[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 33 (Thursday, March 1, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1200-S1201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE:
  S. 2150. A bill to amend title XVI of the Social Security Act to 
clarify that the value of certain funeral and burial arrangements are 
not to be considered available resources under the supplemental 
security income program; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce valuable, 
bipartisan legislation that would codify the current policy of the 
Social Security Administration, SSA, to protect access to the 
Supplemental Security Income, SSI, program for those who prepay burial 
and funeral expenses.
  When individuals are fiscally responsible, and plan ahead for their 
end-of-life costs, it makes no sense to penalize them. Under the 
current policy, if funds or life insurance are set aside, irrevocably--
so the individual cannot take them back even if he or she wants to--
then those resources do not count against the individual when 
determining whether or not they are eligible for SSI. This is a good 
policy, and I applaud the SSA for maintaining it.
  Regrettably, this has not always been the case. When Congress passed 
anti-fraud legislation in 2000, the next year SSA misinterpreted 
provisions in the new law because it did not specifically carve out the 
exclusion for burial trusts. Therefore, SSA had the power to end the 
exclusion--and in fact, it did. SSA later realized its mistake and 
restored the exclusion. However, in the meantime, this hiccup created a 
wave of chaos for responsible seniors who were wrongly denied access to 
SSI. This bill will codify the exclusion, so this or future 
administrations will not even have the possibility of making that 
mistake again. In doing so, we will not only provide clarity to the 
administrative agencies, but will also give certainty to SSI enrollees 
and applicants. They will be ensured that planning ahead to protect 
their loved ones from the costs associated with death will in no way 
penalize them when applying for assistance.

[[Page S1201]]

  We are all aware that Americans are facing difficult times with 
unacceptably high unemployment and an economy that continues to sag. 
That is why it is unfair to penalize individuals who are fiscally 
responsible; rather we should further encourage them to plan ahead. 
This is not a loophole or a giveaway; this is current policy at SSA, 
and remember that this exclusion is only for funds or insurance that 
are absolutely going to be spent on burial costs. They are called 
``irrevocable trusts'' because once you put the money aside, you cannot 
get it back. This bill has negligible revenue effect, because it merely 
tells the government, firmly, to keep doing what it is already doing.
  I should also point to the fact that we are talking about SSI 
enrollees-- individuals who generally do not have a lot of resources. 
If they are fiscally responsible and plan ahead for their burial and 
funeral costs, this reduces the likelihood of these costs falling on 
the obligation of State and local governments.
  I know that we want agencies like SSA to be able to use their 
discretion and be nimble enough to adapt to a changing environment. 
However, we have gone that route before, and because of the SSA's 
mistake in reversing the exclusion in 2001, we need to be absolutely 
clear about the intent of Congress on this policy. It is unconscionable 
for seniors to have their applications erroneously delayed or denied, 
and it is incumbent upon us to enact this simple, straightforward, 
uncontroversial fix.
  Americans sacrifice a portion of every paycheck in order to support 
the programs SSA administers. They do so willingly, knowing that when 
they retire, or should they become disabled or fall on hard times 
during old age, programs like SSI will be there for them. This is a 
promise that we in Congress made to Americans. Enacting this fix is 
part of keeping that promise.
  As a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, I worked with SSA 
in developing this language. Many members have expressed support both 
for this legislation, and for the underlying policy that it codifies. I 
urge my colleagues to support enactment of this bill, so that we can 
keep our promise to the Nation's seniors, provide certainty, and reward 
fiscal responsibility and prudent planning.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2150

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

     SECTION 1. CERTAIN FUNERAL AND BURIAL ARRANGEMENTS NOT 
                   CONSIDERED RESOURCES.

       (a) In General.--Section 1613(d) of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1382b(d)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ``, including a trust 
     or arrangement described in paragraph (5)'' after 
     ``irrevocable arrangement''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) If--
       ``(A) an individual or the individual's spouse enters into 
     an irrevocable contract with a provider of funeral goods and 
     services for a funeral; and
       ``(B) the individual or the individual's spouse funds the 
     contract by--
       ``(i) prepaying for the goods and services and the funeral 
     provider places the funds in a trust;
       ``(ii) establishing an irrevocable trust fully funding the 
     goods and services and the funeral provider is the named 
     beneficiary of the trust, or
       ``(iii) purchasing a life insurance policy that provides 
     benefits to pay for the goods and services and irrevocably 
     assigning such benefits to--
       ``(I) the funeral provider; or
       ``(II) an irrevocable trust fully funding the goods and 
     services and the funeral provider is the named beneficiary of 
     the trust,
     then the irrevocable contract and the funding arrangement for 
     the irrevocable contract shall not be considered a resource 
     available to the individual or the individual's spouse.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1613(e)(3)(B) of such 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(e)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ``In 
     the case of an irrevocable trust established by an 
     individual, if there are any circumstances under which 
     payment from the trust'' and inserting ``Except as provided 
     in subsection (d)(5)(B)(ii), if there are any circumstances 
     under which payment from an irrevocable trust established by 
     an individual''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to payments for supplemental security income 
     benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act for 
     months beginning on or after the date of enactment of this 
     Act.
                                 ______