Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1995
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 282.
Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1995 - Amends title II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide, through adjustments in the monthly exempt amount, for increases in the amounts of allowable earnings under the social security earnings limit for individuals who have attained retirement age. Retains the current limit on substantial gainful activity earnings applicable to individuals under age 65 who are eligible for disability benefits based on blindness. (Sec. 3) Provides that an individual shall not be considered to be disabled for OASDI purposes, or for supplemental security income (SSI) purposes under SSA title XVI (thus denying them benefits), if alcoholism or drug addiction would be a contributing factor material to the determination of disability. (Continues disability benefits based on a separate disabling condition to individuals also disabled by drug addiction or alcoholism.) Requires the payment of OASDI or SSI benefits based on disability to a representative payee if such payment would serve the interest of an individual who also has an alcoholism or drug addiction condition that prevents the individual from managing such benefits. Requires the Commissioner of Social Security (the Commissioner) to refer such individual to the appropriate State agency administering the approved State plan for substance abuse treatment services. Appropriates additional specified amounts to supplement State and Tribal alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs funded under the Public Health Service Act. Requires State or Tribal governments receiving such an allotment to consider as priorities activities relating to the treatment of the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. (Sec. 4) Bases entitlement of stepchildren to child's insurance benefits solely on their actual dependency on stepparent support. Repeals the requirement that the stepchild actually be living with the stepparent. Requires termination of any child's insurance benefits based on the wages and self-employment income of the stepparent the month after the month in which the natural parent's divorce from the stepparent becomes final. (Sec. 5) Establishes a Continuing Disability Review Administration Revolving Account for OASDI disability benefits in the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Directs the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration (Chief Actuary), as established by this Act, to estimate annually the present value of savings to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund which will accrue for all years because of cessations of benefit payments resulting from continuing disability reviews carried out pursuant to specified requirements during the fiscal year. Directs the Managing Trustee to: (1) transfer to the Account from amounts otherwise in the Trust Fund an amount equal to the estimated savings certified by the Chief Actuary; and (2) make available to the Commissioner from funds in the Account an amount certified by the Chief Actuary as currently required to meet expenditures necessary to provide for required continuing disability reviews (including expenditures for the cost of staffing, training, purchase of medical and other evidence, and processing related to appeals and overpayments and related indirect costs). Includes as required information in a specified annual report a final accounting of amounts transferred to the Continuing Disability Review Administration Revolving Account in the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund during the year, including a comparison of the number of continuing disability reviews conducted during the year with the estimated number of continuing disability reviews upon which the estimate of such expenditures was made. Terminates the Continuing Disability Review Administration Revolving Account at the end of FY 2005, providing that any balance in such Account shall revert to funds otherwise available in the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Provides for appointment by the Commissioner of a Chief Actuary in the SSA. (Sec. 6) Amends SSA title XI part A (General Provisions) to prohibit, with respect to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, Disability Insurance, Hospital Insurance, and Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds, Federal officials or employees from: (1) delaying the deposit of any amount into (or delaying the credit of any amount to) any such fund or otherwise varying from the normal terms, procedures, or timing for making such deposits or credits; (2) refraining from the investment in public debt obligations of amounts in any such fund; or (3) redeeming prior to maturity amounts in any such fund which are invested in public debt obligations for any purpose other than the payment of benefits or administrative expenses from such fund.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on December 15, 1995. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 15, 1995: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 282.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 104th Congress (1995-96), 333 of the 6,806 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ) introduced it on December 12, 1995, and 8 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 7 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 12, 1995, 11231 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 11228 days ago, on December 15, 1995.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 104th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1997 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers