Pub. L. 103-296, tit. I

“duties and authority of secretary “SEC. 712. The Secretary shall perform the duties imposed upon the Secretary by this Act. The Secretary is authorized to appoint and fix the compensation of such officers and employees, and to make such expenditures as may be necessary for carrying out the functions of the Secretary under this Act. The Secretary may appoint attorneys and experts without regard to the civil service laws.” (2) Section 706 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 907) is repealed. This paragraph shall not apply with respect to the Advisory Council for Social Security appointed in 1994. (3) Paragraph (2) of section 709(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 910(b)) is amended by striking “(as estimated by the Secretary)” and inserting “(for amounts which will be paid from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, as estimated by the Commissioner, and for amounts which will be paid from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, as estimated by the Secretary)”. (b) Amendments to Title XI.— (1) Section 1101(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1301(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(10) The term ‘Administration’ means the Social Security Administration, except where the context requires otherwise.”. (2) Section 1106(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1306(a)) is amended— (A) by inserting “(1)” after “(a)”; (B) by striking “Department of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “applicable agency”; (C) by striking “Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “head of the applicable agency”; and (D) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(2) For purposes of this subsection and subsection (b), the term ‘applicable agency’ means— “(A) the Social Security Administration, with respect to matter transmitted to or obtained by such Administration or matter disclosed by such Administration, or “(B) the Department of Health and Human Services, with respect to matter transmitted to or obtained by such Department or matter disclosed by such Department.”. (3) Section 1106(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1306(b)) is amended— 108 STAT. 1482 (A) by striking “Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “head of the applicable agency”; and (B) by striking “Department of Health and Human Services” and inserting “applicable agency”. (4) Section 1106(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1306(c)) is amended— (A) by striking “the Secretary” the first place it appears and inserting “the Commissioner of Social Security or the Secretary”; and (B) by striking “the Secretary” each subsequent place it appears and inserting “such Commissioner or Secretary”. (5) Section 1106(d) of such Act (added by section 311 of this Act) is amended— (A) by striking “Secretary” the first place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; (B) by striking “Secretary” the second place it appears and inserting “Commissioner”; (C) by striking “Secretary” the third place it appears and inserting “Commissioner in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services”; and (D) by striking “Secretary” each subsequent place it appears and inserting “Commissioner”. (6) Section 1107(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1307(b)) is amended by striking “the Secretary of Health and Human Services” and inserting “the Commissioner of Social Security or the Secretary”. (7) Section 1110 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1310) is amended— (A) by striking “he”, “his”, and “him” each place they appear (except in subsection (b)(2)(A)) and inserting “the Commissioner”, “the Commissioner’s”, and “the Commissioner”, respectively; (B) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting “(or the Commissioner, with respect to any jointly financed cooperative agreement or grant concerning titles II or XVI)” after “Secretary”; (C) in subsection (b)(1)— (i) by striking “Secretary” each place it appears in the first two sentences and inserting “Commissioner”; (ii) by striking in the third sentence “determined by the Secretary”, and inserting “determined by the Commissioner with respect to the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance programs under title II and the supplemental security income program under title XVI, and by the Secretary with respect to other titles of this Act,”; and (iii) by striking the fourth sentence and inserting the following new sentences: “If, in order to carry out a project under this subsection, the Commissioner requests a State to make supplementary payments (or the Commissioner makes them pursuant to an agreement under section 1616) to individuals who are not eligible therefor, or in amounts or under circumstances in which the State does not make such payments, the Commissioner shall reimburse such State for the non-Federal share of such payments from amounts appropriated to carry out title XVI. If, in108 STAT. 1483 order to carry out a project under this subsection, the Secretary requests a State to provide medical assistance under its plan approved under title XIX to individuals who are not eligible therefor, or in amounts or under circumstances in which the State does not provide such medical assistance, the Secretary shall reimburse such State for the non-Federal share of such assistance from amounts appropriated to carry out title XVI, which shall be provided by the Commissioner to the Secretary for this purpose.”; (D) in subsection (b)(2), by striking “Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner”; and (E) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (3). (8) Subsections (b) and (c) of section 1127 