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Title III — Providing support for working disabled Americans

S. 3003 · 113th Congress · Dec 11, 2014 · Lineage

III Providing support for working disabled Americans

Sec. 301 Establishment of Work Incentive Benefit System

(a)
Elimination of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program—
(1)
In general— Part A of title XI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by striking section 1148.
(2)
Conforming amendments—
(A)
Section 225(b)(1) of such Act is amended by striking “consisting of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program under section 1148 or another program”.
(B)
Section 1631(a)(6)(A) of such Act is amended by striking “consisting of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program under section 1148 or another program”.
(C)
Section 1633(c) of such Act is amended by striking paragraph (2).
(b)
Establishment of the Work Incentive Benefit System—
(1)
In general— Section 223 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 423), as amended by section 102(c), is further amended—
(A)
in subsection (a)(2), by striking “section 202(q) and section 215(b)(2)(A)(ii)” and inserting “subsection (l) and sections 202(q) and 215(b)(2)(A)(ii)”; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(l) Work Incentive Benefit System

“(1) The Commissioner shall establish a Work Incentive Benefit System in accordance with the provisions of this subsection, pursuant to which an eligible individual entitled to a disability insurance benefit under this section may elect to return to employment and receive an adjusted disability insurance benefit amount (as determined pursuant to paragraph (3)).

“(2)

“(A) For purposes of this subsection, the term eligible individual means an individual who has been entitled to a disability insurance benefit for period of not less than 9 months preceding participation in the Work Incentive Benefit System.

“(B) Participation by an eligible individual in the Work Incentive Benefit System shall be suspended if such individual has no reported wages or self-employment income for the 4 preceding calendar quarters (as defined in section 213(a)(1)).

“(3)

“(A) For purposes of subsection (a)(2), the amount of the disability insurance benefit provided to an eligible individual who is participating in the Work Incentive Benefit System for any month shall be equal to—

“(i) in the case of an individual who has average monthly earnings (as determined under subparagraph (B)) equal to or less than $50, the amount otherwise applicable under subsection (a)(2), or

“(ii) in the case of an individual who has average monthly earnings greater than $50, an amount equal to the sum of—

“(I) an amount (not less than zero) equal to—

“(aa) the enhanced benefit amount (as determined under subparagraph (C)) for such individual, minus

“(bb) the quotient obtained by dividing the average monthly earnings for such individual by 3, and

“(II) the work incentive adjustment amount (as determined under subparagraph (D)) for such individual.

“(B)

“(i) The average monthly earnings for an eligible individual shall be equal to the quotient of—

“(I) the total amount of wages and self-employment income for such individual in any eligible months during the 2 calendar quarters (as defined in section 213(a)(1)) that precede the most recently completed calendar quarter, divided by

“(II) the total number of eligible months during such 2 calendar quarter period.

“(ii) For purposes of clause (i), the term eligible month means any month subsequent to the month in which an eligible individual became entitled to a disability insurance benefit.

“(C) The enhanced benefit amount for an eligible individual shall be equal to 106.7 percent of the primary insurance amount for such month for such individual.

“(D)

“(i) The work incentive adjustment amount for an eligible individual shall be equal to the product of the average monthly earnings for such individual multiplied by the applicable work incentive subsidy rate (as determined in accordance with the table under clause (iii), based on the applicable work incentive step for such individual).

“(ii) For purposes of the table under clause (iii), the work incentive step for an eligible individual shall be equal to the quotient obtained by dividing—

“(I) the average monthly earnings for such individual, by

“(II) an amount equal to the quotient obtained by dividing the primary insurance amount for such month for such individual by 5.

“(iii) The work incentive subsidy rate shall be determined by linear interpolation between the amounts established under the following table:

“(4) For purposes of paragraph (3)(B), wages and self-employment income of an individual shall be determined based on relevant information for such individual as provided by the State agency responsible for the administration of State unemployment compensation law.

“(5) For purposes of an eligible individual who is participating in the Work Incentive Benefit System under this subsection, any services performed or earnings derived from services during the period of such participation shall not be considered for purposes of demonstrating an individual's ability to engage in substantial gainful activity under subsection (d)(4) and shall not be considered substantial gainful activity for purposes of subsection (e).

“(6) For purposes of this title, the disability insurance benefit received by an eligible individual under this subsection shall not be applied for purposes of determining any monthly benefits payable to any other individuals entitled to benefits for any month based on the wages and self-employment income of such individual.”

