Number:        117-13   
Date:             December 29, 2022

House Passes the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023

 

On December 23, 2022, the House passed H.R. 2617, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.  The Senate previously amended and passed the bill on December 22, 2022.  The bill now moves to the President for his signature.

This bill would provide agency appropriations for Fiscal Year 2023 and it includes the following other provisions of interest to the Social Security Administration (SSA):

Division M––Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023

Section 1501:

  • Certain citizens or nationals of Afghanistan (or people with no nationality who last habitually resided in Afghanistan) who were paroled into the United States between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2022 and meet other criteria are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.  This provision would move the end of this qualifying period from September 30, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
  • Effective Date––This provision would be effective immediately.

Division T––Secure 2.0 Act of 2022

Section 124:

  • An Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account is a tax-advantaged account that can be used to save for the qualified disability expenses of the account’s beneficiary.  In general, for the Supplemental Security Income program we exclude from resources up to $100,000 in a person’s ABLE account.   
  • To be eligible for an ABLE account, a person must have been disabled before age 26.  This provision would increase this limit to age 46.
  • Effective date––This provision would be effective with tax year 2026.

Section 303:

  • Would require the Department of Labor to establish a “Retirement Savings Lost and Found,” an online database where people can search for information on pension benefits they have from a current or former employers.  SSA would have no role in this system.  However, the database may contain some of the same information as the notices about potential vested pension benefits that SSA sends to people who have applied for Social Security benefits.  
  • Effective date––The Department of Labor would be required to implement this database within two years of enactment.

Section 702:

  • Would make wages earned by the special trial judges of the Tax Court exempt from Social Security coverage.
  • Effective date––This provision would be effective immediately.

Division FF––Health Extenders, Improving Access to Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, and Strengthening Public Health Act of 2022

Section 1121:

  • Would require HHS to create an Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee. This committee would meet at least two times per year and would be responsible for, among other things:
    • reporting to Congress on the effect that Federal programs related to serious mental illness have on public health outcomes; and
    • recommending actions agencies can take to better coordinate the administration of mental health services for adults with a serious mental illness or children with a serious emotional disturbance.
  • The Commissioner of SSA would serve on this committee.  
  • Effective date––This provision would be effective immediately and it would sunset on September 30, 2027.