[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3599 Introduced in House (IH)]







                                    


106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3599

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the earnings 
                                 test.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2000

Mr. Smith of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the earnings 
                                 test.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Social Security Earnings Test Repeal 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF THE EARNINGS TEST.

    (a) Repeal of Deductions on Account of Work.--
            (1) In general.--Subsections (b), (c)(1), (d), (f), (h), 
        (j), and (k) of section 203 of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 403) are repealed.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--Section 203 of such Act (as 
        amended by paragraph (1)) is amended further--
                    (A) in subsection (c), by redesignating such 
                subsection as subsection (b), and--
                            (i) by striking ``Noncovered Work Outside 
                        the United States or'' in the heading;
                            (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), 
                        and (4) as paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), 
                        respectively;
                            (iii) by striking ``For purposes of 
                        paragraphs (2), (3), and (4)'' and inserting 
                        ``For purposes of paragraphs (1), (2), and 
                        (3)''; and
                            (iv) by striking the last sentence;
                    (B) in subsection (e), by redesignating such 
                subsection as subsection (c), and by striking 
                ``subsections (c) and (d)'' and inserting ``subsection 
                (b)'';
                    (C) in subsection (g), by redesignating such 
                subsection as subsection (d), and by striking 
                ``subsection (c)'' each place it appears and inserting 
                ``subsection (b)''; and
                    (D) in subsection (l), by redesignating such 
                subsection as subsection (e), and by striking 
                ``subsection (g) or (h)(1)(A)'' and inserting 
                ``subsection (d)''.
    (b) Additional Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Provisions relating to benefits terminated upon 
        deportation.--Section 202(n)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 402(n)(1)) is amended by striking ``Section 203 (b), 
        (c), and (d)'' and inserting ``Section 203(b)''.
            (2) Provisions relating to exemptions from reductions based 
        on early retirement.--
                    (A) Section 202(q)(5)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                402(q)(5)(B)) is amended by striking ``section 
                203(c)(2)'' and inserting ``section 203(b)(1)''.
                    (B) Section 202(q)(7)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                402(q)(7)(A)) is amended by striking ``deductions under 
                section 203(b), 203(c)(1), 203(d)(1), or 222(b)'' and 
                inserting ``deductions on account of work under section 
                203 or deductions under section 222(b)''.
            (3) Provisions relating to exemptions from reductions based 
        on disregard of certain entitlements to child's insurance 
        benefits.--
                    (A) Section 202(s)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                402(s)(1)) is amended by striking ``paragraphs (2), 
                (3), and (4) of section 203(c)'' and inserting 
                ``paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 203(b)''.
                    (B) Section 202(s)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                402(s)(3)) is amended by striking ``The last sentence 
                of subsection (c) of section 203, subsection (f)(1)(C) 
                of section 203, and subsections'' and inserting 
                ``Subsections''.
            (4) Provisions relating to suspension of aliens' 
        benefits.--Section 202(t)(7) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(t)(7)) 
        is amended by striking ``Subsections (b), (c), and (d)'' and 
        inserting ``Subsection (b)''.
            (5) Provisions relating to benefits increased on account of 
        delayed retirement.--Section 202(w)(2)(B)(ii) of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 402(w)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ``or 203(c)''.
            (6) Provisions relating to reductions in benefits based on 
        maximum benefits.--Section 203(a)(3)(B)(iii) of such Act (42 
        U.S.C. 403(a)(3)(B)(iii)) is amended by striking ``and 
        subsections (b), (c), and (d)'' and inserting ``and subsection 
        (b)''.
            (7) Provisions relating to penalties for misrepresentations 
        concerning earnings for periods subject to deductions on 
        account of work.--Section 208(a)(1)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
        408(a)(1)(C)) is amended by striking ``under section 203(f) of 
        this title for purposes of deductions from benefits'' and 
        inserting ``under section 203 for purposes of deductions from 
        benefits on account of work''.
            (8) Provisions taking into account earnings in determining 
        benefit computation years.--Clause (I) in the next to last 
        sentence of section 215(b)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
        415(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``no earnings as described 
        in section 203(f)(5) in such year'' and inserting ``no wages, 
        and no net earnings from self-employment (in excess of net loss 
        from self-employment), in such year''.
            (9) Provisions relating to rounding of benefits.--Section 
        215(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 415(g)) is amended by striking 
        ``and any deduction under section 203(b)''.
            (10) Provisions relating to earnings taken into account in 
        determining substantial gainful activity of blind 
        individuals.--The second sentence of section 223(d)(4) of such 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 423(d)(4)) is amended by striking ``if section 
        102 of the Senior Citizens' Right to Work Act of 1996 had not 
        been enacted'' and inserting the following: ``if the amendments 
        to section 203 made by section 102 of the Senior Citizens' 
        Right to Work Act of 1996 and by section 2 of the Social 
        Security Earnings Test Repeal Act of 2000 had not been 
        enacted''.
            (11) Provisions defining income for purposes of ssi.--
        Section 1612(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(a)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``as determined under section 
                203(f)(5)(C)'' in paragraph (1)(A) and inserting ``as 
                defined in the last two sentences of this subsection''; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end (after and below paragraph 
                (2)(F)) the following new sentences:
``For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the term `wages' means wages as 
defined in section 209, but computed without regard to the limitations 
as to amounts of remuneration specified in paragraphs (1), (6)(B), 
(6)(C), (7)(B), and (8) of section 209(a). In making the computation 
under the preceding sentence, (A) services which do not constitute 
employment as defined in section 210, performed within the United 
States by an individual as an employee or performed outside the United 
States in the active military or naval services of the United States, 
shall be deemed to be employment as so defined if the remuneration for 
such services is not includible in computing the individual's net 
earnings or net loss from self-employment for purposes of title II, and 
(B) the term `wages' shall be deemed not to include (i) the amount of 
any payment made to, or on behalf of, an employee or any of his or her 
dependents (including any amount paid by an employer for insurance or 
annuities, or into a fund, to provide for any such payment) on account 
of retirement, or (ii) any payment or series of payments by an employer 
to an employee or any of his or her dependents upon or after the 
termination of the employee's employment relationship because of 
retirement after attaining an age specified in a plan referred to in 
section 209(m)(2) or in a pension plan of the employer.''.
            (12) Repeal of deductions on account of work under the 
        railroad retirement program.--Section 2 of the Railroad 
        Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231a) is amended by striking 
        subsections (f) and (g)(2).

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments and repeals made by section 2 shall apply with 
respect to taxable years ending after December 31, 2000.
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