(c)
Program savings—
(1)
In general— For each calendar year after 2015, the Commissioner of Social Security shall determine if, as a result of the repeal of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program under section 1148 of the Social Security Act and the establishment the Work Incentive Benefit System under section 223(l) of such Act, the total amount of expenditures from the Trust Funds (as defined under section 201(c) of such Act) for payment of disability insurance benefits pursuant to section 223 of such Act has been reduced.
(2)
Sharing of savings— The Commissioner of Social Security shall, by regulations, establish a program to provide payments to organizations providing vocational rehabilitation services to eligible individuals (as defined under section 223(l)(2) of the Social Security Act) from any amounts determined to be saved under the Work Incentive Benefit System, as determined pursuant to paragraph (1). The amount of any payments made to an organization providing vocational rehabilitation services to an eligible individual shall be adjusted based on the disability classification of such individual, with increased amounts to be provided for eligible individuals with a lower expectation of medical improvement.
(d)
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply to benefits payable for months beginning after June 30, 2016.

Sec. 302 Early-Intervention demonstration proj­ect; study on payroll tax reductions

(a)
Targeted early-Intervention demonstration project—
(1)
In general—
(A)
Establishment— The Commissioner shall conduct a demonstration project designed to examine the effectiveness of providing targeted early-intervention support to eligible individuals.
(B)
Vocational rehabilitation services— The Commissioner shall coordinate with State vocational rehabilitation agencies to provide eligible individuals who elect to participate in the demonstration project with vocational rehabilitation services.
(C)
Other benefits— In addition to the vocational rehabilitation services described in subparagraph (B), the Commissioner shall provide eligible individuals who elect to participate in the demonstration project with a package of benefits that may include—
(i)
health care subsidies;
(ii)
wage subsidies; and
(iii)
cash stipends.
(D)
Suspension of eligibility for disability assistance— An eligible individual who elects to participate in the demonstration project shall not be eligible for disability assistance for as long as the individual receives assistance through the demonstration project, and in no case shall an eligible individual who elects to participate in the demonstration project be eligible for disability assistance during the 1 year period that begins on the date that the individual first receives assistance through the demonstration project.
(E)
Participation voluntary— The option to participate in the demonstration project conducted under this subsection shall be voluntary, and the designation of an applicant for disability assistance as an eligible individual shall not preclude such applicant from electing to receive disability insurance rather than participate in the demonstration project.
(2)
Identifying eligible individuals—
(A)
In general— The Commissioner shall identify eligible individuals from among applicants for disability assistance whose applications have not been processed yet.
(B)
Eligibility standards— The Commissioner shall only identify an applicant for disability assistance as an eligible individual if the Commissioner finds that—
(i)
it is highly probable that the applicant will be determined to be eligible disability assistance; and
(ii)
the applicant could, with the help of assistance provided under the demonstration project, engage in substantial gainful activity.
(3)
Scope—
(A)
In general— The demonstration project shall be of sufficient scope and shall be carried out on a wide enough scale to permit a thorough evaluation of the provision of targeted early-intervention support under consideration while giving assurance that the results derived from the demonstration project will obtain generally in the operation of the disability insurance program under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) without committing such program to the adoption of any particular system either locally or nationally.
(B)
Authority to expand scope— The Commissioner may expand the scope of the demonstration project to include any group of applicants for disability assistance with impairments that reasonably may be presumed to be disabling for purposes of the demonstration project, and may limit any such demonstration project to any such group of applicants, subject to the terms of such demonstration project which shall define the extent of any such presumption.
(C)
Duration— The demonstration project shall be implemented not later than January 1, 2016, and shall be conducted for a period of 5 years.
(4)
Reports—
(A)
Interim reports— On or before June 1 of each year that begins after 2016, the Commissioner shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Finance of the Senate an annual interim report on the progress of the demonstration project together with any related data and materials that the Commissioner may consider appropriate.
(B)
Final report— Not later than 90 days after the termination of the demonstration project, the Commissioner shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Finance of the Senate a final report with respect to the demonstration project.
(C)
GAO evaluation and report— The Comptroller General of the United States shall—
(i)
perform an evaluation of the implementation of and results achieved by the demonstration project; and
(ii)
not later than January 1, 2020, submit to Congress a report on the evaluation described in clause (i), including a recommendation as to whether the Commissioner's authority to conduct the demonstration project should be made permanent.
(5)
Definitions— In this subsection:
(A)
Commissioner— The term Commissioner means the Commissioner of Social Security.
(B)
Demonstration project— The term demonstration project means the demonstration project conducted under this subsection.
(C)
Disability assistance— The term disability assistance means disability insurance benefits or monthly benefits under section 202 of the Social Security Act for which eligibility is based on a disability.
(D)
Eligible individual— The term eligible individual means an applicant for disability assistance who has been identified by the Commissioner under paragraph (2).
(b)
Study on payroll tax reductions for businesses that provide disability support—
(1)
In general— Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security shall complete a study to determine whether reducing the rate at which an employer is taxed under subsection (a) of section 3111 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in exchange for such employer offering its employees private disability insurance and other disability supports would be an effective means of reducing the rate at which such employees enter the disability insurance program established under title II of the Social Security Act.
(2)
Report— Not later than 90 days after the completion of the study described in paragraph (1), the Commissioner of Social security shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report on the study that includes detailed analysis of the Commissioner's findings and recommendations for further legislative or administrative action.