
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC904]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                       CHAPTER 7--SOCIAL SECURITY
 
                     SUBCHAPTER VII--ADMINISTRATION
 
Sec. 904. Administrative duties of Commissioner


(a) Personnel

    (1) The Commissioner shall appoint such additional officers and 
employees as the Commissioner considers necessary to carry out the 
functions of the Administration under this chapter, and attorneys and 
experts may be appointed without regard to the civil service laws. 
Except as otherwise provided in the preceding sentence or in any other 
provision of law, such officers and employees shall be appointed, and 
their compensation shall be fixed, in accordance with title 5.
    (2) The Commissioner may procure the services of experts and 
consultants in accordance with the provisions of section 3109 of title 
5.
    (3) Notwithstanding any requirements of section 3133 of title 5, the 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall authorize for the 
Administration a total number of Senior Executive Service positions 
which is substantially greater than the number of such positions 
authorized in the Social Security Administration in the Department of 
Health and Human Services as of immediately before August 15, 1994, to 
the extent that the greater number of such authorized positions is 
specified in the comprehensive work force plan as established and 
revised by the Commissioner under subsection (b)(2) of this section. The 
total number of such positions authorized for the Administration shall 
not at any time be less than the number of such authorized positions as 
of immediately before such date.

(b) Budgetary matters

    (1)(A) The Commissioner shall prepare an annual budget for the 
Administration, which shall be submitted by the President to the 
Congress without revision, together with the President's annual budget 
for the Administration.
    (B) The Commissioner shall include in the annual budget prepared 
pursuant to subparagraph (A) an itemization of the amount of funds 
required by the Social Security Administration for the fiscal year 
covered by the budget to support efforts to combat fraud committed by 
applicants and beneficiaries.
    (2)(A) Appropriations requests for staffing and personnel of the 
Administration shall be based upon a comprehensive work force plan, 
which shall be established and revised from time to time by the 
Commissioner.
    (B) Appropriations for administrative expenses of the Administration 
are authorized to be provided on a biennial basis.

(c) Employment restriction

    The total number of positions in the Administration (other than 
positions established under section 902 of this title) which--
        (1) are held by noncareer appointees (within the meaning of 
    section 3132(a)(7) of title 5) in the Senior Executive Service, or
        (2) have been determined by the President or the Office of 
    Personnel Management to be of a confidential, policy-determining, 
    policy-making, or policy-advocating character and have been excepted 
    from the competitive service thereby,

may not exceed at any time the equivalent of 20 full-time positions.

(d) Seal of office

    The Commissioner shall cause a seal of office to be made for the 
Administration of such design as the Commissioner shall approve. 
Judicial notice shall be taken of such seal.

(e) Data exchanges

    (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including 
subsections (b), (o), (p), (q), (r), and (u) of section 552a of title 
5--
        (A) the Secretary shall disclose to the Commissioner any record 
    or information requested in writing by the Commissioner for the 
    purpose of administering any program administered by the 
    Commissioner, if records or information of such type were disclosed 
    to the Commissioner of Social Security in the Department of Health 
    and Human Services under applicable rules, regulations, and 
    procedures in effect before August 15, 1994; and
        (B) the Commissioner shall disclose to the Secretary or to any 
    State any record or information requested in writing by the 
    Secretary to be so disclosed for the purpose of administering any 
    program administered by the Secretary, if records or information of 
    such type were so disclosed under applicable rules, regulations, and 
    procedures in effect before August 15, 1994.

