Fee Cap Legislation Introduced

Representative John Lewis of Georgia has introduced H.R. 7285 on Social Security attorney fees. Here is the relevant language of the bill:

(a) In General- Section 206(a)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 406(a)(2)(A)) is amended--

(1) in clause (ii)(II), by striking `$4,000' and inserting `$6,264.50'; and

(2) in the matter following clause (iii), by striking `The Commissioner of Social Security may' and all that follows through `such date.' and inserting the following: `The Commissioner of Social Security shall adjust annually (after 2008) the dollar amount set forth in subclause (II) of clause (ii) under procedures providing for adjustments in the same manner and to the same extent as adjustments are provided for under section 215(I)(2)(A), except that any amount so adjusted that is not a multiple of $0.10 shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.10.'.

(b) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to fees to be recovered to compensate for services with respect to claims of entitlement to past-due benefits presented to the Commissioner of Social Security on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

It is way too late for action on the bill in this Congress, but Representative Lewis will presumably reintroduce the bill in the next Congress, which convenes on January 3.

Update: By the way, is Lewis' sponsorship of this bill a sign that he is interested in becoming the new Chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee? Lewis has been the Chairman of the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee.