[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 200 (Thursday, December 7, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7930-S7932]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. DAINES:
  S. 2206. A bill to release certain wilderness study areas in the 
State of Montana; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, as a fifth generation Montanan and an avid 
outdoorsman, I know how important access to our public lands are. 
Having hiked, camped, biked, and snowmobiled countless miles in the 
wilderness, forests, and other public lands of Montana, I share with 
other Montanans the desire to explore the beauty of our state. That is 
why today I am introducing the Protect Public Use of Public Lands Act. 
This bill follows calls from countless Montanans and the U.S. Forest 
Service recommendations to open up Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) that 
the Forest Service recommended to manage as non-wilderness after the 
congressionally mandated study in the 1970s. The bill would allow new 
uses to be considered in the public planning process. For too long 
these lands have remained in limbo and many forms of recreation have 
been significantly reduced. For this reason, the Montana Legislature 
passed a measure calling on Congress to take action on these Wilderness 
Study Areas, and I have continued to hear from County Commissioners, 
local Montanans, farmers, ranchers, and recreation groups since I have 
been in Congress of their support for action. Hearing this call I today 
introduce the Protect Public Use of Public Lands Act and ask my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this important measure.
  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:

[[Page S7931]]

  


                                S. 2206

       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 ``Protect Public Use of Public 
     Lands Act''.

     SEC. 2. RELEASE OF CERTAIN WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS IN THE 
                   STATE OF MONTANA.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) under the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977 (Public 
     Law 95-150; 91 Stat. 1243), 9 wilderness study areas 
     comprising a total of 973,000 acres of land in the State of 
     Montana were set aside for the Secretary of Agriculture to 
     evaluate the suitability of the wilderness study areas for 
     designation as wilderness in accordance with the Wilderness 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), with the evaluation to be 
     completed not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 
     of the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-
     150; 91 Stat. 1243);
       (2) between 1979 and 1986, the Chief of the Forest Service 
     completed the studies of the 9 wilderness study areas and 
     determined that 608,700 acres of the original 973,000 acres 
     designated as wilderness study areas by the Montana 
     Wilderness Study Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-150; 91 Stat. 
     1243) were unsuitable for inclusion in the National 
     Wilderness Preservation System;
       (3) since the completion of the studies required under the 
     Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-150; 91 
     Stat. 1243), of the land designated as wilderness study areas 
     by that Act--
       (A) 171,000 acres have been designated as wilderness by 
     Congress; and
       (B) 663,000 acres remain as wilderness study areas until 
     Congress acts;
       (4) Congress has failed to act on the recommendations of 
     the Chief of the Forest Service with respect to the remaining 
     7 wilderness study areas;
       (5) the Montana State legislature passed House Joint 
     Resolution 9, a resolution asking Congress to address the 
     remaining 7 wilderness study areas;
       (6) County commissions, sportsmen, farmers and ranchers, 
     and outdoor recreation groups in the State of Montana support 
     Congress acting to remove the land in the State described in 
     subsection (c) to protect public use of public land; and
       (7) for the purposes of section 3(a) of the Montana 
     Wilderness Study Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-150; 91 Stat. 
     1244), the land in the State of Montana described in 
     subsection (c) has been adequately studied for wilderness 
     designation.
       (b) Release.--The land described in subsection (c) is no 
     longer subject to section 3(a) of the Montana Wilderness 
     Study Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-150; 91 Stat. 1244).
       (c) Description of Land.--The land referred to in 
     paragraphs (6) and (7) of subsection (a) and subsection (b) 
     is--
       (1) the approximately 151,000 acres of land comprising the 
     West Pioneer Wilderness Study Area;
       (2) the approximately 32,500 acres of land within the Blue 
     Joint Wilderness Study Area not recommended for wilderness 
     classification in the record of decision prepared by the 
     Forest Service entitled ``Bitterroot National Forest Plan'' 
     and dated September 1987;
       (3) the approximately 94,000 acres of land comprising the 
     Sapphire Wilderness Study Area;
       (4) the approximately 81,000 acres of land comprising the 
     Middle Fork Judith Wilderness Study Area; and
       (5) the approximately 91,000 acres of land comprising the 
     Big Snowies Wilderness Study Area.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. Cassidy, and Mr. Toomey):
  S. 2209. A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to 
require States to count monetary winnings from lotteries and other 
lump-sum income of $80,000 or more as if they were obtained over 
multiple months for purposes of determining income eligibility for 
medical assistance; to the Committee on Finance.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S7931, December 7, 2017, in the second column, the 
following appears: S. 2209. A bill to amend title XIX of the 
Social Security Act to require States to count monetary winnings 
from lotteries and other lump-sum income of $80,000 or more as if 
they were obtained over multiple months for purposes of 
determining income eligibly for medical assistance; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: S. 2209. A bill to 
amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to require States to 
count monetary winnings from lotteries and other lump-sum income 
of $80,000 or more as if they were obtained over multiple months 
for purposes of determining income eligibility for medical 
assistance; to the Committee on Finance.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

  Mr. CORNYN. 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. 2209

       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 ``Prioritizing the Most 
     Vulnerable Over Lottery Winners Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF LOTTERY WINNINGS AND OTHER LUMP-SUM 
                   INCOME FOR PURPOSES OF INCOME ELIGIBILITY UNDER 
                   MEDICAID.

