Social Security COVID Correction and Equity Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7499 To prevent an unintended drop in Social Security benefits due to COVID- 19 and the application of the National Average Wage Index, and improve Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits on an emer- gency basis. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 9, 2020 Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself, Mr. NEAL, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. THOMP- SON of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. MOORE, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BEYER, Mr. EVANS, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. NADLER, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsyl- vania, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SMITH of Washington, and Mr. RYAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 prevent an unintended drop in Social Security benefits due to COVID-19 and the application of the National Average Wage Index, and improve Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits on an emergency basis. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:09 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7499 IH 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 COVID 4 Correction and Equity Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. Preventing an unintended drop in benefits relating to the application of the National Average Wage Index. Sec. 4. Across-the-board benefit increase. Sec. 5. Increase in minimum benefit for lifetime low earners based on years in the workforce. Sec. 6. Increase in threshold amounts and rate for inclusion of Social Security benefits in income. Sec. 7. Extension of child’s benefit for full-time post-secondary school students under age 23. Sec. 8. Improving social security benefits for widows and widowers in two-in- come households. Sec. 9. Increasing access to benefits for children who live with grandparents or other relatives. Sec. 10. Update in eligibility for the supplemental security income program. Sec. 11. Support and maintenance furnished in kind not included as income. Sec. 12. Holding SSI, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries harmless. Sec. 13. Expedited adjustment of underpayments. Sec. 14. Appropriation of funds. SEC. 3. PREVENTING AN UNINTENDED DROP IN BENEFITS 8 RELATING TO THE APPLICATION OF THE NA- 9 TIONAL AVERAGE WAGE INDEX. 10 (a) MODIFICATIONS RELATED TO COMPUTATION OF 11 PRIMARY INSURANCE AMOUNT.—Section 215 of the So- 12 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415) is amended— 13 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)(I)— 14 (A) in subclause (I)— 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:09 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7499 IH (i) by striking ‘‘the national’’ and in- 1 serting ‘‘(aa) the national’’; and 2 (ii) by striking ‘‘, by’’ at the end and 3 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 4 (B) by adding at the end of subclause (I) 5 the following: 6 ‘‘(bb) if higher (and if such second 7 calendar year is after 2019), the highest 8 national average wage index (as so de- 9 fined) for any calendar year before such 10 second calendar year, by’’; and 11 (2) in subsection (b)(3)(A)(ii)— 12 (A) in subclause (I)— 13 (i) by striking ‘‘the national’’ and in- 14 serting ‘‘(aa) the national’’; and 15 (ii) by striking ‘‘, by’’ at the end and 16 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 17 (B) by adding at the end of subclause (I) 18 the following: 19 ‘‘(bb) if higher (and if such second 20 calendar year is after 2019), the highest 21 national average wage index (as so de- 22 fined) for any calendar year before such 23 second calendar year, by’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:09 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7499 IH (b) MODIFICATION RELATED TO REDUCTION OF 1 BENEFITS BASED ON DISABILITY.—Section 2 224(f)(2)(B)(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 424(f)(2)(B)(i)) is 3 amended by inserting ‘‘(or if higher (and if such calendar 4 year is after 2019), the highest national average wage 5 index (as so defined) for any calendar year before such 6 calendar year)’’ after ‘‘made’’. 7 SEC. 4. ACROSS-THE-BOARD BENEFIT INCREASE. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 215(a)(1)(A)(i) of the So- 9 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(a)(1)(A)(i)) is amended 10 by striking ‘‘90 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘93 percent’’. 11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 13 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to monthly 14 insurance benefits payable for months in calendar 15 year 2020. 16 (2) RECOMPUTATION OF PRIMARY INSURANCE 17 AMOUNTS.—Notwithstanding section 215(f) of the 18 Social Security Act, the Commissioner of Social Se- 19 curity shall recompute primary insurance amounts 20 to the extent necessary— 21 (A) to carry out the amendments made by 22 this section; and 23 (B) to account for the nonapplication of 24 such amendments after calendar year 2020. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:09 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7499 IH (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of ap- 1 plying subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 215(i)(1) of 2 the Social Security Act in any calendar year, nothing in 3 this Act shall be considered a general benefit increase 4 under title II of such Act. 5 SEC. 5. INCREASE IN MINIMUM BENEFIT FOR LIFETIME 6 LOW EARNERS BASED ON YEARS IN THE 7 WORKFORCE. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 215(a)(1) of the Social 9 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(a)(1)) is amended— 10 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub- 11 paragraph (E); and 12 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol- 13 lowing new subparagraph: 14 ‘‘(D)(i) Effective with respect to monthly insurance 15 benefits payable for months in calendar year 2020, no pri- 16 mary insurance amount computed under subparagraph 17 (A) may be less than the greater of— 18 ‘‘(I) the minimum monthly amount computed 19 under subparagraph (C); or 20 ‘‘(II) in the case of an individual who has more 21 than 10 years of work (as defined in clause (iv)(I)), 22 the alternative minimum amount determined under 23 clause (ii). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:09 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7499 IH ‘‘(ii)(I) The alternative minimum amount determined 1 under this clause is the applicable percentage of 1⁄12 of 2 the poverty guideline for 2019. 3 ‘‘(II) For purposes of subclause (I), the applicable 4 percentage is the percentage specified in connection with 5 the number of years of work, as set forth in the following 6 table: 7 ‘‘If the number of years The applicable of work is: percentage is: 11 ...................................................................................... 6.25 percent 12 ...................................................................................... 12.50 percent 13 ...................................................................................... 