Social Security Benefits Fairness Act of 2007

H.R.69: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the 5-month waiting period for entitlement to disability benefits and to eliminate reconsideration as an intervening step between initial benefit entitlement decisions and subsequent hearings on the record on such decisions. H.R.82: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the Government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions. H.R.93: To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to protect Social Security beneficiaries against any reduction in benefits. H.R.149: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation upon the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while receiving benefits under such title, and for other purposes. H.R.191: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the inclusion in gross income of Social Security benefits. H.R.192: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in taxes on Social Security benefits. H.R.279: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for Congressional oversight and approval of totalization agreements. H.R.288: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for an improved benefit computation formula for workers affected by the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977 who attain age 65 during the 10-year period after 1981 and before 1992 (and related beneficiaries) and to provide prospectively for increases in their benefits accordingly. H.R.340: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to allow remarried widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses to become or remain entitled to widow's or widower's insurance benefits if the prior marriage was for at least 10 years. H.R.341: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for payment of lump-sum death payments upon the death of a spouse. H.R.368: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to allow workers who attain age 65 after 1981 and before 1992 to choose either lump sum payments over four years totalling $5,000 or an improved benefit computation formula under a new 10-year rule governing the transition to the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977, and for other purposes. H.R.581: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to establish a Social Security Surplus Protection Account in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund to hold the Social Security surplus, to provide for suspension of investment of amounts held in the Account until enactment of legislation providing for investment of the Trust Fund in investment vehicles other than obligations of the United States, and to establish a Social Security Investment Commission to make recommendations for alternative forms of investment of the Social Security surplus in the Trust Fund. H.R.709: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to restrict totalization agreements between the United States and other countries to providing for appropriate exchange of Social Security taxes or contributions between the parties to such agreements, and to prohibit crediting of individuals under such title with earnings from employment or self-employment in the United States performed while such individuals are not citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents of the United States and are not authorized by law to be employed in the United States. H.R.726: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from benefits under such title and other monthly periodic payments exceeds a minimum COLA-adjusted amount of $2,500 and to provide for a graduated implementation of such provision on amounts above such minimum amount. H.R.732: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to reduce from 10 to 5 the number of years of marriage prior to divorce required for a divorced spouse to be eligible for benefits under such title. H.R.1090: To amend the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to preserve and strengthen the Social Security Program through the creation of personal Social Security guarantee accounts ensuring full benefits for all workers and their families, restoring long-term Social Security solvency, to make certain benefit improvements, and for other purposes. H.R.1158: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the two-year waiting period for divorced spouse's benefits following the divorce. H.R.1160: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for increases in widow's and widower's insurance benefits by reason of delayed retirement. H.R.1161: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit prospectively individuals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five years of such service. H.R.1322: To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide emergency protection for retiree health benefits. H.R.1349: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in income taxes on Social Security benefits. H.R.1380: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide that a monthly insurance benefit thereunder shall be paid for the month in which the recipient dies, subject to a reduction of 50 percent if the recipient dies during the first 15 days of such month, and for other purposes. H.R.2032: To require the establishment of a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers to compute cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits under titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act. H.R.2103: To amend title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, in the case of airline pilots who are required by regulation to retire at age 60, to compute the actuarial value of monthly benefits in the form of a life annuity commencing at age 60. H.R.2167: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employees not covered by qualified retirement plans to save for retirement through automatic payroll deposit IRAs, to facilitate similar saving by the self-employed, and for other purposes. H.R.2355: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the authority for penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans by military reservists or national guardsmen called to active duty for extended periods. H.R. 2461: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit distributions from individual retirement plans to be contributed to 529 plans without including the distribution in gross income. H.R.2591:To amend part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to limit the penalty for late enrollment under part B of the Medicare Program to 10 percent and twice the period of no enrollment, and to exclude periods of COBRA and retiree coverage from such late enrollment penalty. H.R. 2657: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to ensure that employees are not improperly disqualified from benefits under pension plans and welfare plans based on the misclassification or reclassification of their status. H.R.2683: To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require