[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2608 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2608

     To amend section 402 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide, in fiscal years 2008 
through 2010, extensions of supplemental security income for refugees, 
 asylees, and certain other humanitarian immigrants, and to amend the 
   Internal Revenue Code to collect unemployment compensation debts 
                         resulting from fraud.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 7, 2007

  Mr. McDermott (for himself, Mr. Weller of Illinois, Mr. Stark, Mr. 
  English of Pennsylvania, Mr. Levin, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. 
  McNulty, Mr. Becerra, and Mr. Blumenauer) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend section 402 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide, in fiscal years 2008 
through 2010, extensions of supplemental security income for refugees, 
 asylees, and certain other humanitarian immigrants, and to amend the 
   Internal Revenue Code to collect unemployment compensation debts 
                         resulting from fraud.

    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 ``SSI Extension for Elderly and 
Disabled Refugees Act''.

SEC. 2. SSI EXTENSIONS FOR HUMANITARIAN IMMIGRANTS.

    Section 402(a)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(M) SSI extensions through fiscal year 2010.--
                            ``(i) Two-year extension.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--Except as 
                                provided in clause (ii), with respect 
                                to eligibility for benefits for the 
                                specified Federal program described in 
                                paragraph (3)(A), the 7-year period 
                                described in subparagraph (A) shall be 
                                deemed to be a 9-year period during 
                                fiscal years 2008 through 2010.
                                    ``(II) Aliens whose benefits ceased 
                                in prior fiscal years.--
                                            ``(aa) In general.--
                                        Beginning on the date of the 
                                        enactment of the SSI Extension 
                                        for Elderly and Disabled 
                                        Refugees Act, any qualified 
                                        alien rendered ineligible for 
                                        the specified Federal program 
                                        described in paragraph (3)(A) 
                                        during fiscal years prior to 
                                        fiscal year 2008 solely by 
                                        reason of the termination of 
                                        the 7-year period described in 
                                        subparagraph (A) shall be 
                                        eligible for such program for 
                                        an additional 2-year period in 
                                        accordance with this clause, if 
                                        such alien meets all other 
                                        eligibility factors under title 
                                        XVI of the Social Security Act.
                                            ``(bb) Payment of 
                                        benefits.--Benefits paid under 
                                        item (aa) shall be paid 
                                        prospectively over the duration 
                                        of the qualified alien's 
                                        renewed eligibility.
                            ``(ii) Pending naturalization 
                        application.--With respect to eligibility for 
                        benefits for the specified program described in 
                        paragraph (3) (A), subsection (a)(1) shall not 
                        apply during fiscal years 2008 through 2010 to 
                        an alien described in one of clauses (i) 
                        through (v) of subparagraph (A), if the alien 
                        has submitted an application for naturalization 
                        that is pending before the Secretary of 
                        Homeland Security, and such submission is 
                        verified by the Commissioner of Social Security 
                        either by receiving a receipt number from the 
                        alien for such submitted application or by 
                        receiving confirmation from the Secretary of 
                        Homeland Security.''.

SEC. 3. COLLECTION OF UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION DEBTS RESULTING FROM 
              FRAUD.

    (a) In General.--Section 6402 of the Internal Revenue Code 
(relating to authority to make credits or refunds) is amended by 
redesignating subsections (f) through (k) as subsections (g) through 
(l), respectively, and by inserting after subsection (e) the following 
new subsection:
    ``(f) Collection of Unemployment Compensation Debts Resulting From 
Fraud.--
            ``(1) In general.--Upon receiving notice from any State 
        that a named person owes a covered unemployment compensation 
        debt to such State, the Secretary shall, under such conditions 
        as may be prescribed by the Secretary--
                    ``(A) reduce the amount of any overpayment payable 
                to such person by the amount of such covered 
                unemployment compensation debt;
                    ``(B) pay the amount by which such overpayment is 
                reduced under subparagraph (A) to such State and notify 
                such State of such person's name, taxpayer 
                identification number, address, and the amount 
                collected; and
                    ``(C) notify the person making such overpayment 
                that the overpayment has been reduced by an amount 
                necessary to satisfy a covered unemployment 
                compensation debt.
        If an offset is made pursuant to a joint return, the notice 
        under subparagraph (B) shall include the names, taxpayer 
        identification numbers, and addresses of each person filing 
        such return and the notice under subparagraph (C) shall include 
        information related to the rights of a spouse of a person 
        subject to such an offset.
            ``(2) Priorities for offset.--Any overpayment by a person 
        shall be reduced pursuant to this subsection--
                    ``(A) after such overpayment is reduced pursuant 
                to--
                            ``(i) subsection (a) with respect to any 
                        liability for any internal revenue tax on the 
                        part of the person who made the overpayment;
                            ``(ii) subsection (c) with respect to past-
                        due support; and
                            ``(iii) subsection (d) with respect to any 
                        past-due, legally enforceable debt owed to a 
                        Federal agency; and
                    ``(B) before such overpayment is credited to the 
                future liability for any Federal internal revenue tax 
                of such person pursuant to subsection (b).
        If the Secretary receives notice from a State or States of more 
        than one debt subject to paragraph (1) or subsection (e) that 
        is owed by a person to such State or States, any overpayment by 
        such person shall be applied against such debts in the order in 
        which such debts accrued.
            ``(3) Notice; consideration of evidence.--No State may take 
        action under this subsection until such State--
                    ``(A) notifies the person owing the covered 
                unemployment compensation debt that the State proposes 
                to take action pursuant to this section;
                    ``(B) provides such person at least 60 days to 
                present evidence that all or part of such liability is 
                not legally enforceable or due to fraud;
                    ``(C) considers any evidence presented by such 
                person and determines that an amount of such debt is 
                legally enforceable and due to fraud; and
                    ``(D) satisfies such other conditions as the 
                Secretary may prescribe to ensure that the 
                determination made under subparagraph (C) is valid and 
                that the State has made reasonable efforts to obtain 
                payment of such covered unemployment compensation debt.
            ``(4) Covered unemployment compensation debt.--For purposes 
        of this subsection, the term `covered unemployment compensation 
        debt' means--
                    ``(A) a past-due debt for erroneous payment of 
                unemployment compensation due to fraud which has become 
                final under the law of a State certified by the 
                Secretary of Labor pursuant to section 3304 and which 
                remains uncollected;
                    ``(B) contributions due to the unemployment fund of 
                a State for which the State has determined the person 
                to be liable due to fraud; and
                    ``(C) any penalties and interest assessed on such 
                debt.
            ``(5) Regulations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may issue 
                regulations prescribing the time and manner in which 
                States must submit notices of covered unemployment 
                compensation debt and the necessary information that 
                must be contained in or accompany such notices. The 
                regulations may specify the minimum amount of debt to 
                which the reduction procedure established by paragraph 
                (1) may be applied.
                    ``(B) Fee payable to secretary.--The regulations 
                may require States to pay a fee to the Secretary, which 
                may be deducted from amounts collected, to reimburse 
                the Secretary for the cost of applying such procedure. 
                Any fee paid to the Secretary pursuant to the preceding 
                sentence shall be used to reimburse appropriations 
                which bore all or part of the cost of applying such 
                procedure.
                    ``(C) Submission of notices through secretary of 
                labor.--The regulations may include a requirement that 
                States submit notices of covered unemployment 
                compensation debt to the Secretary via the Secretary of 
                Labor in accordance with procedures established by the 
                Secretary of Labor. Such procedures may require States 
                to pay a fee to the Secretary of Labor to reimburse the 
                Secretary of Labor for the costs of applying this 
                subsection. Any such fee shall be established in 
                consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury. Any 
                fee paid to the Secretary of Labor may be deducted from 
                amounts collected and shall be used to reimburse the 
                appropriation account which bore all or part of the 
                cost of applying this subsection.
            ``(6) Erroneous payment to state.--Any State receiving 
        notice from the Secretary that an erroneous payment has been 
        made to such State under paragraph (1) shall pay promptly to 
        the Secretary, in accordance with such regulations as the 
        Secretary may prescribe, an amount equal to the amount of such 
        erroneous payment (without regard to whether any other amounts 
        payable to such State under such paragraph have been paid to 
        such State).''.
    (b) Disclosure of Certain Information to States Requesting Refund 
Offsets for Legally Enforceable State Unemployment Compensation Debt 
Resulting From Fraud.--
            (1) General rule.--Paragraph (3) of section 6103(a) of such 
        Code is amended by inserting ``(10),'' after ``(6),''.
            (2) Disclosure to department of labor and its agent.--
        Paragraph (10) of section 6103(l) of such Code is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``(c), (d), or (e)'' each place it 
                appears in the heading and text and inserting ``(c), 
                (d), (e), or (f)'',
                    (B) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ``, to 
                officers and employees of the Department of Labor and 
                its agent for purposes of facilitating the exchange of 
                data in connection with a request made under subsection 
                (f)(5) of section 6402,'' after ``section 6402'', and
                    (C) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ``, and any 
                agents of the Department of Labor,'' after ``agency'' 
                the first place it appears.
            (3) Safeguards.--Paragraph (4) of section 6103(p) of such 
        Code is amended--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``(l)(16),'' and inserting ``(l)(10), (16),'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (F)(i), by striking 
                ``(l)(16),'' and inserting ``(l)(10), (16),''; and
                    (C) in the matter following subparagraph (F)(iii)--
                            (i) in each of the first two places it 
                        appears, by striking ``(l)(16),'' and inserting 
                        ``(l)(10), (16),'';
                            (ii) by inserting ``(10),'' after 
                        ``paragraph (6)(A),''; and
                            (iii) in each of the last two places it 
                        appears, by striking ``(l)(16)'' and inserting 
                        ``(l)(10) or (16)''.
    (c) Expenditures From State Fund.--Section 3304(a)(4) of such Code 
is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ``and'' after the 
        semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(G) with respect to amounts of covered 
                unemployment compensation debt (as defined in section 
                6402(f)(4)) collected under section 6402(f)--
                            ``(i) amounts may be deducted to pay any 
                        fees authorized under such section; and
                            ``(ii) the penalties and interest described 
                        in section 6402(f)(4)(B) may be transferred to 
                        the appropriate State fund into which the State 
                        would have deposited such amounts had the 
                        person owing the debt paid such amounts 
                        directly to the State;''.
    (d) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Subsection (a) of section 6402 of such Code is amended 
        by striking ``(c), (d), and (e),'' and inserting ``(c), (d), 
        (e), and (f)''.
            (2) Paragraph (2) of section 6402(d) of such Code is 
        amended by striking ``and before such overpayment is reduced 
        pursuant to subsection (e)'' and inserting ``and before such 
        overpayment is reduced pursuant to subsections (e) and (f)''.
            (3) Paragraph (3) of section 6402(e) of such Code is 
        amended in the last sentence by inserting ``or subsection (f)'' 
        after ``paragraph (1)''.
            (4) Subsection (g) of section 6402 of such Code, as 
        redesignated by subsection (a), is amended by striking ``(c), 
        (d), or (e)'' and inserting ``(c), (d), (e), or (f)''.
            (5) Subsection (i) of section 6402 of such Code, as 
        redesignated by subsection (a), is amended by striking 
        ``subsection (c) or (e)'' and inserting ``subsection (c), (e), 
        or (f)''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to refunds payable under section 6402 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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