House Passes H.R. 4, the "Personal Responsibility,
Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003"
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.
Following are provisions in H.R. 4 that would affect
SSA-administered programs:
Review of State Agency SSI Blindness and Disability
Determinations
Would require SSA to review SSI blindness and disability
allowances before effectuating payments. The provision would be
phased in. In fiscal year 2004, the requirement would be 20 percent,
with a 40 percent review requirement in fiscal year 2005. In fiscal
year 2006 and in subsequent years, the SSI preeffectuation review
requirement would be the same as the current disability insurance
requirement, that is, 50 percent of allowances would be reviewed.
The provision would be effective upon enactment.
Improving Federal Debt Collection Practices for Child Support
Debts
Would extend debt-collection authority under the Treasury Offset
Program (TOP) to State child-support debts. Under current law, the
TOP process is authorized only for Federal debts, e.g. student
loans, unpaid taxes, or OASDI benefits. Thus, the provision would
have the effect of allowing the offset of OASDI benefits for
purposes of collecting State child-support debt. The provision would
be effective on October 1, 2004. |