To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit prospectively individuals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five years of such service.

January 29, 2003

Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FROST, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, and Mr. FARR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit prospectively individuals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five years of such service.

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 `Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. DEEMED WAGES FOR CAREGIVERS OF DEPENDENT RELATIVES.

(a) IN GENERAL- Title II of the Social Security Act is amended by adding after section 234 (42 U.S.C. 434) the following new section:

`DEEMED WAGES FOR CAREGIVERS OF DEPENDENT RELATIVES

`Definitions

`SEC. 235. (a) For purposes of this section--

`(1) The term `qualifying month' means, in connection with an individual, a month during which such individual was engaged for not less than 80 hours in providing care to a dependent relative without monetary compensation. Such term does not include any month ending after the date on which such individual attains retirement age (as defined in section 216(l)).

`(2) The term `dependent relative' means, in connection with an individual--

`(A) a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew (of such individual or such individual's spouse or domestic partner) who is under the age of 12, or

`(B) a child, grandchild, niece, or nephew (of such individual or such individual's spouse or domestic partner), a parent, aunt, or uncle (of such individual or his or her spouse or domestic partner), or such individual's spouse or domestic partner, if such child, grandchild, niece, nephew, parent, aunt, uncle, spouse, or domestic partner is a chronically dependent individual.

`(3)(A) The term `chronically dependent individual' means an individual who--

`(i) is dependent on a daily basis on verbal reminding, physical cueing, supervision, or other assistance provided to the individual by another person in the performance of at least 2 of the activities of daily living (described in subparagraph (B)), and

`(ii) without the assistance described in clause (i), could not perform such activities of daily living.

`(B) The `activities of daily living' referred to in subparagraph (A) are the following:

`(i) Eating.

`(ii) Bathing.

`(iii) Dressing.

`(iv) Toileting.

`(v) Transferring in and out of a bed or in and out of a chair.

`Deemed Wages of Caregiver

`(b)(1)(A) For purposes of determining entitlement to and the amount of any monthly benefit for any month after December 2003, or entitlement to and the amount of any lump-sum death payment in the case of a death after such month, payable under this title on the basis of the wages and self-employment income of any individual, and for purposes of section 216(i)(3), such individual shall be deemed to have been paid during each qualifying month (in addition to wages or self-employment income actually paid to or derived by such individual during such month) at an amount per month equal to the excess (if any) of--

`(i) 50 percent of the average amount of wages and self-employment income otherwise credited to individuals for such month under this title, over

`(ii) the amount of wages and self-employment income actually paid to or derived by such individuals for such month.

`(B) In any case in which there are more than 60 qualifying months for an individual, only the last 60 of such months shall be taken into account for purposes of this section.

`(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be applicable in the case of any monthly benefit or lump-sum death payment if a larger such benefit or payment, as the case may be, would be payable without its application.

`Citizenship and Residency Requirements

`(c)(1) A qualifying month shall not be taken into account under this section with respect to any individual unless such individual--

`(A) is throughout the qualifying month a resident of the United States (as defined in paragraph (2)), and

`(B)(i) is throughout the qualifying month a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and

`(ii) in the case of an individual who was not a citizen of the United States throughout the qualifying month, has resided in the United States (as defined in subsection 210(i)) continuously during the 5 years immediately preceding the qualifying month.

`(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the term `United States' means the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

`Identification Requirements

`(d) A qualifying month shall not be taken into account under this section with respect to an individual unless such individual provides the Commissioner of Social Security with the name and social security account number of the dependent relative with respect to whom the individual was engaged in providing care during such month, and other information as the Commissioner may require to verify the status of the dependent relative, on whatever application may be required to obtain benefits under this section.

`Annual Reimbursement of Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund

`(e) There are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and for each fiscal year thereafter, such sums as the Commissioner of Social Security deems necessary on account of--

`(1) payments made under this section during the second preceding fiscal year and all fiscal years prior thereto to individuals entitled to benefits under this section,

`(2) the additional administrative expenses resulting from the payments described in paragraph (1), and

`(3) any loss in interest to such Trust Fund resulting from such payments and expenses,

in order to place such Trust Fund in the same position at the end of such fiscal year as it would have been in if such payments had not been made.'.

END