Social Security Safety Dividend Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 46 To ensure that seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who receive Social Security and certain other Federal benefits receive a $250 pay- ment in the event that no cost-of-living adjustment is payable in a calendar year. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To ensure that seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who receive Social Security and certain other Federal benefits receive a $250 payment in the event that no cost-of-living adjustment is payable in a calendar year. 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Security Safety 4 Dividend Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 46 IH SEC. 2. PAYMENT IN LIEU OF A COST-OF-LIVING ADJUST- 1 MENT TO RECIPIENTS OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 2 SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME, RAIL- 3 ROAD RETIREMENT BENEFITS, AND VET- 4 ERANS DISABILITY COMPENSATION OR PEN- 5 SION BENEFITS. 6 (a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE PAYMENTS.— 7 (1) ELIGIBILITY.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 9 Treasury shall disburse, out of any funds in the 10 Treasury of the United States not otherwise ap- 11 propriated, a cash payment equal to $250 for 12 each non-COLA year of a program providing 13 benefit payments described in clause (i), (ii), or 14 (iii) of subparagraph (C) or in subparagraph 15 (D) to each individual who, for any month dur- 16 ing such year, is entitled to such benefit pay- 17 ment. 18 (B) NON-COLA YEAR.—For purposes of 19 this section, the term ‘‘non-COLA year’’ means, 20 in connection with a program referred to in 21 subparagraph (A), a 12-month period for 22 which— 23 (i) a cost-of-living adjustment is gen- 24 erally provided under such program in re- 25 lation to an index specified in section 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 46 IH 215(i) of the Social Security Act (42 1 U.S.C. 415(i)); and 2 (ii) such an adjustment does not take 3 effect by reason of the performance of such 4 index. 5 (C) BENEFIT PAYMENT DESCRIBED.—For 6 purposes of subparagraph (A): 7 (i) TITLE II BENEFIT.—A benefit pay- 8 ment described in this clause is a monthly 9 insurance benefit payable (without regard 10 to sections 202(j)(1) and 223(b) of the So- 11 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(j)(1), 12 423(b)) under— 13 (I) section 202(a) of such Act 14 (42 U.S.C. 402(a)); 15 (II) section 202(b) of such Act 16 (42 U.S.C. 402(b)); 17 (III) section 202(c) of such Act 18 (42 U.S.C. 402(c)); 19 (IV) section 202(d)(1)(B)(ii) of 20 such Act (42 U.S.C. 21 402(d)(1)(B)(ii)); 22 (V) section 202(e) of such Act 23 (42 U.S.C. 402(e)); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 46 IH (VI) section 202(f) of such Act 1 (42 U.S.C. 402(f)); 2 (VII) section 202(g) of such Act 3 (42 U.S.C. 402(g)); 4 (VIII) section 202(h) of such Act 5 (42 U.S.C. 402(h)); 6 (IX) section 223(a) of such Act 7 (42 U.S.C. 423(a)); 8 (X) section 227 of such Act (42 9 U.S.C. 427); or 10 (XI) section 228 of such Act (42 11 U.S.C. 428). 12 (ii) RAILROAD RETIREMENT BEN- 13 EFIT.—A benefit payment described in this 14 clause is a monthly annuity or pension 15 payment payable (without regard to section 16 5(a)(ii) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 17 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231d(a)(ii))) under— 18 (I) section 2(a)(1) of such Act 19 (45 U.S.C. 231a(a)(1)); 20 (II) section 2(c) of such Act (45 21 U.S.C. 231a(c)); 22 (III) section 2(d)(1)(i) of such 23 Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(i)); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 46 IH (IV) section 2(d)(1)(ii) of such 1 Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(ii)); 2 (V) section 2(d)(1)(iii)(C) of such 3 Act to an adult disabled child (45 4 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(iii)(C)); 5 (VI) section 2(d)(1)(iv) of such 6 Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(iv)); 7 (VII) section 2(d)(1)(v) of such 8 Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(v)); or 9 (VIII) section 7(b)(2) of such Act 10 (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(2)) with respect to 11 any of the benefit payments described 12 in clause (i) of this subparagraph. 13 (iii) VETERANS BENEFIT.