Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2317 To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit individuals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five years of such service, and to support State medical training programs for caregivers. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 30, 2019 Mr. MURPHY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit individ- uals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five years of such service, and to support State medical training programs for care- givers. 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 Care- 4 giver Credit Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF THE SENATE. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2317.IS S2317 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2317 IS (1) Caregiving is an essential element of family 1 life and a vital service for children, the ill, the dis- 2 abled, and the elderly. 3 (2) The establishment of a caregiver credit 4 would bolster the economic prospects of unpaid care- 5 givers and would provide them with vital retirement 6 security. 7 (3) The 2018 Annual Report of the Board of 8 Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors In- 9 surance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust 10 Funds concluded that the combined Trust Funds 11 will be able to pay scheduled benefits in full until 12 2034. 13 (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of Sen- 14 ate that the United States Congress must address the un- 15 fair exclusion of professional and hardworking home care 16 providers who are not eligible to receive Social Security 17 or Medicare because they provide paid care to a family 18 member with a disability under programs operated at the 19 State and local level for general health and welfare protec- 20 tion. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2317.IS S2317 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2317 IS SEC. 3. DEEMED WAGES FOR CAREGIVERS OF DEPENDENT 1 RELATIVES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Social Security Act 3 is amended by adding after section 234 (42 U.S.C. 434) 4 the following new section: 5 ‘‘DEEMED WAGES FOR CAREGIVERS OF DEPENDENT 6 RELATIVES 7 ‘‘SEC. 235. (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 8 section— 9 ‘‘(1)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the term 10 ‘qualifying month’ means, in connection with an in- 11 dividual, any month— 12 ‘‘(i) beginning after the date which is 60 13 months prior to the date of the enactment of 14 the Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 15 2019; and 16 ‘‘(ii) during which such individual was en- 17 gaged for not less than 80 hours in providing 18 care to a dependent relative without monetary 19 compensation. 20 ‘‘(B) The term ‘qualifying month’ does not in- 21 clude any month ending after the date on which 22 such individual attains retirement age (as defined in 23 section 216(l)). 24 ‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), as- 25 sistance provided to a family caregiver of an eligible 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2317.IS S2317 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2317 IS veteran under section 1720G of title 38, United 1 States Code, shall not be considered monetary com- 2 pensation for providing care to such eligible veteran. 3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘dependent relative’ means, in 4 connection with an individual— 5 ‘‘(A) a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew 6 (of such individual or such individual’s spouse 7 or domestic partner), or a child to which the in- 8 dividual or the individual’s spouse or domestic 9 partner is standing in loco parentis, who is 10 under the age of 12; or 11 ‘‘(B) a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew 12 (of such individual or such individual’s spouse 13 or domestic partner), a child to which the indi- 14 vidual or the individual’s spouse or domestic 15 partner is standing in loco parentis, a parent, 16 grandparent, sibling, aunt, or uncle (of such in- 17 dividual or his or her spouse or domestic part- 18 ner), or such individual’s spouse or domestic 19 partner, if such child, grandchild, niece, neph- 20 ew, parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, 21 spouse, or domestic partner is a chronically de- 22 pendent individual. 23 ‘‘(3)(A) The term ‘chronically dependent indi- 24 vidual’ means an individual who— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2317.IS S2317 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2317 IS ‘‘(i) is dependent on a daily basis on verbal 1 reminding, physical cueing, supervision, or 2 other assistance provided to the individual by 3 another person in the performance of at least 4 two of the activities of daily living (described in 5 subparagraph (B)) or instrumental activities of 6 daily living (described in subparagraph (C)); 7 and 8 ‘‘(ii) without the assistance described in 9 clause (i), could not perform such activities of 10 daily living or instrumental activities of daily 11 living. 12 ‘‘(B) The ‘activities of daily living’ referred to 13 in subparagraph (A) means basic personal everyday 14 activities, including— 15 ‘‘(i) eating; 16 ‘‘(ii) bathing; 17 ‘‘(iii) dressing; 18 ‘‘(iv) toileting; and 19 ‘‘(v) transferring in and out of a bed or in 20 and out of a chair. 21 ‘‘(C) The ‘instrumental activities of daily living’ 22 referred to in subparagraph (A) means activities re- 23 lated to living independently in the community, in- 24 cluding— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2317.IS S2317 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2317 IS ‘‘(i) meal planning and preparation; 1 ‘‘(ii) managing finances; 2 ‘‘(iii) shopping for food, clothing, or other 3 essential items; 4 ‘‘(iv) performing essential household 5 chores; 6 ‘‘(v) communicating by phone or other 7 form of media; and 8 ‘‘(vi) traveling around and participating in 9 the community. 10 ‘‘(b) DEEMED WAGES OF CAREGIVER.—(1)(A) For 11 purposes of determining entitlement to and the amount 12 of any monthly benefit for any month after December 13 2019, or entitlement to and the amount of any lump-sum 14 death payment in the case of a death after such month, 15 payable under this title on the basis of the wages and self- 16 employment income of any individual, and for purposes 17 of section 216(i)(3), such individual shall be deemed to 18 have been paid during each qualifying month (in addition 19 to wages or self-employment income actually paid to or 20 derived by such individual during such month) at an 21 amount per month equal to— 22 ‘‘(i) in the case of a qualifying month during 23 which no wages or self-employment income were ac- 24 tually paid to or derived by such individual, 50 per- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2317.IS S2317 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2317 IS cent of the national average wage index (as defined 1 in section 209(k)(1)) for the second calendar year 2 preceding the calendar year in which such month oc- 3 curs; and 4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any other qualifying month, 5 the excess of the amount determined under clause (i) 6 over 1⁄2 of the wages or self-employment income ac- 7 tually paid to or derived by such individual during 8 such month. 9 ‘‘(B) In any case in which there are more than 60 10 qualifying months for an individual, only the last 60 of 11 such months shall be taken into account for purposes of 12 this section. 13 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be applicable in the case 14 of any monthly benefit or lump-sum death payment if a 15 larger such benefit or payment, as the case may be, would 16 be payable without its application. 17 ‘‘(c) RULES AND REGULATIONS.— 18 ‘‘(1) Not later than one year after the date of 19 the enactment of this section, the Commissioner of 20 Social Security shall promulgate such regulations as 21 are necessary to carry out this section and to pre- 22 vent fraud and abuse with respect to the benefits 23 under this section, including regulations establishing 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2317.IS S2317 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2317 IS procedures for the application and certification re- 1 quirements described in paragraph (2). 2 ‘‘(2) A qualifying month shall not be taken into 3 account under this section with respect to an indi- 4 vidual unless— 5 ‘‘(A) the individual submits to the Com- 6 missioner of Social Security an application for 7 benefits under this section that includes— 8 ‘‘(i) the name and identifying infor- 9 mation of the dependent relative with re- 10 spect to whom the individual was engaged 11 in providing care during such month; 12 ‘‘(ii) if the dependent relative is not a 13 child under the age of 12, documentation 14 from the physician of the dependent rel- 15 ative explaining why the dependent relative 16 is a chronically dependent individual; and 17 ‘‘(iii) such other information as the 18 Commissioner may require to verify the 19 status of the dependent relative; and 20 ‘‘(B) for every qualifying month or period 21 of up to 12 consecutive qualifying months that 22 occurs after the first period of 12 consecutive 23 qualifying months, the individual certifies, in 24 such form and manner as the Commissioner 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2317.IS S2317 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2317 IS shall require, that the information provided in 1 the individual’s application for benefits under 2 this section has not changed.’’. 3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 209(k)(1) 4 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 409(k)(1)) is amended— 5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘230(b)(2)’’ the 6 first time it appears; and 7 (2) by inserting ‘‘and 235(b)(1)(A)(i),’’ after 8 ‘‘1977),’’. 9 SEC. 4. PROMOTING STATE PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE MED- 10 ICAL TRAINING TO CAREGIVERS. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 12 Human Services is authorized to make grants to States 13 to support State programs that provide medical training 14 to individuals who provide care to dependent relatives 15 without monetary compensation. 16 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 17 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 18 necessary to carry out this section. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2317.IS S2317 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS