[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3677 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3677

    To provide relief payments to recipients of social security and 
         railroad retirement benefits, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 30, 2009

 Ms. Granger introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on 
 Transportation and Infrastructure and Appropriations, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide relief payments to recipients of social security and 
         railroad retirement benefits, 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 ``Save Our Seniors' Social Security 
Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. RELIEF PAYMENTS TO RECIPIENTS OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND RAILROAD 
              RETIREMENT BENEFITS.

    (a) Authority To Make Payments.--
            (1) Eligibility.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to paragraph (5)(B), the 
                Secretary of the Treasury shall disburse a $280 payment 
                to each individual who, for any of the months of 
                December 2009, January 2010, or February 2010, is 
                entitled to a benefit payment described in clause (i) 
                or (ii) of subparagraph (B).
                    (B) Benefit payment described.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A):
                            (i) Title ii benefit.--A benefit payment 
                        described in this clause is a monthly insurance 
                        benefit payable (without regard to sections 
                        202(j)(1) and 223(b) of the Social Security Act 
                        (42 U.S.C. 402(j)(1), 423(b))) under--
                                    (I) section 202(a) of such Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 402(a));
                                    (II) section 202(b) of such Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 402(b));
                                    (III) section 202(c) of such Act 
                                (42 U.S.C. 402(c));
                                    (IV) section 202(d)(1)(B)(ii) of 
                                such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(d)(1)(B)(ii));
                                    (V) section 202(e) of such Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 402(e));
                                    (VI) section 202(f) of such Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 402(f));
                                    (VII) section 202(g) of such Act 
                                (42 U.S.C. 402(g));
                                    (VIII) section 202(h) of such Act 
                                (42 U.S.C. 402(h));
                                    (IX) section 223(a) of such Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 423(a));
                                    (X) section 227 of such Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 427); or
                                    (XI) section 228 of such Act (42 
                                U.S.C. 428).
                            (ii) Railroad retirement benefit.--A 
                        benefit payment described in this clause is a 
                        monthly annuity or pension payment payable 
                        (without regard to section 5(a)(ii) of the 
                        Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 
                        231d(a)(ii))) under--
                                    (I) section 2(a)(1) of such Act (45 
                                U.S.C. 231a(a)(1));
                                    (II) section 2(c) of such Act (45 
                                U.S.C. 231a(c));
                                    (III) section 2(d)(1)(i) of such 
                                Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(i));
                                    (IV) section 2(d)(1)(ii) of such 
                                Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(ii));
                                    (V) section 2(d)(1)(iii)(C) of such 
                                Act to an adult disabled child (45 
                                U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(iii)(C));
                                    (VI) section 2(d)(1)(iv) of such 
                                Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(iv));
                                    (VII) section 2(d)(1)(v) of such 
                                Act (45 U.S.C. 231a(d)(1)(v)); or
                                    (VIII) section 7(b)(2) of such Act 
                                (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(2)) with respect to 
                                any of the benefit payments described 
                                in clause (i) of this subparagraph.
            (2) Requirement.--A payment shall be made under paragraph 
        (1) only to individuals who reside in 1 of the 50 States, the 
        District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States 
        Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana 
        Islands. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the 
        determination of the individual's residence shall be based on 
        the current address of record under a program specified in 
        paragraph (1).
            (3) No double payments.--An individual shall be paid only 1 
        payment under this section, regardless of whether the 
        individual is entitled to, or eligible for, more than 1 benefit 
        or cash payment described in paragraph (1).
            (4) Limitation.--A payment under this section shall not be 
        made--
                    (A) in the case of an individual entitled to a 
                benefit specified in paragraph (1)(B)(i) or paragraph 
                (1)(B)(ii)(VIII) if, for the most recent month of such 
                individual's entitlement in the 3-month period 
                described in paragraph (1), such individual's benefit 
                under such paragraph was not payable by reason of 
                subsection (x) or (y) of section 202 the Social 
                Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402) or section 1129A of such 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-8a); or
                    (B) in the case of any individual whose date of 
                death occurs before the date on which the individual is 
                certified under subsection (b) to receive a payment 
                under this section.
            (5) Timing and manner of payments.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
                shall commence disbursing payments under this section 
                at the earliest practicable date but in no event later 
                than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 
                Act. The Secretary of the Treasury may disburse any 
                payment electronically to an individual in such manner 
                as if such payment was a benefit payment or cash 
                benefit to such individual under the applicable program 