in the annual report of each defined benefit pension plan disclosure of plan investments in hedge funds. H.R.2831: To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes. H.R. 3088: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that distributions from an individual retirement plan, a section 401(k) plan, a section 403(b) contract, or a section 457 plan shall not be includible in gross income to the extent used to pay long-term care insurance premiums. HR. 3185: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide special reporting and disclosure rules for individual account plans and to establish in the Department of Labor an Advisory Council on Improving Employer-Employee Retirement Practices. H.R. 3361: A bill to make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. H.R. 3765: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide transparency with respect to fees and expenses charged to participant-directed defined contribution plans. H.R. 3868: to provide an orderly transition to new requirements, and for other purposes. H.R. 4061: To allow employees of a commercial passenger airline carrier who receive payments in a bankruptcy proceeding to roll over such payments into an individual retirement plan, and for other purposes. H.R. 4150: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage guaranteed lifetime income payments by excluding from income a portion of such payments. H.R. 4807: To amend the Social Security Act to protect Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) H.R.5160: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage retirement savings by modifying requirements with respect to employer-established IRAs, and for other purposes. H.R.6382 To make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and for other purposes. HR 6708: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that no loan may be made from a qualified employer plan using revolving credit arrangements and to limit the number of loans that may be made from a qualified employer plan to a participant or beneficiary. S.43: A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to preserve and protect Social Security benefits of American workers and to help ensure greater congressional oversight of the Social Security system by requiring that both Houses of Congress approve a totalization agreement before the agreement, giving foreign workers Social Security benefits, can go into effect. S.137: A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide additional beneficiary protections. S.190: A bill to provide a technical correction to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. S.191: A bill to provide relief for all air carriers with pension plans that are not frozen pension plans. S.355: A bill to establish a National Commission on Entitlement Solvency. S.1010: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage guaranteed lifetime income payments from annuities and similar payments of life insurance proceeds at dates later than death by excluding from income a portion of such payments. S.1141: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employees not covered by qualified retirement plans to save for retirement through automatic payroll deposit IRAs, to facilitate similar saving by the self-employed, and for other purposes. S.1254: A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide that the reductions in social security benefits which are required in the case of spouses and surviving spouses who are also receiving certain government pensions shall be equal to the amount by which two-thirds of the total amount of the combined monthly benefit (before reduction) and monthly pension exceeds $1,200, adjusted for inflation. S.1270: A bill to amend title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, in the case of airline pilots who are required by regulation to retire at age 60, to compute the actuarial value of monthly benefits in the form of a life annuity commencing at age 60. S.1288: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to increase the retirement security of women and small business owners, and for other purposes. S.1533: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow certain coins to be acquired by individual retirement accounts and other individually directed pension plan accounts, and for other purposes. S.1636: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for individuals called to active duty for at least 179 days. S. 1725: to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and title 5, U.S. Code, to improve the protection of pension benefits, and for other purposes. S. 1809: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that distributions from an individual retirement plan, a section 401(k) plan, a section 403(b) contract, or a section 457 plan shall not be includible in gross income to the extent used to pay long-term care insurance premiums. S.1843: A bill to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to clarify that an unlawful practice occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes. S.1947: A bill to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to improve the quality improvement organization (QIO) program. S. 1974: A bill to make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. S. 2184: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for individuals called to active duty for at least 179 days. S. 2201: to provide for the penalty-free use of retirement funds for mortgage delinquency relief. S. 2473: to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide special reporting and disclosure rules for individual account plans and for other purposes. S.2501: A bill to amend the Social Security Act to protect Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA). S. 2505: to allow employees of a commercial passenger airline carrier who receive payments in a bankruptcy proceeding to roll over such payments into an individual retirement plan, and for other purposes. S.2570: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to authorize waivers by the Commissioner of Social Security of the 5-month waiting period for entitlement to benefits based on disability in cases in which the Commissioner determines that such waiting period would cause undue hardship to terminally ill beneficiaries. S. 2765: To strengthen and permanently preserve Social Security. S.2794: A bill to protect older Americans from misleading and fraudulent marketing practices, with the goal of increasing retirement security. S.3219: A bill to enhance penalties for violations of securities protections that involve targeting seniors. S.3278: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that no loan may be made from a qualified employer plan using a credit card or other intermediary and to limit the number of loans that may be made from a qualified employer plan to a participant or beneficiary. S.Res.601: To designate Oct. 19-25, 2008, as ''National Save for Retirement Week.''

Client expense: $470,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Commerce, Dept of (DOC), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Labor, Dept of (DOL), SENATE, State, Dept of (DOS), Treasury, Dept of, U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)

H.R.69: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the 5-month waiting period for entitlement to disability benefits and to eliminate reconsideration as an intervening step between initial benefit entitlement decisions and subsequent hearings on the record on such decisions. H.R.82: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the Government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions. H.R.93: To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to protect Social Security beneficiaries against any reduction in benefits. H.R.149: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation upon the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while receiving benefits under such title, and for other purposes. H.R.191: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the inclusion in gross income of Social Security benefits. H.R.192: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in taxes on Social Security benefits. H.R.279: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for Congressional oversight and approval of totalization agreements. H.R.288: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for an improved benefit computation formula for workers affected by the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977 who attain age 65 during the 10-year period after 1981 and before 1992 (and related beneficiaries) and to provide prospectively for increases in their benefits accordingly. H.R.340: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to allow remarried widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses to become or remain entitled to widow's or widower's insurance benefits if the prior marriage was for at least 10 years. H.R.341: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for payment of lump-sum death payments upon the death of a spouse. H.R.368: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to allow workers who attain age 65 after 1981 and before 1992 to choose either lump sum payments over four years totalling $5,000 or an improved benefit computation formula under a new 10-year rule governing the transition to the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977, and for other purposes. H.R.581: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to establish a Social Security Surplus Protection Account in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund to hold the Social Security surplus, to provide for suspension of investment of amounts held in the Account until enactment of legislation providing for investment of the Trust Fund in investment vehicles other than obligations of the United States, and to establish a Social Security Investment Commission to make recommendations for alternative forms of investment of the Social Security surplus in the Trust Fund. H.R.709: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to restrict totalization agreements between the United States and other countries to providing for appropriate exchange of Social Security taxes or contributions between the parties to such agreements, and to prohibit crediting of individuals under such title with earnings from employment or self-employment in the United States performed while such individuals are not citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents of the United States and are not authorized by law to be employed in the United States. H.R.726: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from benefits under such title and other monthly periodic payments exceeds a minimum COLA-adjusted amount of $2,500 and to provide for a graduated implementation of such provision on amounts above such minimum amount. H.R.732: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to reduce from 10 to 5 the number of years of marriage prior to divorce required for a divorced spouse to be eligible for benefits under such title. H.R.1090: To amend the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to preserve and strengthen the Social Security Program through the creation of personal Social Security guarantee accounts ensuring full benefits for all workers and their families, restoring long-term Social Security solvency, to make certain benefit improvements, and for other purposes. H.R.1158: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the two-year waiting period for divorced spouse's benefits following the divorce. H.R.1160: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for increases in widow's and widower's insurance benefits by reason of delayed retirement. H.R.1161: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit prospectively individuals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five years of such service. H.R.1322: To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide emergency protection for retiree health benefits. H.R.1349: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in income taxes on Social Security benefits. H.R.1380: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide that a monthly insurance benefit thereunder shall be paid for the month in which the recipient dies, subject to a reduction of 50 percent if the recipient dies during the first 15 days of such month, and for other purposes. H.R.2032: To require the establishment of a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers to compute cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits under titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act. H.R.2103: To amend title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, in the case of airline pilots who are required by regulation to retire at age 60, to compute the actuarial value of monthly benefits in the form of a life annuity commencing at age 60. H.R.2167: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employees not covered by qualified retirement plans to save for retirement through automatic payroll deposit IRAs, to facilitate similar saving by the self-employed, and for other purposes. H.R.2355: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the authority for penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans by military reservists or national guardsmen called to active duty for extended periods. H.R. 2461: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit distributions from individual retirement plans to be contributed to 529 plans without including the distribution in gross income. H.R.2591:To amend part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to limit the penalty for late enrollment under part B of the Medicare Program to 10 percent and twice the period of