to a family of 1 for the calendar year 17 involved; and 18 ‘‘(B) for an individual who has an eligible 19 spouse, an amount equal to twice the amount 20 specified for the calendar year involved under 21 subparagraph (A), 22 reduced by the amount of income, not excluded pur- 23 suant to section 1612(b), of such individual and (if 24 applicable) such eligible spouse.’’. 25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2065 IS (1) Section 1617(a)(1) of the Social Security 1 Act (42 U.S.C. 1382f(a)(1)) is amended by striking 2 ‘‘, (a)(2)(A), (b)(1), and (b)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘and 3 (a)(2)(A)’’. 4 (2) Section 1619(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5 1382h(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘under section 6 1611(b)(1) (or, in the case of an individual who has 7 an eligible spouse, under section 1611(b)(2))’’ and 8 inserting ‘‘under section 1611(b)(3)(A) (or, in the 9 case of an individual who has an eligible spouse, 10 under section 1611(b)(3)(B))’’. 11 (3) Section 1621(b)(1)(B)(i) of such Act (42 12 U.S.C. 1382j(b)(1)(B)(i)) is amended by striking 13 ‘‘section 1611(b)(1)’’ and inserting 14 ‘‘1611(b)(3)(A)’’. 15 (4) Section 1903(f)(4)(C) of such Act (42 16 U.S.C. 1396b(f)(4)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec- 17 tion 1611(b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 18 1611(b)(3)(A)’’. 19 (5) Section 1915(h)(6)(A) of such Act (42 20 U.S.C. 1396n(h)(6)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec- 21 tion 1611(b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 22 1611(b)(3)(A)’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2065 IS SEC. 4. SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE FURNISHED IN KIND 1 NOT INCLUDED AS INCOME. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1612(a)(2) of such Act 3 (42 U.S.C. 1382a(a)(2)) is amended— 4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(other than support or main- 5 tenance furnished in kind)’’ after ‘‘all other income’’; 6 and 7 (2) in subparagraph (A)— 8 (A) by striking ‘‘or kind’’; 9 (B) by striking clause (i) and redesig- 10 nating clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses (i) and 11 (ii), respectively; and 12 (C) in clause (ii) (as so redesignated), by 13 striking ‘‘and the provisions of clause (i) shall 14 not be applicable’’. 15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 16 (1) Section 1611(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 17 1382(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (6) and 18 redesignating paragraphs (7) through (10) as para- 19 graphs (6) through (9), respectively. 20 (2) Section 1612(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 21 1382a(a)(2)) is amended— 22 (A) in subparagraph (F), by inserting 23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 24 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘; 25 and’’ and inserting a period; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2065 IS (C) by moving subparagraph (G) 2 ems to 1 the right; and 2 (D) by striking subparagraph (H). 3 (3) Section 1621(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4 1382j(c)) is amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(c) In determining the amount of income of an alien 6 during the period of 5 years after such alien’s entry into 7 the United States, support or maintenance furnished in 8 cash to the alien by such alien’s sponsor (to the extent 9 that it reflects income or resources which were taken into 10 account in determining the amount of income and re- 11 sources to be deemed to the alien under subsection (a) 12 or (b) of this section) shall not be considered to be income 13 of such alien under section 1612(a)(2)(A).’’. 14 SEC. 5. EXCLUSION OF RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS FROM RE- 15 SOURCES. 16 Section 1613(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 17 1382b(a)) is amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (16), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 19 inserting a semicolon; 20 (2) in paragraph (17), by striking the period at 21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (17) the fol- 23 lowing new paragraph: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2065 IS ‘‘(18) any qualified retirement plan or eligible 1 deferred compensation plan (as such terms are de- 2 fined in sections 4974(c) and 457(b), respectively, of 3 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).’’. 4 SEC. 6. REPEAL OF PENALTY FOR DISPOSAL OF RE- 5 SOURCES FOR LESS THAN FAIR MARKET 6 VALUE. 7 Section 1613(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(c)) is 8 amended to read as follows: 9 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF MEDICAID POLICY RESTRICT- 10 ING ELIGIBILITY OF INSTITUTIONALIZED INDIVIDUALS 11 FOR BENEFITS BASED ON DISPOSAL OF RESOURCES FOR 12 LESS THAN FAIR MARKET VALUE.