18.75 percent 14 ...................................................................................... 25.00 percent 15 ...................................................................................... 31.25 percent 16 ...................................................................................... 37.50 percent 17 ...................................................................................... 43.75 percent 18 ...................................................................................... 50.00 percent 19 ...................................................................................... 56.25 percent 20 ...................................................................................... 62.50 percent 21 ...................................................................................... 68.75 percent 22 ...................................................................................... 75.00 percent 23 ...................................................................................... 81.25 percent 24 ...................................................................................... 87.50 percent 25 ...................................................................................... 93.75 percent 26 ...................................................................................... 100.00 percent 27 ...................................................................................... 106.25 percent 28 ...................................................................................... 112.50 percent 29 ...................................................................................... 118.75 percent 30 or more ........................................................................ 125.00 percent. ‘‘(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph— 8 ‘‘(I) the term ‘year of work’ means, with re- 9 spect to an individual, a year to which 4 quarters of 10 coverage have been credited based on such individ- 11 ual’s wages and self-employment income; and 12 ‘‘(II) the term ‘poverty guideline for 2019’ 13 means the annual poverty guideline for 2019 (as up- 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:09 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7499 IH dated annually in the Federal Register by the De- 1 partment of Health and Human Services under the 2 authority of section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget 3 Reconciliation Act of 1981) as applicable to a single 4 individual.’’. 5 (b) RECOMPUTATION OF PRIMARY INSURANCE 6 AMOUNTS.—Notwithstanding section 215(f) of the Social 7 Security Act, the Commissioner of Social Security shall 8 recompute primary insurance amounts to the extent nec- 9 essary— 10 (1) to carry out the amendments made by this 11 section; and 12 (2) to account for the nonapplication of such 13 amendments after calendar year 2020. 14 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 209(k)(1) 15 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 409(k)(1)) is amended by inserting 16 ‘‘215(a)(1)(E),’’ after ‘‘215(a)(1)(D),’’. 17 SEC. 6. INCREASE IN THRESHOLD AMOUNTS AND RATE 18 FOR INCLUSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY BENE- 19 FITS IN INCOME. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 86 of the 21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as fol- 22 lows: 23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Gross income for the taxable 24 year of any taxpayer described in subsection (b) (notwith- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:09 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7499 IH standing section 207 of the Social Security Act) includes 1 Social Security benefits in an amount equal to the lesser 2 of— 3 ‘‘(1) 85 percent of the Social Security benefits 4 received during the taxable year, or 5 ‘‘(2) one-half of the excess described in sub- 6 section (b)(1).’’. 7 (b) BASE AMOUNT.—Subsection (c) of section 86 of 8 such Code is amended to read as follows: 9 ‘‘(c) BASE AMOUNT.—For purposes of this section, 10 the term ‘base amount’ means— 11 ‘‘(1) except as otherwise provided in this para- 12 graph, $35,000, 13 ‘‘(2) $50,000 in the case of a joint return, and 14 ‘‘(3) zero in the case of a taxpayer who— 15 ‘‘(A) is married as of the close of the tax- 16 able year (within the meaning of section 7703) 17 but does not file a joint return for such year, 18 and 19 ‘‘(B) does not live apart from his spouse at 20 all times during the taxable year.’’. 21 (c) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUNDS.— 22 (1) HOSPITAL INSURANCE TRUST FUND HELD 23 HARMLESS.—Of the total revenue from taxation of 24 social security benefits, there are appropriated to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:09 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7499 IH Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund such 1 amounts as would be transferred to such fund under 2 section 121(e) of the Social Security Amendments of 3 1983 (42 U.S.C. 401 note) and section 86 of such 4 Code as such sections were in effect on the day be- 5 fore the date of the enactment of this Act, at such 6 times and in such manner as would be provided 7 therein. 8 (2) TRANSFERS TO PAYOR FUNDS.—Of the bal- 9 ance of the total revenue from taxation of social se- 10 curity benefits remaining after appropriations under 11 paragraph (1) have been made, there are appro- 12 priated to each payor fund amounts equivalent to 13 the portion of such balance equal to a fraction— 14 (A) the numerator of which is the amount 15 equivalent to the net revenues received in the 16 Treasury attributable to the application of sec- 17 tions 86 and 871(a)(3) of such Code to pay- 18 ments from such payor fund made in taxable 19 years beginning during calendar year 2019; and 20 (B) the denominator of which is the total 21 revenue from taxation of social security bene- 22 fits. 23 (3) TRANSFERS.—The amounts appropriated 24 by paragraph (2) to any payor fund shall be trans- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:09 Jul 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7499.IH H7499 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7499 IH ferred from time to time (but not less frequently 1 than quarterly) from the general fund of the Treas- 2 ury on the basis of estimates made by the Secretary 3 of the Treasury of the amounts referred to in such 4 paragraph. Any such quarterly payment shall be 5 made on the first day of such quarter and shall take 6 into account social security benefits estimated to be 7 received during such quarter. Proper adjustments 8 shall be made in the amounts subsequently trans- 9 ferred to the extent prior estimates were in excess 10 of or less than the amounts required to be trans- 11 ferred. 12 (4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub- 13 section— 14 (A) TOTAL REVENUE FROM TAXATION OF 15 SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS.—The term ‘‘total 16 revenue from taxation of social security bene- 17 fits’’ means the amount equivalent to the net 18 revenues rec [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]