P.L. 103-432 (B) the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives; (C) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives; (E) the Committee on Finance of the Senate; (F) the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate; and (G) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate. (c) ADVISORY BOARD ON WELFARE INDICATORS . (1) ESTABLISHMENT.-There is established an Advisory Board on Welfare Indicators (in this subsection referred to as the "Board"). (2) COMPOSITION.-The Board shall be composed of 12 members with equal numbers to be appointed by the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President. The Board shall be composed of experts in the fields of welfare research and welfare statistical methodology, representatives of State and local welfare agencies, and organizations concerned with welfare issues. (3) VACANCIES.-Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the Board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the position being vacated. The vacancy shall not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the duties of the Board. (4) DUTIES.-Duties of the Board shall include (A) providing advice and recommendations to the Secretary on the development of indicators of the rate at which and, to the extent feasible, the degree to which, families depend on income from welfare programs and the duration of welfare receipt; and (B) providing advice on the development and presentation of annual reports required under subsection (d). (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.-Members of the Board shall not be compensated, but shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, for each day the member is engaged in the performance of duties away from the home or regular place of business of the member. (6) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.-The Secretary shall detail, without reimbursement, any of the personnel of the Department of Health and Human Services to the Board to assist the Board in carrying out its duties. Any detail shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service status or privileges of the Federal employee. (7) VOLUNTARY SERVICE.-Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Board may accept the voluntary services provided by a member of the Board. (8) TERMINATION OF BOARD.-The Board shall be terminated at such time as the Secretary determines the duties described in paragraph (4) have been completed, but in any case prior to the submission of the first report required under subsection (d). (d) ANNUAL WELFARE INDICATORS REPORT.— (1) PREPARATION.-The Secretary shall prepare annual reports on welfare receipt in the United States. (2) COVERAGE.-The report shall include analysis of families and individuals receiving assistance under means-tested benefit programs, including the program of aid to families with dependent children under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the food stamp program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), and the Supplemental Security Income program under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), or as general assistance under programs administered by State and local governments. (3) CONTENTS.-Each report shall set forth for each of the means-tested benefit programs described in paragraph (2)— (A) indicators of (i) the rate at which and, to the extent feasible, the degree to which, families depend on income from welfare programs, and (ii) the duration of welfare receipt; (B) trends in indicators; (C) predictors of welfare receipt; (D) the causes of welfare receipt; P.L. 103-432 (E) patterns of multiple program receipt; (F) such other information as the Secretary deems relevant; and (G) such recommendations for legislation, which shall not include proposals to reduce eligibility levels or impose barriers to program access, as the Secretary may determine to be necessary or desirable to reduce (i) the rate at which and the degree to which families depend on income from welfare programs, and (ii) the duration of welfare receipt. (4) SUBMISSION.-The Secretary shall submit such a report not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter, to the committees specified in subsection (b)(3). Each such report shall be transmitted during the first 60 days of each regular session of Congress. (e) SHORT TITLE.-This section may be cited as the "Welfare Indicators Act of 1994". SEC. 233. [42 U.S.C. 602 note] NEW HOPE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. (a) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the "Secretary") shall provide for a demonstration project for a qualified program to be conducted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in accordance with this section. (b) PAYMENTS.-For each calendar quarter in which there is a qualified program approved under this subsection, the Secretary shall pay to the operator of the qualified program, for no more than 20 calendar quarters, an amount equal to the aggregate amount that would otherwise have been payable to the State with respect to participants in the program for such calendar quarter, in the absence of the program, for cash assistance and child care under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, for medical assistance under title XIX of such Act, and for administrative expenses related to such assistance. The amount payable to the operator of the program under this section shall not include the costs of evaluating the effects of the program. (c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT DESCRIBED.