Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4126 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 30, 2019 Mrs. LOWEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4126 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REP- 1 RESENTATIVES. 2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that: 3 (1) Caregiving is an essential element of family 4 life and a vital service for children, the ill, the dis- 5 abled, and the elderly. 6 (2) The establishment of a caregiver credit 7 would bolster the economic prospects of unpaid care- 8 givers and would provide them with vital retirement 9 security. 10 (3) The 2018 Annual Report of the Board of 11 Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors In- 12 surance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust 13 Funds concluded that the combined Trust Funds 14 will be able to pay scheduled benefits in full until 15 2034. 16 (b) SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 17 It is the sense of House of Representatives that the United 18 States Congress must address the unfair exclusion of pro- 19 fessional and hardworking home care providers who are 20 not eligible to receive Social Security or Medicare because 21 they provide paid care to a family member with a disability 22 under programs operated at the State and local level for 23 general health and welfare protection. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4126 IH 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 ‘‘(2) The term ‘dependent relative’ means, in 25 connection with an individual— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4126 IH ‘‘(A) a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew 1 (of such individual or such individual’s spouse 2 or domestic partner), or a child to which the in- 3 dividual or the individual’s spouse or domestic 4 partner is standing in loco parentis, who is 5 under the age of 12; or 6 ‘‘(B) a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew 7 (of such individual or such individual’s spouse 8 or domestic partner), a child to which the indi- 9 vidual or the individual’s spouse or domestic 10 partner is standing in loco parentis, a parent, 11 grandparent, sibling, aunt, or uncle (of such in- 12 dividual or his or her spouse or domestic part- 13 ner), or such individual’s spouse or domestic 14 partner, if such child, grandchild, niece, neph- 15 ew, parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, 16 spouse, or domestic partner is a chronically de- 17 pendent individual. 18 ‘‘(3)(A) The term ‘chronically dependent indi- 19 vidual’ means an individual who— 20 ‘‘(i) is dependent on a daily basis on verbal 21 reminding, physical cueing, supervision, or 22 other assistance provided to the individual by 23 another person in the performance of at least 24 two of the activities of daily living (described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4126 IH subparagraph (B)) or instrumental activities of 1 daily living (described in subparagraph (C)); 2 and 3 ‘‘(ii) without the assistance described in 4 clause (i), could not perform such activities of 5 daily living or instrumental activities of daily 6 living. 7 ‘‘(B) The ‘activities of daily living’ referred to 8 in subparagraph (A) means basic personal everyday 9 activities, including— 10 ‘‘(i) eating; 11 ‘‘(ii) bathing; 12 ‘‘(iii) dressing; 13 ‘‘(iv) toileting; and 14 ‘‘(v) transferring in and out of a bed or in 15 and out of a chair. 16 ‘‘(C) The ‘instrumental activities of daily living’ 17 referred to in subparagraph (A) means activities re- 18 lated to living independently in the community, in- 19 cluding— 20 ‘‘(i) meal planning and preparation; 21 ‘‘(ii) managing finances; 22 ‘‘(iii) shopping for food, clothing, or other 23 essential items; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4126 IH ‘‘(iv) performing essential household 1 chores; 2 ‘‘(v) communicating by phone or other 3 form of media; and 4 ‘‘(vi) traveling around and participating in 5 the community. 6 ‘‘(b) DEEMED WAGES OF CAREGIVER.—(1)(A) For 7 purposes of determining entitlement to and the amount 8 of any monthly benefit for any month after December 9 2019, or entitlement to and the amount of any lump-sum 10 death payment in the case of a death after such month, 11 payable under this title on the basis of the wages and self- 12 employment income of any individual, and for purposes 13 of section 216(i)(3), such individual shall be deemed to 14 have been paid during each qualifying month (in addition 15 to wages or self-employment income actually paid to or 16 derived by such individual during such month) at an 17 amount per month equal to— 18 ‘‘(i) in the case of a qualifying month during 19 which no wages or self-employment income were ac- 20 tually paid to or derived by such individual, 50 per- 21 cent of the national average wage index (as defined 22 in section 209(k)(1)) for the second calendar year 23 preceding the calendar year in which such month oc- 24 curs; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4126 IH ‘‘(ii) in the case of any other qualifying month, 1 the excess of the amount determined under clause (i) 2 over 1⁄2 of the wages or self-employment income ac- 3 tually paid to or derived by such individual during 4 such month. 5 ‘‘(B) In any case in which there are more than 60 6 qualifying months for an individual, only the last 60 of 7 such months shall be taken into account for purposes of 8 this section. 9 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be applicable in the case 10 of any monthly benefit or lump-sum death payment if a 11 larger such benefit or payment, as the case may be, would 12 be payable without its application. 13 ‘‘(3) Any assistance or support services provided to 14 caregivers under section 1720G of title 38, United States 15 Code, shall not be considered wages or self-employment 16 income for the purposes of determining entitlement to and 17 the amount of any monthly benefit payable under this sub- 18 section. 19 ‘‘(c) RULES AND REGULATIONS.— 20 ‘‘(1) Not later than one year after the date of 21 the enactment of this section, the Commissioner of 22 Social Security shall promulgate such regulations as 23 are necessary to carry out this section and to pre- 24 vent fraud and abuse with respect to the benefits 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4126 IH under this section, including regulations establishing 1 procedures for the application and certification re- 2 quirements described in paragraph (2). 3 ‘‘(2) A qualifying month shall not be taken into 4 account under this section with respect to an indi- 5 vidual unless— 6 ‘‘(A) the individual submits to the Com- 7 missioner of Social Security an application for 8 benefits under this section that includes— 9 ‘‘(i) the name and identifying infor- 10 mation of the dependent relative with re- 11 spect to whom the individual was engaged 12 in providing care during such month; 13 ‘‘(ii) if the dependent relative is not a 14 child under the age of 12, documentation 15 from the physician of the dependent rel- 16 ative explaining why the dependent relative 17 is a chronically dependent individual; and 18 ‘‘(iii) such other information as the 19 Commissioner may require to verify the 20 status of the dependent relative; and 21 ‘‘(B) for every qualifying month or period 22 of up to 12 consecutive qualifying months that 23 occurs after the first period of 12 consecutive 24 qualifying months, the individual certifies, in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4126 IH such form and manner as the Commissioner 1 shall require, that the information provided in 2 the individual’s application for benefits under 3 this section has not changed.’’. 4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 209(k)(1) 5 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 409(k)(1)) is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘230(b)(2)’’ the 7 first time it appears; and 8 (2) by inserting ‘‘and 235(b)(1)(A)(i),’’ after 9 ‘‘1977),’’. 10 SEC. 4. PROMOTING STATE PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE MED- 11 ICAL TRAINING TO CAREGIVERS. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 13 Human Services is authorized to make grants to States 14 to support State programs that provide medical training 15 to individuals who provide care to dependent relatives 16 without monetary compensation. 17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 18 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 19 necessary to carry out this section. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Aug 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4126.IH H4126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS