Archives of Social Security Legislation of the 108th Congress

Introduction

The following are summaries, prepared by Social Security's Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs, of legislation of the 108th Congress and testimony by SSA officials before the 108th Congress, which affect Social Security benefits and programs.

For more complete information on current legislation pending in Congress, we suggest that you connect to THOMAS at http://thomas.loc.gov/, the source of legislative information on the Internet.

Legislation

Summaries of Legislation of the 108th Congress With Provisions Affecting Social Security:

On September 7, 2004, Senator McCain (R-AZ), along with two Republican and eight Democratic cosponsors, introduced S. 2774, the 9/11 Commission Report Implementation Act of 2004. The legislation is designed to implement the Commission’s recommendations which were issued in August. Some of the major aspects of the bill include: reorganization of the intelligence community; the establishment of a National Counterterrorism Center; the creation of an information-sharing network; enhancement of border and transportation security; proposals to crack down on fraudulent identification documents; and the establishment of a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
On Wednesday, July 21, 2004, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved H.R. 2971, the “Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2004,” as amended, by a recorded vote of 33-0. The bill would restrict the sale, purchase and display of Social Security numbers (SSNs) in the public and private sectors; provide additional measures to protect SSN privacy; help ensure SSNs are assigned accurately; and create criminal and civil monetary penalties for persons who misuse SSNs.
On July 15, 2004, President Bush signed into law H.R. 1731, the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act (Public Law 108-275).
On June 23, 2004, the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 2934, the Terrorist Penalties Enhancement Act of 2003, by voice vote.
On Wednesday, June 23, 2004, the House passed by voice vote, H.R. 1731, the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act. On Friday, June 25, 2004, the Senate passed H.R. 1731 by unanimous consent (without amendment) and cleared the bill for the President's signature. H.R. 1731 would establish penalties for aggravated identify theft, i.e., identity theft in connection with the commission of a felony, and includes several provisions of interest to SSA.
On May 12, 2004, the House Committee on the Judiciary marked-up and ordered to be reported H.R. 1731, the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act.
On March 2, 2004, President Bush signed H.R. 743 into law as Public Law 108-203.
On February 11, 2004, the House agreed to the Senate amendments and passed H.R. 743 by a vote of 402 to 19. The President is expected to sign the bill.
On December 9, 2003, the Senate amended and passed H.R. 743 by unanimous consent. Unless indicated, the provisions are the same as those included in the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) approved bill (see Legislative Bulletin 108-11).
On December 8, 2003, President Bush signed into law H.R. 1, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-173).
On December 3, 2003, President Bush signed into law S. 1685, the Basic Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-156).
On November 25, 2003 by a vote of 54-44, the Senate approved the conference report on H. R. 1, the "Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003." The House approved the conference report by a vote of 220-215 on November 22, 2003. H.R. 1 now goes to the President, who has indicated that he will sign the bill.
On November 19, 2003, the House passed by unanimous consent S. 1685, the Basic Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act of 2003.
On October 29, 2003, the Senate Finance Committee reported and printed its version of H.R. 743, the Social Security Protection Act of 2003.
On September 17, 2003, the Senate Finance Committee amended and approved H.R. 743, the Social Security Protection Act of 2003.

On May 15, 2003, the Senate amended and passed H.R. 2, the "Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003," by a vote of 51 to 49.
On May 9, 2003, the Senate Finance Committee reported S. 2, the "Jobs and Growth Reconciliation Act of 2003"

On April 9, 2003, by a vote of 95 to 5, the Senate passed S. 476, the "CARE Act of 2003."
On April 2, 2003, the Committee on Ways and Means approved and cleared for floor action, H.R. 810, the Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2003.
On April 2, 2003, by a vote of 396-28, the House passed H.R. 743, the Social Security Protection Act of 2003.
On March 26, 2003, the Committee on Energy and Commerce approved by voice vote and cleared, as amended for floor action, H.R. 810, the Medicare Regulatory and Contracting Reform Act of 2003. Similar language passed the House unanimously last year on December 4, 2001 as H.R. 3391.
On March 19, 2003 by unanimous consent, the Senate passed S. 153, the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act. This bill would amend Chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code to establish penalties for aggravated identity theft.
On March 13, 2003, by a vote of 35-2, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved H.R. 743, the Social Security Protection Act of 2003. H.R. 743 is the 108th Congress's version of a similar bill from the previous Congress (H.R. 4070) which passed the House by a vote of 425-0.
On February 13, 2003, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the "Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003,” by a vote of 230 to 192. The legislation reauthorizes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and makes a number of revisions in existing child care and child welfare demonstration programs and child support enforcement. H.R. 4 is virtually identical to H.R. 4737, the "Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2002,” which passed the House on May 16, 2002.


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