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the time an individual 14 (and the individual’s eligible spouse, if any) applies 15 for benefits under this title, and at the time the eli- 16 gibility of an individual (and such spouse, if any) for 17 such benefits is redetermined, the Commissioner of 18 Social Security shall— 19 ‘‘(A) inform such individual of the provi- 20 sions of section 1917(c) providing for a period 21 of ineligibility for benefits under title XIX for 22 individuals who make certain dispositions of re- 23 sources for less than fair market value, and in- 24 form such individual that information obtained 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2065 IS pursuant to subparagraph (B) will be made 1 available to the State agency administering a 2 State plan under title XIX (as provided in 3 paragraph (2)); and 4 ‘‘(B) obtain from such individual informa- 5 tion which may be used by the State agency in 6 determining whether or not a period of ineligi- 7 bility for such benefits would be required by 8 reason of section 1917(c). 9 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO STATE 10 MEDICAID AGENCIES.—The Commissioner of Social 11 Security shall make the information obtained under 12 paragraph (1)(B) available, on request, to any State 13 agency administering a State plan approved under 14 title XIX.’’. 15 SEC. 7. CLARIFYING THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN STATE 16 TAX CREDITS. 17 Title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 18 1382a) is amended— 19 (1) in section 1612(b)(19), by striking ‘‘and 20 any payment’’ and all that follows through ‘‘credit)’’ 21 and inserting ‘‘and any refund of State income taxes 22 made to such individual (or such spouse) by reason 23 of a State earned income tax credit (as defined by 24 the Secretary)’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2065 IS (2) in section 1613(a)(11)— 1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, 2 and any refund of State income taxes made to 3 such individual (or such spouse) by reason of a 4 State child tax credit (as defined by the Sec- 5 retary)’’ before the semicolon; and 6 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and 7 any payment’’ and all that follows through 8 ‘‘credit)’’ and inserting ‘‘and any refund of 9 State income taxes made to such individual (or 10 such spouse) by reason of a State earned in- 11 come tax credit (as defined by the Secretary)’’. 12 SEC. 8. ELIMINATION OF DEDICATED ACCOUNTS FOR CER- 13 TAIN PAST-DUE BENEFITS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1631(a)(2) of the Social 15 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)) is amended by strik- 16 ing subparagraph (F). 17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 18 (1) RELATING TO PAYMENTS AND PROCE- 19 DURES.—Section 1631(a)(2) of the Social Security 20 Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)), as amended by sub- 21 section (a), is amended— 22 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (G), 23 (H), and (I) as subparagraphs (F), (G), and 24 (H), respectively; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2065 IS (B) in subparagraph (B)(vii)(I), by strik- 1 ing ‘‘subparagraph (I)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara- 2 graph (H)’’; 3 (C) in subparagraph (D)— 4 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘subpara- 5 graphs (E) and (F)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub- 6 paragraph (E)’’; and 7 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘sub- 8 paragraph (I)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara- 9 graph (H)’’; 10 (D) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘sub- 11 paragraph (H)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara- 12 graph (G)(ii)’’; and 13 (E) in subparagraph (G)(i)(II), as redesig- 14 nated by subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub- 15 paragraph (I)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 16 (H)’’. 17 (2) EXCLUSIONS FROM INCOME.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1612(b) of the 19 Social Security Act is amended— 20 (i) by striking paragraph (21); and 21 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (22) 22 through (26) as paragraphs (21) through 23 (25), respectively. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2065.IS S2065 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2065 IS (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1 1613(a)(17) of such Act is amended by striking 2 ‘‘section 1612(b)(26)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3 1612(b)(25)’’. 4 (3) EXCLUSIONS FROM RESOURCES.—Section 5 1613(a) of the Social Security Act, as amended by 6 section 5, is amended— 7 (A) by striking paragraph (12); and 8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (13) 9 through (18) as paragraphs (12) through (17), 10 respectively. 11 (c) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS TRANSFERRED FROM 12 DEDICATED ACCOUNTS.—Amounts transferred from an 13 account established on behalf of an individual a [Text truncated for display. 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