no enrollment, and to exclude periods of COBRA and retiree coverage from such late enrollment penalty. H.R. 2657: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to ensure that employees are not improperly disqualified from benefits under pension plans and welfare plans based on the misclassification or reclassification of their status. H.R.2683: To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require in the annual report of each defined benefit pension plan disclosure of plan investments in hedge funds. H.R.2831: To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes. H.R. 3088: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that distributions from an individual retirement plan, a section 401(k) plan, a section 403(b) contract, or a section 457 plan shall not be includible in gross income to the extent used to pay long-term care insurance premiums. HR. 3185: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide special reporting and disclosure rules for individual account plans and to establish in the Department of Labor an Advisory Council on Improving Employer-Employee Retirement Practices. H.R. 3361: A bill to make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. H.R. 3765: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide transparency with respect to fees and expenses charged to participant-directed defined contribution plans. H.R. 3868: to provide an orderly transition to new requirements, and for other purposes. H.R. 4061: To allow employees of a commercial passenger airline carrier who receive payments in a bankruptcy proceeding to roll over such payments into an individual retirement plan, and for other purposes. H.R. 4150: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage guaranteed lifetime income payments by excluding from income a portion of such payments. H.R. 4807: To amend the Social Security Act to protect Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) H.R.5160: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage retirement savings by modifying requirements with respect to employer-established IRAs, and for other purposes. H.R.6382 To make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and for other purposes. S.43: A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to preserve and protect Social Security benefits of American workers and to help ensure greater congressional oversight of the Social Security system by requiring that both Houses of Congress approve a totalization agreement before the agreement, giving foreign workers Social Security benefits, can go into effect. S.137: A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide additional beneficiary protections. S.190: A bill to provide a technical correction to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. S.191: A bill to provide relief for all air carriers with pension plans that are not frozen pension plans. S.355: A bill to establish a National Commission on Entitlement Solvency. S.1010: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage guaranteed lifetime income payments from annuities and similar payments of life insurance proceeds at dates later than death by excluding from income a portion of such payments. S.1141: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employees not covered by qualified retirement plans to save for retirement through automatic payroll deposit IRAs, to facilitate similar saving by the self-employed, and for other purposes. S.1254: A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide that the reductions in social security benefits which are required in the case of spouses and surviving spouses who are also receiving certain government pensions shall be equal to the amount by which two-thirds of the total amount of the combined monthly benefit (before reduction) and monthly pension exceeds $1,200, adjusted for inflation. S.1270: A bill to amend title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, in the case of airline pilots who are required by regulation to retire at age 60, to compute the actuarial value of monthly benefits in the form of a life annuity commencing at age 60. S.1288: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to increase the retirement security of women and small business owners, and for other purposes. S.1533: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow certain coins to be acquired by individual retirement accounts and other individually directed pension plan accounts, and for other purposes. S.1636: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for individuals called to active duty for at least 179 days. S. 1725: to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and title 5, U.S. Code, to improve the protection of pension benefits, and for other purposes. S. 1809: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that distributions from an individual retirement plan, a section 401(k) plan, a section 403(b) contract, or a section 457 plan shall not be includible in gross income to the extent used to pay long-term care insurance premiums. S.1843: A bill to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to clarify that an unlawful practice occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes. S.1947: A bill to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to improve the quality improvement organization (QIO) program. S. 1974: A bill to make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. S. 2184: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for individuals called to active duty for at least 179 days. S. 2201: to provide for the penalty-free use of retirement funds for mortgage delinquency relief. S. 2473: to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide special reporting and disclosure rules for individual account plans and for other purposes. S.2501: A bill to amend the Social Security Act to protect Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA). S. 2505: to allow employees of a commercial passenger airline carrier who receive payments in a bankruptcy proceeding to roll over such payments into an individual retirement plan, and for other purposes. S.2570: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to authorize waivers by the Commissioner of Social Security of the 5-month waiting period for entitlement to benefits based on disability in cases in which the Commissioner determines that such waiting period would cause undue hardship to terminally ill beneficiaries. S. 2765: To strengthen and permanently preserve Social Security. S.2794: A bill to protect older Americans from misleading and fraudulent marketing practices, with the goal of increasing retirement security. S.3219: A bill to enhance penalties for violations of securities protections that involve targeting seniors. S.Res.601: To designate Oct. 19-25, 2008, as ''National Save for Retirement Week.''

Client expense: $540,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Commerce, Dept of (DOC), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Labor, Dept of (DOL), SENATE, State, Dept of (DOS), Treasury, Dept of, U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)

H.R.69: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the 5-month waiting period for entitlement to disability benefits and to eliminate reconsideration as an intervening step between initial benefit entitlement decisions and subsequent hearings on the record on such decisions. H.R.82: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to repeal the Government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions. H.R.93: To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to protect Social Security beneficiaries against any reduction in benefits. H.R.149: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation upon the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while receiving benefits under such title, and for other purposes. H.R.191: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the inclusion in gross income of Social Security benefits. H.R.192: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in taxes on Social Security benefits. H.R.279: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for Congressional oversight and approval of totalization agreements. H.R.288: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for an improved benefit computation formula for workers affected by the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977 who attain age 65 during the 10-year period after 1981 and before 1992 (and related beneficiaries) and to provide prospectively for increases in their benefits accordingly. H.R.340: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to allow remarried widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses to become or remain entitled to widow's or widower's insurance benefits if the prior marriage was for at least 10 years. H.R.341: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for payment of lump-sum death payments upon the death of a spouse. H.R.368: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to allow workers who attain age 65 after 1981 and before 1992 to choose either lump sum payments over four years totalling $5,000 or an improved benefit computation formula under a new 10-year rule governing the transition to the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977, and for other purposes. H.R.581: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to establish a Social Security Surplus Protection Account in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund to hold the Social Security surplus, to provide for suspension of investment of amounts held in the Account until enactment of legislation providing for investment of the Trust Fund in investment vehicles other than obligations of the United States, and to establish a Social Security Investment Commission to make recommendations for alternative forms of investment of the Social Security surplus in the Trust Fund. H.R.709: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to restrict totalization agreements between the United States and other countries to providing for appropriate exchange of Social Security taxes or contributions between the parties to such agreements, and to prohibit crediting of individuals under such title with earnings from employment or self-employment in the United States performed while such individuals are not citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents of the United States and are not authorized by law to be employed in the United States. H.R.726: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from benefits under such title and other monthly periodic payments exceeds a minimum COLA-adjusted amount of $2,500 and to provide for a graduated implementation of such provision on amounts above such minimum amount. H.R.732: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to reduce from 10 to 5 the number of years of marriage prior to divorce required for a divorced spouse to be eligible for benefits under such title. H.R.1090: To amend the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to preserve and strengthen the Social Security Program through the creation of personal Social Security guarantee accounts ensuring full benefits for all workers and their families, restoring long-term Social Security solvency, to make certain benefit improvements, and for other purposes. H.R.1158: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to eliminate the two-year waiting period for divorced spouse's benefits following the divorce. H.R.1160: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide for increases in widow's and widower's insurance benefits by reason of delayed retirement. H.R.1161: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to credit prospectively individuals serving as caregivers of dependent relatives with deemed wages for up to five years of such service. H.R.1322: To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide emergency protection for retiree health benefits. H.R.1349: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in income taxes on Social Security benefits. H.R.1380: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide that a monthly insurance benefit thereunder shall be paid for the month in which the recipient dies, subject to a reduction of 50 percent if the recipient dies during the first 15 days of such month, and for other purposes. H.R.2032: To require the establishment of a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers to compute cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits under titles II and XVIII of the Social Security Act. H.R.2103: To amend title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, in the case of airline pilots who are required by regulation to retire at age 60, to compute the actuarial value of monthly benefits in the form of a life annuity commencing at age 60. H.R.2167: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employees not covered by qualified retirement plans to save for retirement through automatic payroll deposit IRAs, to facilitate similar saving by the self-employed, and for other purposes. H.R.2355: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the authority for penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans by military reservists or national guardsmen called to active duty for extended periods. H.R. 2461: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit distributions from individual retirement plans to be contributed to 529 plans without including the distribution in gross income. H.R.2591:To amend part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to limit the penalty for late enrollment under part B of the Medicare Program to 10 percent and twice the period of no enrollment, and to exclude periods of COBRA and retiree coverage from such late enrollment penalty. H.R. 2657: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to ensure that