Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Social Security Travel Reimbursement Reform Act of 2017”.
Social Security Travel Reimbursement Reform Act of 2017
A BILL
To amend title II of the Social Security Act relating to the reimbursement of travel expenses.
Sec. 2 Reimbursement of travel expenses
Reduction of trust fund expenses— Section 201(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(j)) is amended—
by striking “, their representatives,”; and
by striking the last sentence.
Authorization for certain representative travel expenses To be collected from claimants— Section 206(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 406(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “Notwithstanding the previous sentence, the Commissioner may authorize a representative to collect from a claimant travel expenses incurred by the representative attending reconsideration interviews and proceedings on behalf of the claimant. Such amount authorized to be collected shall not exceed the amount that would be available under section 201(j) for such travel originating within the geographic area of the office having jurisdiction over such proceeding. If a representative receives a fee under an agreement pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection, the total amount the representative receives shall be equal to the amount specified under such paragraph plus the amount of any travel expenses authorized under this paragraph.”.
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to applications for monthly insurance benefits filed on or after the date of the enactment of this section.