[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              SOCIAL SECURITY COURT OF APPEALS ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                        HON. ANDREW JACOBS, JR.

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 9, 1995
  Mr. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, I am today introducing the Social Security 
Court of Appeals Act of 1995 which creates a court to adjudicate 
appeals from Federal district court related to Social Security. A 
summary prepared by the minority staff of the Subcommittee on Social 
Security follows:
  The past decade has witnessed increasing regional variation in the 
standards of eligibility used by the Social Security Administration 
[SSA] to evaluate applications for disability benefits. A significant 
cause of this variation is the Federal courts' increased role in 
reviewing SSA decisions and interpreting agency regulations. Court 
intervention has been, and continues to be, vitally important in 
protecting the right of claimants. However, the regional nature of 
court jurisdiction can also serve to fragment Social Security 
disability standards along geographic lines and result in disparities 
in treatment of similarly situated claimants.
  To address this problem, this legislation would establish a single, 
national Social Security Court of Appeals. This court would be modeled 
after the court of appeals for the Federal circuit, which has 
jurisdiction over patent and trademark law, international trade, and 
the Court of Claims. The new court would replace the 12 Federal circuit 
courts of appeal in adjudicating Social Security and Supplemental 
Security Income [SSI] benefit appeals from Federal district courts. The 
court would consist of five judges with lifetime appointments. It would 
render appeal decisions in panels of three judges, as is the case at 
present with Federal circuit courts of appeal. The new court would be 
located in Washington, DC, but would have authority to travel as it 
deemed necessary. As the single body to adjudicate Social Security and 
SSI appeals from Federal district courts, this court would be 
positioned to articulate a consistent body of case law and to eliminate 
regional discrepancies in SSA policy.
  Claimants' rights to appeal SSA decisions to Federal district courts 
would be unaffected by this legislation. Moreover, decisions of the 
Social Security Court of Appeals would be appealable to the U.S. 
Supreme Court, just as Social Security decisions by the circuit courts 
of appeal are under current law.


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