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-6) are each amended by striking “Secretary” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (9) Section 1128(0 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(f)) is amended— (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting after “section 205(g)” the following: “, except that, in so applying such sections and section 205(1), any reference therein to the Commissioner of Social Security or the Social Security Administration shall be considered a reference to the Secretary or the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively”, and (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting after “title 11” the following: “, except that, in so applying such section and section 205(1), any reference therein to the Commissioner of Social Security shall be considered a reference to the Secretary”. (10) (A) Section 1129 of such Act (added by section 206(b) of this Act) is amended— (i) by striking “Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; (ii) in subsection (a)(1)— (I) by striking “exclude, as provided in section 1128,” and inserting “recommend that the Secretary exclude, as provided in section 1128,”; and (II) by striking “and to direct” and all that follows through “determines”; (iii) in subsection (g)— (I) by striking “Secretary’s” and inserting “Commissioner’s”; and (II) by striking “the provisions” and all that follows and inserting the following: “the Commissioner shall notify the Secretary of the final determination and the reasons therefor, and the Secretary shall then notify the entities described in section 1128A(h) of such final determination.”; (iv) in subsection (k), by inserting “based on a recommendation under subsection (a)” after “section 1128”; and (v) in subsection (1) (added by section 206(e)(1)), by striking “Department of Health and Human Services” and inserting “Social Security Administration”. (B) Section 206(g) of this Act is amended— 108 STAT. 1484 (i) by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; and (ii) by striking “Secretary has exercised” and inserting “Commissioner has exercised”. (11) Section 1131 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-1) is amended— (A) by striking “Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; (B) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by adding “or” at the end; (C) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking “or” at the end; (D) by striking subsection (a)(1)(C); (E) by redesignating subsection (a)(2) as subsection (a)(3); (F) by inserting after subsection (a)(1) the following new paragraph: “(2) the Secretary makes a finding of fact and a decision as to the entitlement under section 226 of any individual to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII, or”; and (G) in the matter in subsection (a) following paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), by striking “he” and inserting “the Commissioner of Social Security”, by striking “paragraph (1)” and inserting “paragraph (1) or (2)”, by striking “paragraph (2)” and inserting “paragraph (3)”, and by striking “paragraph (1) or (2)(A)” and inserting “paragraph (1), (2),or(3)(A)”. (12) Section 1140 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-10) (as amended by section 312 of this Act) is amended— (A) in subsection (a)(2)— (i) by inserting “(A)” after “(2)”; (ii) by striking “or of the Department of Health and Human Services”; (iii) by striking “which the Secretary shall prescribe” and inserting “which the Commissioner of Social Security shall prescribe”; and (iv) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: “(B) No person may, for a fee, reproduce, reprint, or distribute any item consisting of a form, application, or other publication of the Department of Health and Human Services unless such person has obtained specific, written authorization for such activity in accordance with regulations which the Secretary shall prescribe.”; (B) in subsection (b), by striking “the Secretary” and inserting “the Commissioner or the Secretary (as applicable)”; (C) in subsection (c)(2), by striking “the Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “the Commissioner or the Secretary (as applicable)”; and (D) in subsection (d), by striking “the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services” and inserting “the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration or the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (as appropriate)”. (13) Section 1141 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-11) is amended— (A) by striking “Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; 108 STAT. 1485 (B) by striking “Secretary’s” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner’s”; (C) in the first sentence of subsection (a), by striking “under the direction of the Commissioner of Social Security,”; and (D) in subsection (d)(6), by striking “Department of Health Services” and inserting “Social Security Administration”. (14) Section 1155 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320c-4) is amended by striking “(to the same extent as is provided in section 205(b))” and all that follows and inserting “(to the same extent as beneficiaries under title II are entitled to a hearing by the Commissioner of Social Security under section 205(b)). For purposes of the preceding sentence, subsection (1) of section 205 shall apply, except that any reference in such subsection to the Commissioner of Social Security or the Social Security Administration shall be deemed a reference to the Secretary or the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively. Where the amount in controversy is $2,000 or more, such beneficiary shall be entitled to judicial review of any final decision relating to a reconsideration described in this subsection.”. (c) Amendments to Title XVIII.— (1) Section 1817 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i) is amended— (A) in subsection (a), by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; (B) in subsection (b), by inserting “the Commissioner of Social Security,” before “the Secretary of the Treasury”; and (C) in subsection (f), by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (2) Section 1840(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395s(a)) is amended— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking “Secretary” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”, and by adding at the end the following new sentence: “Such regulations shall be prescribed after consultation with the Secretary.”; and (B) in paragraph (2), by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (3) Section 1841(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395t) is amended by inserting “the Commissioner of Social Security,” before “the Secretary of the Treasury”. (4) Section 1872 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ii) is amended by inserting after “title 11” the following: “, except that, in applying such provisions with respect to this title, any reference therein to the Commissioner of Social Security or the Social Security Administration shall be considered a reference to the Secretary or the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively”. (5) Sections 1866(h)(1), 1869(b)(1), and 1881(g)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395cc(h)(l), 1395filb)(l), 1395rr(g)(3)) are amended by inserting after “section 205(g)” the following: “, except that, in so applying such sections and in applying section 205(1) thereto, any reference therein to the Commissioner of 108 STAT. 1486 Social Security or the Social Security Administration shall be considered a reference to the Secretary or the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively.” (6) Section 1876(c)(5)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395mm(c)(5)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “In applying sections 205(b) and 205(g) as provided in this subparagraph, and in applying section 205(1) thereto, any reference therein to the Commissioner of Social Security or the Social Security Administration shall be considered a reference to the Secretary or the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively.”. (d) Amendments to Title XIX.— (1) Section 1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XI) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)(10)(A)(ii)(XI)) is amended by striking “Secretary” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (2) Section 1905(j) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(j)) is amended by striking “Secretary” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (3) Section 1905(q)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(q)(2)) is amended by striking “Secretary” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (4) Section 1910(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396i(b)(2)) is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting after “section 205(g)” the following: “, except that, in so applying such sections and in applying section 205(1) thereto, any reference therein to the Commissioner of Social Security or the Social Security Administration shall be considered a reference to the Secretary or the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively”. (5) Section 1918 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396q) is amended by inserting after “title II” the following: “, except that, in so applying such subsections, and in applying section 205(1) thereto, with respect to this title, any reference therein to the Commissioner of Social Security or the Social Security Administration shall be considered a reference to the Secretary or the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively”. (e) Amendments to Title 5, United States Code.— Title 5, United States Code, is amended— (1) by adding at the end of section 5312 the following new item: “Commissioner of Social Security, Social Security Administration.”; (2) by adding at the end of section 5313 the following new item: “Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, Social Security Administration.”; (3) by adding at the end of section 5315 the following new item: “Inspector General, Social Security Administration.”; (4) by striking “Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare” each place it appears in section 8141 and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; and (5) by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” in section 8347(m)(3) and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (f) Amendments to Food Stamp Act of 1977.— 108 STAT. 1487 (1) Sections 6(c)(3) and 8(e)(6) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2015(c)(3) and 2017(e)(6)) are each amended by inserting “the Commissioner of Social Security and” before “the Secretary of Health and Human Services”. (2) Sections 6(g), 11(j), and 16(e) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2015(g), 2020(j), and 2025(e)) are each amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (3) Section 11(i) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2020(i)) is amended by adding “, the Commissioner of Social Security” after “the Secretary”. (g) Amendment to Title 14, United States Code.— Section 707(e)(3) of title 14, United States Code, is amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (h) Amendments to Internal Revenue Code of 1986.— (1) Subsections (c)(1), (c)(2)(E), (e)(2), (g)(1), (g)(2)(A), and (g)(2)(B) of section 1402 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 are amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (2) Section 3121(b)(10)(B) of such Code is amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (3) Section 3127 of such Code is amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (4) Section 6050F(c)(l)(A) of such Code is amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (5) Subsections (d) and (f) of section 6057 of such Code are amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (6) Section 6103(1)(5) of such Code is amended— (A) by striking “DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES” in the heading and inserting “SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION”; and (B) by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (7) Subsections (d)(3)(C) and (e) of section 6402 of such Code are amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (8) Section 6511(d)(5) of such Code is amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (9) (A) Subsections (b)(2) and (h) of section 9704 of such Code are amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (B) Section 9706 of such Code is amended— (i) by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; (ii) in such section as amended by clause (i), by striking “Secretary” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner”; and 108 STAT. 1488 (iii) in subsection (d)(3), by striking “Secretary’s” and inserting “Commissioner’s”, (i) Amendments to Black Lung Benefits Act.— (1) Section 402(c) of the Black Lung Benefits Act (30 U.S.C. 902(c)) is amended by striking “where used in part B” and all that follows through “part C” and inserting “where used in part C”. (2) Part B of such Act (30 U.S.C. 921 et seq.) is amended by striking “Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”, and by striking “Secretary” each place it otherwise appears in reference to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (3) Section 426 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 936) is amended— (A) in subsection (a), by striking “and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare” and inserting “, the Commissioner of Social Security, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services”; and (B) in subsection (b), by striking “the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare” and inserting “the Commissioner of Social Security”. (4) Section 435 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 945) is amended by striking “Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (5) Section 508 of such Act (30 U.S.C. 957) is amended by striking “the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare,” and inserting “the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of Social Security,”. (j) Amendments to Title 31, United States Code.— (1) Section 901(b)(2) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “(H) The Social Security Administration.”. (2) Section 3720A(f)(2) of such title is amended by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”. (k) Amendments to Title 38, United States Code.— Section 5105 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” each place it appears and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; and (2) by striking the second sentence of subsection (b) and inserting the following new sentence: “A copy of each such application filed with either the Secretary or the Commissioner, together with any additional information and supporting documents (or certifications thereof) which may have been received by the Secretary or the Commissioner with such application, and which may be needed by the other official in connection therewith, shall be transmitted by the Secretary or the Commissioner receiving the application to the other official.”. (l) Amendments to Inspector General Act of 1978.— (1) Section 9(a)(1) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— (A) by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (V); and (B) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 108 STAT. 1489 “(W) of the Social Security Administration, the functions of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services which are transferred to the Social Security Administration by the Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994 (other than functions performed pursuant to section 105(a)(2) of such Act), except that such transfers shall be made in accordance with the provisions of such Act and shall not be subject to subsections (b) through (d) of this section; and”. (2) Section 11 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting “; or the Commissioner of Social Security, Social Security Administration” before “; as the case may be”; and (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting “, or the Social Security Administration” before “; as the case may be”. (m) Section 505 of the Social Security Disability Amendments of 1980.— Section 505 of the Social Security Disability Amendments of 1980 is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking “Secretary of Health and Human Services” and inserting “Commissioner of Social Security”; (2) in subsection (a)(3), by amending the first sentence to read as follows: “In the case of any experiment or demonstration project under paragraph (1) which is initiated before June 10, 1996, the Commissioner may waive compliance with the benefit requirements of title II of the Social Security Act, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services may (upon the request of the Commissioner) waive compliance with the benefits requirements of title XVIII of such Act, insofar as is necessary for a thorough evaluation of the alternative methods under consideration.”; and (3) in subsections (a) and (c), by striking “Secretary” each place it otherwise appears and inserting “Commissioner”.