       (a) In General.--Section 1902 of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1396a) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(17), by striking ``(e)(14), (e)(14)'' 
     and inserting ``(e)(14), (e)(15)''; and
       (2) in subsection (e)--
       (A) in paragraph (14) (relating to modified adjusted gross 
     income), by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(J) Treatment of certain lottery winnings and income 
     received as a lump sum.--
       ``(i) In general.--In the case of an individual who is the 
     recipient of qualified lottery winnings (pursuant to 
     lotteries occurring on or after January 1, 2018) or qualified 
     lump sum income (received on or after such date) and whose 
     eligibility for medical assistance is determined based on the 
     application of modified adjusted gross income under 
     subparagraph (A), a State shall, in determining such 
     eligibility, include such winnings or income (as applicable) 
     as income received--

       ``(I) in the month in which such winnings or income (as 
     applicable) is received if the amount of such winnings or 
     income is less than $80,000;
       ``(II) over a period of 2 months if the amount of such 
     winnings or income (as applicable) is greater than or equal 
     to $80,000 but less than $90,000;
       ``(III) over a period of 3 months if the amount of such 
     winnings or income (as applicable) is greater than or equal 
     to $90,000 but less than $100,000; and
       ``(IV) over a period of 3 months plus 1 additional month 
     for each increment of $10,000 of such winnings or income (as 
     applicable) received, not to exceed a period of 120 months 
     (for winnings or income of $1,260,000 or more), if the amount 
     of such winnings or income is greater than or equal to 
     $100,000.

       ``(ii) Counting in equal installments.--For purposes of 
     subclauses (II), (III), and (IV) of clause (i), winnings or 
     income to which such subclause applies shall be counted in 
     equal monthly installments over the period of months 
     specified under such subclause.
       ``(iii) Hardship exemption.--An individual whose income, by 
     application of clause (i), exceeds the applicable eligibility 
     threshold established by the State, shall continue to be 
     eligible for medical assistance to the extent that the State 
     determines, under procedures established by the State (in 
     accordance with standards specified by the Secretary), that 
     the denial of eligibility of the individual would cause an 
     undue medical or financial hardship as determined on the 
     basis of criteria established by the Secretary.
       ``(iv) Notifications and assistance required in case of 
     loss of eligibility.--A State shall, with respect to an 
     individual who loses eligibility for medical assistance under 
     the State plan (or a waiver of such plan) by reason of clause 
     (i)--

       ``(I) before the date on which the individual loses such 
     eligibility, inform the individual--

       ``(aa) of the individual's opportunity to enroll in a 
     qualified health plan offered through an Exchange established 
     under title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
     Act during the special enrollment period specified in section 
     9801(f)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 
     loss of Medicaid or CHIP coverage); and
       ``(bb) of the date on which the individual would no longer 
     be considered ineligible by reason of clause (i) to receive 
     medical assistance under the State plan or under any waiver 
     of such plan and be eligible to reapply to receive such 
     medical assistance; and

       ``(II) provide technical assistance to the individual 
     seeking to enroll in such a qualified health plan.

       ``(v) Qualified lottery winnings defined.--In this 
     subparagraph, the term `qualified lottery winnings' means 
     winnings from a sweepstakes, lottery, or pool described in 
     paragraph (3) of section 4402 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 or a lottery operated by a multistate or 
     multijurisdictional lottery association, including amounts 
     awarded as a lump sum payment.
       ``(vi) Qualified lump sum income defined.--In this 
     subparagraph, the term `qualified lump sum income' means 
     income that is received as a lump sum from one of the 
     following sources:

       ``(I) Monetary winnings from gambling (as defined by the 
     Secretary and including gambling activities described in 
     section 1955(b)(4) of title 18, United States Code).
       ``(II) Damages received, whether by suit or agreement and 
     whether as lump sums or as periodic payments (other than 
     monthly payments), on account of causes of action other than 
     causes of action arising from personal physical injuries or 
     physical sickness.
       ``(III) Income received as liquid assets from the estate 
     (as defined in section 1917(b)(4)) of a deceased 
     individual.''; and

       (B) by striking ``(14) Exclusion'' and inserting ``(15) 
     Exclusion''.
       (b) Rules of Construction.--
       (1) Interception of lottery winnings allowed.--Nothing in 
     the amendment made by subsection (a)(2) shall be construed as 
     preventing a State from intercepting the State lottery 
     winnings awarded to an individual in the State to recover 
     amounts paid by the State under the State Medicaid plan under 
     title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) 
     for medical assistance furnished to the individual.
       (2) Applicability limited to eligibility of recipient of 
     lottery winnings or lump sum income.--Nothing in the 
     amendment made by subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be construed, 
     with respect to a determination of household income for 
     purposes of a determination of eligibility for medical 
     assistance under the State plan under title XIX of the Social 
     Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) (or a waiver of such 
     plan) made by applying modified adjusted gross income under 
     subparagraph (A) of section 1902(e)(14) of such Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1396a(e)(14)), as limiting the eligibility for such 
     medical assistance of any individual that is a member of the 
     household other than the individual who received qualified 
     lottery winnings or qualified lump-sum income (as defined in 
     subparagraph (J) of such

[[Page S7932]]

     section 1902(e)(14), as added by subsection (a)(2)(A) of this 
     section).

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