42 U.S.C. § 434 : US Code - Section 434: Demonstration project authority

Search 42 U.S.C. § 434 : US Code - Section 434: Demonstration project authority

(a) Authority
(1) In general
The Commissioner of Social Security (in this section referred
to as the "Commissioner") shall develop and carry out experiments
and demonstration projects designed to determine the relative
advantages and disadvantages of -
(A) various alternative methods of treating the work activity
of individuals entitled to disability insurance benefits under
section 423 of this title or to monthly insurance benefits
under section 402 of this title based on such individual's
disability (as defined in section 423(d) of this title),
including such methods as a reduction in benefits based on
earnings, designed to encourage the return to work of such
individuals;
(B) altering other limitations and conditions applicable to
such individuals (including lengthening the trial work period
(as defined in section 422(c) of this title), altering the 24-
month waiting period for hospital insurance benefits under
section 426 of this title, altering the manner in which the
program under this subchapter is administered, earlier referral
of such individuals for rehabilitation, and greater use of
employers and others to develop, perform, and otherwise
stimulate new forms of rehabilitation); and
(C) implementing sliding scale benefit offsets using
variations in -
(i) the amount of the offset as a proportion of earned
income;
(ii) the duration of the offset period; and
(iii) the method of determining the amount of income earned
by such individuals,
to the end that savings will accrue to the Trust Funds, or to
otherwise promote the objectives or facilitate the administration
of this subchapter.
(2) Authority for expansion of scope
The Commissioner may expand the scope of any such experiment or
demonstration project to include any group of applicants for
benefits under the program established under this subchapter with
impairments that reasonably may be presumed to be disabling for
purposes of such demonstration project, and may limit any such
demonstration project to any such group of applicants, subject to
the terms of such demonstration project which shall define the
extent of any such presumption.
(b) Requirements
The experiments and demonstration projects developed under
subsection (a) of this section shall be of sufficient scope and
shall be carried out on a wide enough scale to permit a thorough
evaluation of the alternative methods under consideration while
giving assurance that the results derived from the experiments and
projects will obtain generally in the operation of the disability
insurance program under this subchapter without committing such
program to the adoption of any particular system either locally or
nationally.
(c) Authority to waive compliance with benefits requirements
In the case of any experiment or demonstration project initiated
under subsection (a) of this section on or before December 17,
2005, the Commissioner may waive compliance with the benefit
requirements of this subchapter and the requirements of section
1320b-19 of this title as they relate to the program established
under this subchapter, and the Secretary may (upon the request of
the Commissioner) waive compliance with the benefits requirements
of subchapter XVIII of this chapter, insofar as is necessary for a
thorough evaluation of the alternative methods under consideration.
No such experiment or project shall be actually placed in operation
unless at least 90 days prior thereto a written report, prepared
for purposes of notification and information only and containing a
full and complete description thereof, has been transmitted by the
Commissioner to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and to the Committee on Finance of the Senate.
Periodic reports on the progress of such experiments and
demonstration projects shall be submitted by the Commissioner to
such committees. When appropriate, such reports shall include
detailed recommendations for changes in administration or law, or
both, to carry out the objectives stated in subsection (a) of this
section.
(d) Reports
(1) Interim reports
On or before June 9 of each year, the Commissioner shall submit
to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and to the Committee on Finance of the Senate an
annual interim report on the progress of the experiments and
demonstration projects carried out under this subsection (!1)
together with any related data and materials that the
Commissioner may consider appropriate.
(2) Termination and final report
The authority to initiate projects under the preceding
provisions of this section shall terminate on December 18, 2005.
Not later than 90 days after the termination of any experiment or
demonstration project carried out under this section, the
Commissioner shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of
the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Finance of
the Senate a final report with respect to that experiment or
demonstration project.