New Bill Introduced Into Congress For Disabled Veterans Rated As Total

[tdak]

H.R. 2943: To amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act to provide for treatment of disability...

HR 2943 IH

110th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2943

To amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act to provide for treatment of disability rated and certified as total by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as disability for purposes of such titles.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 28, 2007

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. ALTMIRE, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. CARNEY, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. HARE, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. SPACE, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Mr. WELCH of Vermont, and Ms. DELAURO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act to provide for treatment of disability rated and certified as total by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as disability for purposes of such titles.

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 `Benefit Rating Acceleration for Veteran Entitlements Act of 2007'.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY RATED AND CERTIFIED AS TOTAL BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AS DISABILITY FOR PURPOSES OF TITLE II OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT .

(a) Disability for Purposes of Entitlement to Disability Insurance Benefits and Other Benefits Based on Disability-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 223(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 423(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(7)(A) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, any individual who has a service-connected disability rated by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as total for purposes of benefits under chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, and presents written certification of such rating determination to the Commissioner of Social Security shall be deemed to be under a disability (within the meaning of the preceding paragraphs of this subsection) for each month--

`(i) beginning with the month during which such certification is presented to the Commissioner, and

`(ii) ending with the earlier of--

`(I) any month during which certification is made to the Commissioner pursuant to subparagraph (B) that such service-connected disability has ceased, or

`(II) any month during which the Commissioner determines, subject to subparagraph ©, that such individual is able to engage in substantial gainful activity.

`(B) In any case in which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that an individual who has been determined by such Secretary to be totally disabled for purposes of benefits under chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, and with respect to whom a certification has been made to the Commissioner pursuant to subparagraph (A) that such individual has ceased to be so disabled, such Secretary shall promptly certify to the Commissioner such Secretary's determination that such individual has ceased to be so disabled.

`© Any determination by the Commissioner under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) shall be made on the basis of evidence of earnings, without consideration of any evidence of medical recovery.

`(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to preclude a determination under this title that an individual who is not deemed to be under a disability under subparagraph (A) is under a disability (within the meaning of the preceding paragraphs of this subsection).

`(E) The Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into such arrangements as are necessary and appropriate for purposes of carrying out the provisions of this paragraph.'.

(2) OTHER BENEFITS BASED ON DISABILITY-

(A) Child's INSURANCE BENEFITS- Section 202(d)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(d)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: `Under regulations of the Commissioner of Social Security, the provisions of section 223(d)(7) shall apply with respect to benefits under this section (and determinations of disability made for purposes of determinations of entitlement to such benefits) in the same manner and to the same extent as such provisions apply with respect to benefits under section 223 (and determinations of disability made for purposes of determinations of entitlement to benefits under section 223).'.

(B) Widow's INSURANCE BENEFITS- Section 202(e)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: `Under regulations of the Commissioner of Social Security, the provisions of section 223(d)(7) shall apply with respect to benefits under this section (and determinations of disability made for purposes of determinations of entitlement to such benefits) in the same manner and to the same extent as such provisions apply with respect to benefits under section 223 (and determinations of disability made for purposes of determinations of entitlement to benefits under section 223).'.

© Widower's INSURANCE BENEFITS- Section 202(f)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(f)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: `Under regulations of the Commissioner of Social Security, the provisions of section 223(d)(7) shall apply with respect to benefits under this section (and determinations of disability made for purposes of determinations of entitlement to such benefits) in the same manner and to the same extent as such provisions apply with respect to benefits under section 223 (and determinations of disability made for purposes of determinations of entitlement to benefits under section 223).'.

(B) Determinations of Periods of Disability- Section 216(i) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 416(i)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(3)(A) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), any individual who has a service-connected disability rated by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as total for purposes of benefits under chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, and presents written certification of such rating determination to the Commissioner of Social Security shall be deemed to be under a disability (within the meaning of paragraph (1)) for each month--

`(i) beginning with the month during which such certification is presented to the Commissioner, and

`(ii) ending with the earlier of--

`(I) any month during which certification is made to the Commissioner pursuant to subparagraph (B) that such service-connected disability has ceased, or

`(II) any month during which the Commissioner determines, subject to subparagraph ©, that such individual is able to engage in substantial gainful activity.

`(B) In any case in which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that an individual who has been determined by such Secretary to be totally disabled for purposes of benefits under chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, and with respect to whom a certification has been made to the Commissioner pursuant to subparagraph (A) that such individual has ceased to be so disabled, such Secretary shall promptly certify to the Commissioner such Secretary's determination that such individual has ceased to be so disabled.

`© Any determination by the Commissioner under subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) shall be made on the basis of evidence of earnings, without consideration of any evidence of medical recovery.

`(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to preclude a determination under this title that an individual who is not deemed to be under a disability under subparagraph (A) is under a disability (within the meaning of paragraph (1)).

`(E) The Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into such arrangements as are necessary and appropriate for purposes of carrying out the provisions of this paragraph.'.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF DISABILITY RATED AND CERTIFIED AS TOTAL BY THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AS DISABILITY FOR PURPOSES OF TITLE XVI OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.

Section 1614(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(K) In making determinations with respect to disability under this title, the provisions of section 223(d)(7) shall apply in the same manner as they apply to determinations of disability under title II.'.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to determinations of disability in connection with applications for benefits or periods of disability filed or pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Edited July 15, 2007 by tdak

[tdak]

The way I see this is that it is written in very "in-general "terms. They wrote rated and certified as total.

When you get your award letter deeming you 100% is this how it is stated?

or

When you get your award letter deeming you 100% T&P is this how it is stated?

or

When you get your award letter deeming you "other%, but TDIU is it stated as "rated as total" somewhere?

I don't know because I do not have this rating, We have to remember this is still in the introduction stages, hasn't even been put on the calendar yet, at least not for July. It could be a few months before things get going and it may get squashed before it goes anywhere.

But maybe on the other hand it may get somewhere after they rewrite the whole thing.....who knows.

Again like Pete said......gee 2008 election......HMMMMMM......

Lets wait and see,

Tamara

[SLEDGE]

Personally,

I believe that we can tell who the real backers of vets are by their 'actions'.

Purveyors of rhetoric are a dime a dozen and do not care about what happens to us.

Plugging a new way of causing more confusion is not helping, it's hurting disabled vets.

Congressmen should concentrate on getting us the benefits that we have earned and stop trying to re-write the same old tired BS.

sledge

[luvHIM]

This could not be good for many veterans, if they received SSD based on their service connected disability. In reading the post it suggests that when the said SC disability is no longer disabling it will be reported to the Commissioner of Social Security by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. It sounds as if they are about to do some major monetary/benefit cuts...causing vets to lose out on both ends.

I am receiving SSD for a totally and permanent disability that was not service connected. My compensation at the time of my SSD award was continued at 0%. However, I know many vets who got the Social Security after receiving their VA comp/benefits. And several of these vets are not considered total and permanent by the VA or SSA. They are up for review by SSA and if the VA no longer finds them to be "disabled" by there (VA's) standard of "disabled" they could lose their SSD at SSA's review.

It is EXTREMELY important to get any disability benefit decreed as total and permanent by both the VA and SSA to maintain benefits. SSA, without a total and permanent disability, reviews every 3; 5; and 7 years. Sometimes, after the 5 and or 7 year mark, if your doctors are willing to go on the record as stating that your condition is total and permanent, the cease the reviews and declare you total and permanent. From what I understand, the VA has a similar review process for disabilities that have not been declared total and permanent.