—A benefit 14 payment described in this clause is a com- 15 pensation or pension payment payable 16 under— 17 (I) section 1110, 1117, 1121, 18 1131, 1141, or 1151 of title 38, 19 United States Code; 20 (II) section 1310, 1312, 1313, 21 1315, 1316, or 1318 of title 38, 22 United States Code; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 46 IH (III) section 1513, 1521, 1533, 1 1536, 1537, 1541, 1542, or 1562 of 2 title 38, United States Code; or 3 (IV) section 1805, 1815, or 1821 4 of title 38, United States Code, 5 to a veteran, surviving spouse, child, or 6 parent as described in paragraph (2), (3), 7 (4)(A)(ii), or (5) of section 101, title 38, 8 United States Code. 9 (D) SSI CASH BENEFIT DESCRIBED.—A 10 SSI cash benefit described in this subparagraph 11 is a cash benefit payable under section 1611 12 (other than under subsection (e)(1)(B) of such 13 section) or 1619(a) of the Social Security Act 14 (42 U.S.C. 1382, 1382h). 15 (2) REQUIREMENT.—A payment shall be made 16 under paragraph (1) only to individuals who reside 17 in 1 of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, 18 Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Is- 19 lands, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana 20 Islands, or who are utilizing a foreign or domestic 21 Army Post Office, Fleet Post Office, or Diplomatic 22 Post Office address. For purposes of the preceding 23 sentence, the determination of the individual’s resi- 24 dence shall be based on the address of record, as of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 46 IH the date of certification under subsection (b) for a 1 payment under this section under a program speci- 2 fied in paragraph (1). 3 (3) NO DOUBLE PAYMENTS.—An individual 4 shall be paid only 1 payment for any non-COLA 5 year under this section, regardless of whether the in- 6 dividual is entitled to, or eligible for, more than 1 7 benefit or cash payment described in paragraph (1). 8 (4) LIMITATION.—A payment under this section 9 shall not be made (or, in the case of subparagraph 10 (D), shall not be due)— 11 (A) in the case of an individual entitled to 12 a benefit specified in paragraph (1)(B)(i) or 13 paragraph (1)(B)(ii)(VIII) if, for any month 14 within the 12-month period ending with the 15 month of payment, such individual’s benefit 16 under such paragraph was not payable by rea- 17 son of subsection (x) or (y) of section 202 of 18 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402) or sec- 19 tion 1129A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8a); 20 (B) in the case of an individual entitled to 21 a benefit specified in paragraph (1)(B)(iii) if, 22 for any month within the 12-month period end- 23 ing with the month of payment, such individ- 24 ual’s benefit under such paragraph was not 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 46 IH payable, or was reduced, by reason of section 1 1505, 5313, or 5313B of title 38, United 2 States Code; 3 (C) in the case of an individual entitled to 4 a benefit specified in paragraph (1)(C) if, for 5 any month within the 12-month period ending 6 with the month of payment, such individual’s 7 benefit under such paragraph was not payable 8 by reason of subsection (e)(1)(A) or (e)(4) of 9 section 1611 (42 U.S.C. 1382) or section 10 1129A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8a); or 11 (D) in the case of any individual whose 12 date of death occurs— 13 (i) before the date of the receipt of 14 the payment; or 15 (ii) in the case of a direct deposit, be- 16 fore the date on which such payment is de- 17 posited into such individual’s account. 18 In the case of any individual whose date of 19 death occurs before a payment is negotiated (in 20 the case of a check) or deposited (in the case 21 of a direct deposit), such payment shall not be 22 due and shall not be reissued to the estate of 23 such individual or to any other person. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 46 IH (5) TIMING AND MANNER OF PAYMENTS.—The 1 Secretary of the Treasury shall commence disbursing 2 payments under this section at the earliest prac- 3 ticable date for any non-COLA year prior to April 4 1 following such year. The Secretary of the Treasury 5 may disburse any payment electronically to an indi- 6 vidual in such manner as if such payment was a 7 benefit payment or cash benefit to such individual 8 under the applicable program described in subpara- 9 graph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1). 10 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF RECIPIENTS.