,,ii #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #aibi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #d1 #bjae,mr4 ,hatch 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,coats1 ,mr4 ,lankford1 and ,mr4 ,blunt7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,social ,security ,act to prevent disability fraud1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,disability ,fraud ,reduction and ,unethical ,deception 7,,fraud7 ,prevention ,act4 #b4 ,immediate suspension of claimant representatives upon felony convictions or disbarment ,section #bjf7;a77#a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #djf7;a77#a77 is amended-- 7#a7 in the third sentence1 by striking disbarred or each place it appears2 and 7#b7 by inserting after the third sentence the following3 ,upon conviction of an individual for a felony in a ,federal or ,state ,court or1 in the case of an attorney1 upon disbarment from any court or bar to which he or she was previously admitted to practice1 the ,commissioner may1 after due notice1 immediately disqualify or suspend the individual from appearing as a claimant representative before the ,social ,security ,administration1 pending an expedited hearing44 #c4 ,new and stronger penalties 7a7 ,conspiracy ,to commit ,social ,security fraud 7#a7 ,amendment to title ,,ii ,section #bjh7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #djh7;a77 is amended-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#g77;,c71 by striking or at the end2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#h71 by adding or at the end2 and 7,c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#h7 the following3 7#i7 conspires to commit any offense described in any of paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#h71 4 7#b7 ,amendment to title ,,viii ,section #haa7;a7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ajaa7;a77 is amended-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#c71 by striking or at the end2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#d71 by striking the comma and adding 2 or at the end2 and 7,c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#d7 the following3 7#e7 conspires to commit any offense described in any of paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#d71 4 7#c7 ,amendment to title ,,xvi ,section #afcb7;a7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #achc;a7a77 is amended-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#c71 by striking or at the end2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#d71 by adding or at the end2 and 7,c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#d7 the following3 7#e7 conspires to commit any offense described in any of paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#d71 4 7b7 ,increased criminal penalties for certain individuals violating positions of trust 7#a7 ,amendment to title ,,ii ,section #bjh7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #djh7;a771 as amended by subsection 7a71 is further amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 1 except that in the case of a person who receives a fee or other income for services performed in connection with any determination with respect to benefits under this title 7including a claimant representative1 translator1 or current or former employee of the ,social ,security ,administration71 or who is a physician or other health care provider who submits1 or causes the submission of1 medical or other evidence in connection with any such determination1 such person shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined under title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or imprisoned for not more than ten years1 or both44 7#b7 ,amendment to title ,,viii ,section #haa7;a7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ajaa7;a771 as amended by subsection 7a71 is further amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 1 except that in the case of a person who receives a fee or other income for services performed in connection with any determination with respect to benefits under this title 7including a claimant representative1 translator1 or current or former employee of the ,social ,security ,administration71 or who is a physician or other health care provider who submits1 or causes the submission of1 medical or other evidence in connection with any such determination1 such person shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined under title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or imprisoned for not more than ten years1 or both44 7#c7 ,amendment to title ,,xvi ,section #afcb7;a7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #achc;a7a771 as amended by subsection 7a71 is further amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 1 except that in the case of a person who receives a fee or other income for services performed in connection with any determination with respect to benefits under this title 7including a claimant representative1 translator1 or current or former employee of the ,social ,security ,administration71 or who is a physician or other health care provider who submits1 or causes the submission of1 medical or other evidence in connection with any such determination1 such person shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined under title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or imprisoned for not more than ten years1 or both44 7c7 ,increased civil monetary penalties for certain individuals violating positions of trust ,section #aabi7;a77#a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;a-#h7;a77#a77 is amended1 in the matter following subparagraph 7,c71 by inserting after withholding disclosure of such fact the following3 1 except that in the case of such a person who receives a fee or other income for services performed in connection with any such determination 7including a claimant representative1 translator1 or current or former employee of the ,social ,security ,administration7 or who is a physician or other health care provider who submits1 or causes the submission of1 medical or other evidence in connection with any such determination1 the amount of such penalty shall be not more than #g1ejj4 7d7 ,establishment of sanctions for violations by claimant representatives ,section #bjf7;a77#a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #djf7;a77#a77 is amended by inserting after or who violates any provision of this section for which a penalty is prescribed4 the following3 ,the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall establish rules under which fines and other sanctions the ,commissioner determines to be appropriate may be imposed and collected for failure to comply with the ,commissioner's rules and regulations44 7e7 ,civil monetary penalty on claimant representatives ,section #aabi7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;a-#h7;a77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#d7 ,any person 7including an organization1 agency1 or other entity7 who1 while acting as a claimant representative pursuant to section #bjf1 knowingly charges1 demands1 receives1 or collects for services rendered in excess of the maximum fee prescribed by the ,commissioner of ,social ,security or allowed by a court in connection with proceedings before the court to which section #bjf7;b77#a7 is applicable1 shall be subject to1 in addition to any other penalties that may be prescribed by law1 a civil monetary penalty of not more than #g1ejj for each violation4 ,such person shall also be subject to an assessment1 in lieu of damages sustained by the ,united ,states resulting from the improper payment1 of not more than twice the amount of any payments so received4 4 7f7 ,inflation adjustment of certain civil monetary penalties ,title ,,xi of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acja et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #aabi;,b the following3 #aabi;,c4 ,civil monetary penalty inflation adjustment 7a7 ,adjustment by regulation ,the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall1 not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of the ,disability ,fraud ,reduction and ,unethical ,deception 7,,fraud7 ,prevention ,act1 and at least once every #d years thereafter-- 7#a7 by regulation adjust the maximum amount of each civil monetary penalty by the inflation adjustment described under subsection 7b72 and 7#b7 publish each such regulation in the ,federal ,register4 7b7 ,amount of adjustment ,the inflation adjustment under subsection 7a7 shall be determined by increasing the maximum amount of each civil monetary penalty by the cost-of-living adjustment4 ,any increase determined under this subsection shall be rounded to the nearest-- 7#a7 multiple of #a1jjj in the case of penalties greater than #a1jjj but less than or equal to #aj1jjj2 and 7#b7 multiple of #e1jjj in the case of penalties greater than #aj1jjj but less than or equal to #ajj1jjj4 7c7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section-- 7#a7 the term civil monetary penalty means-- 7,a7 a penalty imposed by paragraph 7#a71 7#c71 or 7#d7 of section #aabi7;a72 and 7,b7 a penalty imposed by paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 of section #aadj7;b72 and 7#b7 the term cost-of-living adjustment means the percentage 7if any7 for each civil monetary penalty by which-- 7,a7 the ,consumer ,price ,index for all ,urban ,consumers 7,,cpi-,u7 for the month of ,june of the calendar year preceding the adjustment1 exceeds 7,b7 the ,,cpi-,u for the month of ,june of the calendar year in which the amount of such civil monetary penalty was last set or adjusted pursuant to law4 7d7 ,application of increase ,any increase under this ,act in a civil monetary penalty shall apply only to violations which occur after the date the increase takes effect4 4 7g7 ,mandatory restitution in ,social ,security fraud cases 7#a7 ,amendments to title ,,ii ,section #bjh7;b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #djh7;b77 is amended-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking may order and inserting shall order2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by striking #cffc and inserting #cffc;,a2 7,c7 by striking paragraph 7#c72 and 7,d7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#d7 and 7#e7 as paragraphs 7#c7 and 7#d71 respectively4 7#b7 ,amendments to title ,,viii ,section #haa7;b7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ajaa7;b77 is amended-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking may order and inserting shall order2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by striking #cffc and inserting #cffc;,a2 7,c7 by striking paragraph 7#c72 and 7,d7 by redesignating paragraph 7#d7 as paragraph 7#c74 7#c7 ,amendments to title ,,xvi ,section #afcb7;b7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #achc;a7b77 is amended-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking may order and inserting shall order2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by striking #cffc and inserting #cffc;,a2 7,c7 by striking paragraph 7#c72 and 7,d7 by redesignating paragraph 7#d7 as paragraph 7#c74 7#d7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#c7 shall apply with respect to violations occurring on or after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7h7 ,no benefits payable to individuals for whom a civil monetary penalty is imposed for fraudulently concealing work activity ,section #bbb7;c77#e7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dbb7;c77#e77 is amended by inserting after conviction by a ,federal court the following3 1 or the imposition of a civil monetary penalty under section #aabi14 7i7 ,improved collection of civil money penalties and assessments ,section #aabi7;e7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;a-#h7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 as paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c71 respectively2 7#b7 by inserting before paragraph 7#b7 the following3 7#a7 ,civil money penalties and assessments imposed under this section may be compromised by the ,commissioner of ,social ,security4 2 and 7#c7 in paragraph 7#b7 7as redesignated by paragraph 7#a7 of this section71 by striking ,civil money penalties and assessments imposed under this section may be compromised by the ,commissioner of ,social ,security and may be recovered-- and inserting ,to the extent that the ,commissioner of ,social ,security determines to seek recovery of a civil money penalty or assessment imposed under this section1 the ,commissioner shall promptly seek such recovery--4 #d4 ,review of highest-earning claimant representatives ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act and biennially thereafter1 the ,inspector ,general of the ,social ,security ,administration shall conduct biennial reviews of the practices of a sample of the highest earning claimant representatives to ensure compliance with the policies of the ,social ,security ,administration4