employees are not improperly disqualified from benefits under pension plans and welfare plans based on the misclassification or reclassification of their status. H.R.2683: To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require in the annual report of each defined benefit pension plan disclosure of plan investments in hedge funds. H.R.2831: To amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify that a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes. H.R. 3088: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that distributions from an individual retirement plan, a section 401(k) plan, a section 403(b) contract, or a section 457 plan shall not be includible in gross income to the extent used to pay long-term care insurance premiums. HR. 3185: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide special reporting and disclosure rules for individual account plans and to establish in the Department of Labor an Advisory Council on Improving Employer-Employee Retirement Practices. H.R. 3361: A bill to make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. H.R. 3765: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide transparency with respect to fees and expenses charged to participant-directed defined contribution plans. H.R. 3868: to provide an orderly transition to new requirements, and for other purposes. H.R. 4061: To allow employees of a commercial passenger airline carrier who receive payments in a bankruptcy proceeding to roll over such payments into an individual retirement plan, and for other purposes. H.R. 4150: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage guaranteed lifetime income payments by excluding from income a portion of such payments. H.R. 4807: To amend the Social Security Act to protect Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) H.R.5160: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage retirement savings by modifying requirements with respect to employer-established IRAs, and for other purposes. H.R.6382 To make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and for other purposes. S.43: A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to preserve and protect Social Security benefits of American workers and to help ensure greater congressional oversight of the Social Security system by requiring that both Houses of Congress approve a totalization agreement before the agreement, giving foreign workers Social Security benefits, can go into effect. S.137: A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide additional beneficiary protections. S.190: A bill to provide a technical correction to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. S.191: A bill to provide relief for all air carriers with pension plans that are not frozen pension plans. S.355: A bill to establish a National Commission on Entitlement Solvency. S.1010: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage guaranteed lifetime income payments from annuities and similar payments of life insurance proceeds at dates later than death by excluding from income a portion of such payments. S.1141: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employees not covered by qualified retirement plans to save for retirement through automatic payroll deposit IRAs, to facilitate similar saving by the self-employed, and for other purposes. S.1254: A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to provide that the reductions in social security benefits which are required in the case of spouses and surviving spouses who are also receiving certain government pensions shall be equal to the amount by which two-thirds of the total amount of the combined monthly benefit (before reduction) and monthly pension exceeds $1,200, adjusted for inflation. S.1270: A bill to amend title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, in the case of airline pilots who are required by regulation to retire at age 60, to compute the actuarial value of monthly benefits in the form of a life annuity commencing at age 60. S.1288: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to increase the retirement security of women and small business owners, and for other purposes. S.1533: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow certain coins to be acquired by individual retirement accounts and other individually directed pension plan accounts, and for other purposes. S.1636: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for individuals called to active duty for at least 179 days. S. 1725: to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and title 5, U.S. Code, to improve the protection of pension benefits, and for other purposes. S. 1809: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that distributions from an individual retirement plan, a section 401(k) plan, a section 403(b) contract, or a section 457 plan shall not be includible in gross income to the extent used to pay long-term care insurance premiums. S.1843: A bill to amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to clarify that an unlawful practice occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes. S.1947: A bill to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to improve the quality improvement organization (QIO) program. S. 1974: A bill to make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. S. 2184: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for individuals called to active duty for at least 179 days. S. 2201: to provide for the penalty-free use of retirement funds for mortgage delinquency relief. S. 2473: to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide special reporting and disclosure rules for individual account plans and for other purposes. S.2501: A bill to amend the Social Security Act to protect Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA). S. 2505: to allow employees of a commercial passenger airline carrier who receive payments in a bankruptcy proceeding to roll over such payments into an individual retirement plan, and for other purposes. S.2570: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to authorize waivers by the Commissioner of Social Security of the 5-month waiting period for entitlement to benefits based on disability in cases in which the Commissioner determines that such waiting period would cause undue hardship to terminally ill beneficiaries. S. 2765: To strengthen and permanently preserve Social Security. S.2794: A bill to protect older Americans from misleading and fraudulent marketing practices, with the goal of increasing retirement security. S.3219: A bill to enhance penalties for violations of securities protections that involve targeting seniors. S.Res.601: To designate Oct. 19-25, 2008, as ''National Save for Retirement Week.''

Client expense: $540,000 · Firm income: Not reported

Government targets: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Commerce, Dept of (DOC), HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Labor, Dept of (DOL), SENATE, State, Dept of (DOS), Treasury, Dept of, U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)