Legislation of the 118th Congress with provisions affecting Social Security
- On November 12, 2024, the House passed H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 , by roll call vote, 327-75, under suspension of the rules. This bill would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision, both of which can reduce Social Security benefits when someone receives a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
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On October 2, 2024, the President signed S. 1549 , the Congressional Budget Office Data Access Act (Public Law 118-104). The new law amends The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a ) to allow federal agencies to disclose to CBO certain records pertaining to an individual without the individual's prior written consent. This legislation complements H.R 7032, Public law 118-89 (see Legislative Bulletin 118-9), which allows agencies to disclose information to CBO without a written agreement with the federal agency.
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On September 30, 2024, the President signed H.R. 7032, the Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act (Public Law 118-89). The Senate passed this bill on September 10, 2024 without amendment by unanimous consent. The House passed the bill on April 29, 2024 by voice vote under suspension of the rules. The new law amends the ‘Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974’ to require Executive branch agencies to furnish material to the Director of the Congressional Budget Office with or without a written agreement, if the Director maintains the same level of confidentiality required of the source agency.
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On March 9, 2024, the President signed H.R. 4366, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118-42). Effective upon enactment, this law extends SSI eligibility to certain individuals from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau while these individuals are residing within one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or the Northern Mariana Islands.
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On January 18, 2024, the House passed H.R. 3667, the Social Security Child Protection Act of 2023, by voice vote. This bill would clarify situations in which SSA should issue a new SSN (and card) to children if the original mailed SSN card was lost or stolen. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Previous Action 06/07/23 - On December 22, 2023, the President signed H.R. 2670, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31). The House passed the bill on December 14, 2023 by a vote of 310-118. The Senate previously passed the bill on December 13, 2023 by a vote of 87-13. H.R. 2670 contains several provisions of interest to the Social Security Administration (SSA) related to acquisitions, personnel, and information security.
- On June 7th, the House Ways and Means Committee favorably reported H.R. 3784, the Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act.The bill would require SSA to provide a single point-of-contact for individuals faced with SSN-related identity theft. The legislation now moves to the full House for action.
- On February 1, 2023, the House passed H.R.139, the Stopping Home Office Work’s Unproductive Problems Act of 2023 or the SHOW UP Act of 2023, by a roll call vote of 221-206. Among other things, the bill would require federal agencies to reinstate their 2019 pre-pandemic telework policies, and require any expansion of telework to be certified by the Office of Personnel Management as having a positive effect on the agency's mission and operational costs. The legislation now moves to the Senate for consideration, where support is less certain.
Testimony before the 118th Congress by SSA Officials
- November 20, 2024 -- Testimony by Martin O'Malley, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, before the House Committee Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health And Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies on Social Security Administration.
- September 11, 2024 -- Testimony by Martin O'Malley, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, before the Senate Committee on Budget on Social Security Forever: Delivering Benefits and Protecting Retirement Security.
- June 18, 2024 -- Testimony by Susan Wilschke, Associate Commissioner, Office of Research, Demonstration and Employement Support, Social Security Administration, before the Senate Committee on Finance on Work and Social Security Disability Benefits: Addressing Challenges and Creating Opportunities.
- March 21, 2024 -- Testimony by Martin O'Malley, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, before the Senate Committee on Finance on Joint Subcommittee Hearing with the Commissioner of Social Security.
- March 20, 2024 -- Testimony by Martin O'Malley, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, before the Senate Committee on Finance on The President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Social Security Administration Budget.
- March 20, 2024 -- Testimony by Martin O'Malley, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, before the Senate Committee on Aging on Keeping Our Promise to Older Adults and People With Disabilities: The Status of Social Security Today.
- November 29, 2023 -- Testimony by Oren “Hank” McKnelly II, Executive Counselor to the Commissioner, Social Security Administration, before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce on Oversight of Federal Agencies’ Post-Pandemic Telework Policies: Part II.
- October 26, 2023 -- Testimony by Linda Kerr-Davis, Acting Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Operations, Social Security Administration, before the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security on the agency's backlog of initial disability claims.
- October 18, 2023 -- Testimony by Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner, Social Security Administration, before the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security on protecting beneficiaries from the harm of improper payments.
- July 12, 2023 -- Testimony by Stephen C. Goss, Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration, before the Senate Committee on Budget on Protecting Social Security for All: Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share.
- June 21, 2023 -- Testimony by Chad M. Poist, Deputy Commissioner for Budget, Finance, and Management, Social Security Administration, before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce on the agency's role in addressing post pandemic backlogs and delays at federal agencies.
- May 24, 2023 -- Testimony of Sean Brune, Deputy Commissioner for Systems and Chief Information Officer, Social Security Administration, before the House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security on the agency's role in combatting identity fraud.
For additional information on legislation, you can use Congress.gov, which was developed by the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. You can access Congress.gov at: https://www.congress.gov/.