-For purposes of this section, the term "qualified program” means a program operated (1) by The New Hope Project, Inc., a private, not-for-profit corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Wisconsin (in this section referred to as the "operator"), which offers low-income residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, employment, wage supplements, child care, health care, and counseling and training for job retention or advancement; and (2) in accordance with an application submitted by the operator of the program and approved by the Secretary based on the Secretary's determination that the application satisfies the requirements of subsection (d). (d) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.-The operator of the qualified program shall provide, in its application to conduct a demonstration project for the program, that the following terms and conditions will be met: (1) The operator will develop and implement an evaluation plan designed to provide valid and reliable information on the impact and implementation of the program. The evaluation plan will include adequately sized groups of project participants and control groups assigned at random. (2) The operator will develop and implement a plan addressing the services and assistance to be provided by the program, the timing and determination of payments from the Secretary to the operator of the program, and the roles and responsibilities of the Secretary and the operator with respect to meeting the requirements of this paragraph. (3) The operator will specify a reliable methodology for determining expenditures to be paid to the operator by the Secretary, with assistance from the Secretary in calculating the amount that would otherwise have been payable to the State in the absence of the program, pursuant to subsection (b). (4) The operator will issue an interim and final report on the results of the evaluation described in paragraph (1) to the Secretary at such times as required by the Secretary. P.L. 104-121 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.-This section shall take effect on the first day of the first calendar quarter that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act. [Internal References.-S.S. Act titles IV and XI and §§1114 and 1137 catchlines have footnotes referring to P.L. 103-432.] P.L. 104-121, Approved March 29, 1996 (110 Stat. 850) Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 (d) [42 USC 401 note] USE OF FUNDS AND REPORTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.-The Commissioner of Social Security shall ensure that funds made available for continuing disability reviews (as defined in section 201(g)(1XA) of the Social Security Act) are used, to the greatest extent practicable, to maximize the combined savings in the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance, supplemental security income, Medicare, and medicaid programs, except that the amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization and discretionary spending allowance provisions in section 211(d)(2)(5) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 shall be used only for continuing disability reviews and redeterminations under title XVI of the Social Security Act. (2) REPORT.-The Commissioner of Social Security shall provide annually (at the conclusion of each of the fiscal years 1996 through 2002) to the Congress a report on continuing disability reviews which includes (A) the amount spent on continuing disability reviews in the fiscal year covered by the report, and the number of reviews conducted, by category of review; (B) the results of the continuing disability reviews in terms of cessations of benefits or determinations of continuing eligibility, by program; and (C) the estimated savings over the short-, medium-, and long-term to the oldage, survivors, and disability insurance, supplemental security income, Medicare, and medicaid programs from continuing disability reviews which result in cessations of benefits and the estimated present value of such savings. SEC. 106. [42 USC 402 note] PILOT STUDY OF EFFICACY OF PROVIDING INDIVIDUALIZED INFORMATION TO RECIPIENTS OF OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE BENEFITS (a) IN GENERAL.-During a 2-year period beginning as soon as practicable in 1996, the Commissioner of Social Security shall conduct a pilot study of the efficacy of providing certain individualized information to recipients of monthly insurance benefits under section 202 of the Social Security Act, designed to promote better understanding of their contributions and benefits under the social security system. The study shall involve solely beneficiaries whose entitlement to such benefits first occurred in or after 1984 and who have remained entitled to such benefits for a continuous period of not less than 5 years. The number of such recipients involved in the study shall be of sufficient size to generate a statistically valid sample for purposes of the study, but shall not exceed 600,000 beneficiaries. P.L. 104-121 (b) ANNUALIZED STATEMENTS.-During the course of the study, the Commissioner shall provide to each of the beneficiaries involved in the study one annualized statement, setting forth the following information: (1) an estimate of the aggregate wages and self-employment income earned by the individual on whose wages and self-employment income the benefit is based, as shown on the records of the Commissioner as of the end of the last calendar year ending prior to the beneficiary's first month of entitlement; (2) an estimate of the aggregate of the employee and self-employment contributions, and the aggregate of the employer contributions (separately identified), made with respect to the wages and self-employment income on which the benefit is based, as shown on the records of the Commissioner as of the end of the calendar year preceding the beneficiary's first month of entitlement; and (3) an estimate of the total amount paid as benefits under section 202 of the Social Security Act based on such wages and self-employment income, as shown on the records of the Commissioner as of the end of the last calendar year preceding the issuance of the statement for which complete information is available. (c) INCLUSION WITH MATTER OTHERWISE DISTRIBUTED TO BENEFICIARIES.-The Commissioner shall ensure that reports provided pursuant to this section are, to the maximum extent practicable, included with other reports currently provided to beneficiaries on an annual basis. (d) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.-The Commissioner shall report to each House of the Congress regarding the results of the pilot study conducted pursuant to this section not later than 60 days after the completion of such study. SEC. 107. [42 USC 1320b-15] PROTECTION OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE TRUST FUNDS (a) IN GENERAL.-No officer or employee of the United States shall (1) delay the deposit of any amount into (or delay the credit of any amount to) any Federal fund or otherwise vary from the normal terms, procedures, or timing for making such deposits or credits, (2) refrain from the investment in public debt obligations of amounts in any Federal fund, or (3) redeem prior to maturity amounts in any Federal fund which are invested in public debt obligations for any purpose other than the payment of benefits or administrative expenses from such Federal fund. (b) PUBLIC DEBT OBLIGATION.-For purposes of this section, the term "public debt obligation" means any obligation subject to the public debt limit established under section 3101 of title 31, United States Code. (c) FEDERAL FUND.-For purposes of this section, the term "Federal fund" means (1) the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund; (2) the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund; (3) the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund; and (4) the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. [Internal References.-S.S. Act Titles II and XVIII catchlines and §§201(g) and 202(a) catchline have footnotes referring to P.L. 104-121.] P.L. 104-134, Approved April 26, 1996, (110 Stat. 1321-246) Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 1996 * * SEC. 516. SURVEY AND CERTIFICATION OF MEDICARE PROVIDERS P.L. 104-191 (d) [42 U.S.C. 1395i-3 note] STUDY AND REPORT ON DEEMING FOR NURSING FACILITIES AND RENAL DIALYSIS FACILITIES.— (1) STUDY.-The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide for(A) a study concerning the effectiveness and appropriateness of the current mechanisms for surveying and certifying skilled nursing facilities for compliance with the conditions and requirements of sections 1819 and 1861(j) of the Social Security Act and nursing facilities for compliance with the conditions of section 1919 of such Act, and (B) a study concerning the effectiveness and appropriateness of the current mechanisms for surveying and certifying renal dialysis facilities for compliance with the conditions and requirements of section 1881(b) of the Social Security Act. (2) REPORT.-Not later than July 1, 1997, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report on each of the studies provided for under paragraph (1). The report on the study under paragraph (1)(A) shall include (and the report on the study under paragraph (1)(B) may include) a specific framework, where appropriate, for implementing a process under which facilities covered under the respective study may be deemed to meet applicable medicare conditions and requirements if they are accredited by a national accreditation body. * [Internal Reference.—S.S. Act title XVIII catchline has a footnote referring to P.L. 104-134.] P.L. 104-191, Approved August 21, 1996, (110 Stat. 1998) SEC. 216. ADDITIONAL EXCEPTION TO ANTI-KICKBACK PENALTIES FOR RISK-SHARING ARRANGEMENTS (b) [42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b note] NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING FOR RISK-SHARING EXCEPTION. (1) ESTABLISHMENT. (A) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this subsection referred to as the "Secretary") shall establish, on an expedited basis and using a negotiated rulemaking process under subchapter 3 of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, standards relating to the exception for risk-sharing arrangements to the anti-kickback penalties described in section 1128B(b)(3)(F) of the Social Security Act, as added by subsection (a). (B) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.-In establishing standards relating to the exception for risk-sharing arrangements to the anti-kickback penalties under subparagraph (A), the Secretary (i) shall consult with the Attorney General and representatives of the hospital, physician, other health practitioner, and health plan communities, and other interested parties; and (ii) shall take into account (I) the level of risk appropriate to the size and type of arrangement; (II) the frequency of assessment distribution of incentives; |