                described in paragraph (1)(B).
                    (B) Deadline.--No payments shall be disbursed under 
                this section after December 31, 2012, regardless of any 
                determinations of entitlement to, or eligibility for, 
                such payments made after such date.
    (b) Identification of Recipients.--The Commissioner of Social 
Security and the Railroad Retirement Board shall certify the 
individuals entitled to receive payments under this section and provide 
the Secretary of the Treasury with the information needed to disburse 
such payments. A certification of an individual shall be unaffected by 
any subsequent determination or redetermination of the individual's 
entitlement to, or eligibility for, a benefit specified in subsection 
(a)(1)(B).
    (c) Treatment of Payments.--
            (1) Payment to be disregarded for purposes of all federal 
        and federally assisted programs.--A payment under subsection 
        (a) shall not be regarded as income and shall not be regarded 
        as a resource for the month of receipt and the following 9 
        months, for purposes of determining the eligibility of the 
        recipient (or the recipient's spouse or family) for benefits or 
        assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance, 
        under any Federal program or under any State or local program 
        financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.
            (2) Payment not considered income for purposes of 
        taxation.--A payment under subsection (a) shall not be 
        considered as gross income for purposes of the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986.
            (3) Payments protected from assignment.--The provisions of 
        sections 207 and 1631(d)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 407, 1383(d)(1)) and section 14(a) of the Railroad 
        Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231m(a)) shall apply to any 
        payment made under subsection (a) as if such payment was a 
        benefit payment or cash benefit to such individual under the 
        applicable program described in subsection (a)(1)(B).
            (4) Payments subject to offset.--Notwithstanding paragraph 
        (3), for purposes of section 3716 of title 31, United States 
        Code, any payment made under this section shall not be 
        considered a benefit payment or cash benefit made under the 
        applicable program described in subsection (a)(1)(B) and all 
        amounts paid shall be subject to offset to collect delinquent 
        debts.
    (d) Payment to Representative Payees and Fiduciaries.--
            (1) In general.--In any case in which an individual who is 
        entitled to a payment under subsection (a) and whose benefit 
        payment or cash benefit described in paragraph (1) of that 
        subsection is paid to a representative payee or fiduciary, the 
        payment under subsection (a) shall be made to the individual's 
        representative payee or fiduciary and the entire payment shall 
        be used only for the benefit of the individual who is entitled 
        to the payment.
            (2) Applicability.--
                    (A) Payment on the basis of a title ii benefit.--
                Section 1129(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 
                U.S.C. 1320a-8(a)(3)) shall apply to any payment made 
                on the basis of an entitlement to a benefit specified 
                in subsection (a)(1)(B)(i) in the same manner as such 
                section applies to a payment under title II of such 
                Act.
                    (B) Payment on the basis of a railroad retirement 
                benefit.--Section 13 of the Railroad Retirement Act (45 
                U.S.C. 231l) shall apply to any payment made on the 
                basis of an entitlement to a benefit specified in 
                subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) in the same manner as such 
                section applies to a payment under such Act.
    (e) Appropriation.--
            (1) In general.--Out of any sums in the Treasury of the 
        United States not otherwise appropriated, the following sums 
        are appropriated for the period of fiscal years 2010 through 
        2012 to carry out this section:
                    (A) For the Secretary of the Treasury, $131,000,000 
                for administrative costs incurred in carrying out this 
                section.
                    (B) For the Commissioner of Social Security--
                            (i) such sums as may be necessary for 
                        payments to individuals certified by the 
                        Commissioner of Social Security as entitled to 
                        receive a payment under this section; and
                            (ii) $90,000,000 for the Social Security 
                        Administration's Limitation on Administrative 
                        Expenses for costs incurred in carrying out 
                        this section.
                    (C) For the Railroad Retirement Board--
                            (i) such sums as may be necessary for 
                        payments to individuals certified by the 
                        Railroad Retirement Board as entitled to 
                        receive a payment under this section; and
                            (ii) $1,400,000 to the Railroad Retirement 
                        Board's Limitation on Administration for 
                        administrative costs incurred in carrying out 
                        this section.
            (2) Limitation.--No part of any appropriation contained in 
        paragraph (1) shall remain available for obligation beyond 
        fiscal year 2012.

SEC. 3. FUNDING.

    (a) In General.--Effective on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, of the unobligated balance of the discretionary appropriations 
made available by division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment 
Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), there is rescinded the amount 
determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to be 
required to offset the increase in spending resulting from the 
provisions of section 2.
    (b) Application.--The rescission made by subsection (a) shall be 
applied proportionately--
            (1) to each discretionary account; and
            (2) within each such account, to each program, project, and 
        activity (with programs, projects, and activities as delineated 
        in the appropriation Act or accompanying reports for the 
        relevant fiscal year covering such account, or for accounts not 
        included in appropriation Act, as delineated in the most 
        recently submitted President's budget).
    (c) OMB Report.--Within 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall 
submit to the House of Representatives and the Senate a report 
specifying the reductions made to each account, program, project, and 
activity pursuant to this section.
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