—The Commis- 11 sioner of Social Security, the Railroad Retirement Board, 12 and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall certify the in- 13 dividuals entitled to receive payments under this section 14 for each non-COLA year and provide the Secretary of the 15 Treasury with the information needed to disburse such 16 payments. A certification of an individual shall be unaf- 17 fected by any subsequent determination or redetermina- 18 tion of the individual’s entitlement to, or eligibility for, a 19 benefit specified in subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection 20 (a)(1) (except that such certification shall be affected by 21 a determination that an individual is an individual de- 22 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of sub- 23 section (a)(4) during a period described in such subpara- 24 graphs). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 46 IH (c) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS.— 1 (1) PAYMENT TO BE DISREGARDED FOR PUR- 2 POSES OF ALL FEDERAL AND FEDERALLY ASSISTED 3 PROGRAMS.—A payment under subsection (a) shall 4 not be regarded as income and shall not be regarded 5 as a resource for the month of receipt and the fol- 6 lowing 9 months, for purposes of determining the 7 eligibility of the recipient (or the recipient’s spouse 8 or family) for benefits or assistance, or the amount 9 or extent of benefits or assistance, under any Fed- 10 eral program or under any State or local program fi- 11 nanced in whole or in part with Federal funds. 12 (2) PAYMENT NOT CONSIDERED INCOME FOR 13 PURPOSES OF TAXATION.—A payment under sub- 14 section (a) shall not be considered as gross income 15 for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 16 (3) PAYMENTS PROTECTED FROM ASSIGN- 17 MENT.—The provisions of sections 207 and 18 1631(d)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 19 407, 1383(d)(1)), section 14(a) of the Railroad Re- 20 tirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231m(a)), and sec- 21 tion 5301 of title 38, United States Code, shall 22 apply to any payment made under subsection (a) as 23 if such payment was a benefit payment or cash ben- 24 efit to such individual under the applicable program 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 46 IH described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection 1 (a)(1). 2 (4) PAYMENTS SUBJECT TO OFFSET.—Notwith- 3 standing paragraph (3)— 4 (A) any payment made under this section 5 shall, in the case of a payment of a direct de- 6 posit which is made after the date of the enact- 7 ment of this Act, be subject to the reclamation 8 provisions under subpart B of part 210 of title 9 31, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to 10 reclamation of benefit payments); and 11 (B) any payment made under this section 12 shall not, for purposes of section 3716 of title 13 31, United States Code, be considered a benefit 14 payment or cash benefit made under the appli- 15 cable program described in subparagraph (B) 16 or (C) of subsection (a)(1), and all amounts 17 paid shall be subject to offset to collect delin- 18 quent debts. 19 (d) PAYMENT TO REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES AND FI- 20 DUCIARIES.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which an in- 22 dividual who is entitled to a payment under sub- 23 section (a) and whose benefit payment or cash ben- 24 efit described in paragraph (1) of that subsection is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 46 IH paid to a representative payee or fiduciary, the pay- 1 ment under subsection (a) shall be made to the indi- 2 vidual’s representative payee or fiduciary and the en- 3 tire payment shall be used only for the benefit of the 4 individual who is entitled to the payment. 5 (2) APPLICABILITY.— 6 (A) PAYMENT ON THE BASIS OF A TITLE 7 II OR SSI BENEFIT.—Section 1129(a)(3) of the 8 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)(3)) 9 shall apply to any payment made on the basis 10 of an entitlement to a benefit specified in para- 11 graph (1)(B)(i) or (1)(C) of subsection (a) in 12 the same manner as such section applies to a 13 payment under title II or XVI of such Act. 14 (B) PAYMENT ON THE BASIS OF A RAIL- 15 ROAD RETIREMENT BENEFIT.—Section 13 of 16 the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. 231l) 17 shall apply to any payment made on the basis 18 of an entitlement to a benefit specified in para- 19 graph (1)(B)(ii) of subsection (a) in the same 20 manner as such section applies to a payment 21 under such Act. 22 (C) PAYMENT ON THE BASIS OF A VET- 23 ERANS BENEFIT.—Sections 5502, 6106, and 24 6108 of title 38, United States Code, shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Jan 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H46.IH H46 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 46 IH apply to any payment made on the basis of an 1 entitlement to a benefit specified in paragraph 2 (1)(B)(iii) of subsection (a) in the same manner 3 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]