[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1127 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1127

To establish administrative law judges involved in the appeals process 
provided for under the medicare program under title XVIII of the Social 
  Security Act within the Department of Health and Human Services, to 
      ensure the independence of, and preserve the role of, such 
           administrative law judges, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2003

   Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Dodd, Mr. 
Corzine, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. 
 Rockefeller) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish administrative law judges involved in the appeals process 
provided for under the medicare program under title XVIII of the Social 
  Security Act within the Department of Health and Human Services, to 
      ensure the independence of, and preserve the role of, such 
           administrative law judges, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Fair And Impartial Rights (FAIR) for 
Medicare Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES WITHIN HHS; ENSURING INDEPENDENCE OF 
              ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES; PRESERVATION OF THE ROLE OF 
              ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES.

    (a) ALJs Within HHS.--Any administrative law judge performing the 
administrative law judge functions described in section 1869 of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ff) shall be within the Department 
of Health and Human Services.
    (b) Ensuring Independence of ALJs.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        shall ensure the independence of administrative law judges 
        described in subsection (a).
            (2) Independence described.--In order to ensure the 
        independence described in paragraph (1), each administrative 
        law judge described in subsection (a) shall--
                    (A) be an impartial decisionmaker;
                    (B) be bound only by applicable statutes, 
                regulations, and rulings issued in accordance with 
                subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, 
                United States Code (commonly known as the 
                ``Administrative Procedures Act'');
                    (C) be placed by the Secretary in an administrative 
                office that is organizationally and functionally 
                separate from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
                Services; and
                    (D) report to, and be under the general supervision 
                of, the Secretary, but shall not report to, or be 
                subject to supervision by, another officer of the 
                Department of Health and Human Services.
    (c) Preservation of the Role of ALJs.--An individual who is not an 
administrative law judge appointed pursuant to section 3105 of title 5, 
United States Code, may not perform the functions of an administrative 
law judge specified in section 1869 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395ff).
    (d) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1869(f)(2)(A)(i) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ff(f)(2)(A)(i)) is amended by striking ``of 
the Social Security Administration''.
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