    (2) The Commissioner and the Secretary shall enter into an agreement 
under which the Commissioner provides the Secretary data concerning the 
quality of the services and information provided to beneficiaries of the 
programs under subchapters XVIII and XIX of this chapter and the 
administrative services provided by the Social Security Administration 
in support of such programs. Such agreement shall stipulate the type of 
data to be provided and the terms and conditions under which the data 
are to be provided.
    (3) The Commissioner and the Secretary shall periodically review the 
need for exchanges of information not referred to in paragraph (1) or 
(2) and shall enter into such agreements as may be necessary and 
appropriate to provide information to each other or to States in order 
to meet the programmatic needs of the requesting agencies.
    (4)(A) Any disclosure from a system of records (as defined in 
section 552a(a)(5) of title 5) pursuant to this subsection shall be made 
as a routine use under subsection (b)(3) of section 552a of such title 
(unless otherwise authorized under such section 552a).
    (B) Any computerized comparison of records, including matching 
programs, between the Commissioner and the Secretary shall be conducted 
in accordance with subsections (o), (p), (q), (r), and (u) of section 
552a of title 5.
    (5) The Commissioner and the Secretary shall each ensure that timely 
action is taken to establish any necessary routine uses for disclosures 
required under paragraph (1) or agreed to pursuant to paragraph (3).

(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title VII, Sec. 704, 49 Stat. 636; Aug. 28, 
1950, ch. 809, title IV, Sec. 402(b), 64 Stat. 558; Pub. L. 94-273, 
Sec. 33, Apr. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 380; Pub. L. 98-369, div. B, title VI, 
Sec. 2663(l)(1), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1171; Pub. L. 103-296, title I, 
Sec. 104(a), Aug. 15, 1994, 108 Stat. 1470; Pub. L. 106-169, title II, 
Sec. 211(a), Dec. 14, 1999, 113 Stat. 1842.)

                       References in Text

    The civil service laws, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), are 
classified generally to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. 
See, particularly, section 3301 et seq. of Title 5.


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 106-169 designated existing provisions 
as subpar. (A) and added subpar. (B).
    1994--Pub. L. 103-296 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, 
section read as follows: ``The Secretary shall make a full report to 
Congress, within one hundred and twenty days after the beginning of each 
regular session, of the administration of the functions with which he is 
charged under this chapter. In addition to the number of copies of such 
report authorized by other law to be printed, there is hereby authorized 
to be printed not more than five thousand copies of such report for use 
by the Secretary for distribution to Members of Congress and to State 
and other public or private agencies or organizations participating in 
or concerned with the social security program.''
    1984--Pub. L. 98-369 substituted ``Secretary'' for 
``Administrator''.
    1976--Pub. L. 94-273 substituted ``within one hundred and twenty 
days after the beginning'' for ``at the beginning''.
    1950--Act Aug. 28, 1950, substituted ``Administrator'' for ``Board'' 
in first sentence and added second sentence.


                    Effective Date of 1999 Amendment

    Pub. L. 106-169, title II, Sec. 211(b), Dec. 14, 1999, 113 Stat. 
1842, provided that: ``The amendments made by this section [amending 
this section] shall apply with respect to annual budgets prepared for 
fiscal years after fiscal year 1999.''


                    Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

    Section 104(c) of Pub. L. 103-296 provided that:
    ``(1) Effective date.--Section 704(e)(4) of the Social Security Act 
[subsec. (e)(4) of this section] (as amended by subsection (a)) shall 
take effect March 31, 1996.
    ``(2) Transition rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
(including subsections (b), (o), (p), (q), (r), and (u) of section 552a 
of title 5, United States Code), arrangements for disclosure of records 
or other information, and arrangements for computer matching of records, 
which were in effect immediately before the date of the enactment of 
this Act [Aug. 15, 1994] between the Social Security Administration in 
the Department of Health and Human Services and other components of such 
Department may continue between the Social Security Administration 
established under section 701 of the Social Security Act [section 901 of 
this title] (as amended by this Act) and such Department during the 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending 
March 31, 1996.''
    Amendment by section 104(a) of Pub. L. 103-296 effective Mar. 31, 
1995, except as otherwise provided, see section 110(a) of Pub. L. 103-
296, set out as a note under section 401 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 98-369 effective July 18, 1984, but not to be 
construed as changing or affecting any right, liability, status, or 
interpretation which existed (under the provisions of law involved) 
before that date, see section 2664(b) of Pub. L. 98-369, set out as a 
note under section 401 of this title.


       Report on SES Positions Under Comprehensive Work Force Plan

    Section 104(b) of Pub. L. 103-296 provided that within 60 days after 
establishment by Commissioner of Social Security of comprehensive work 
force plan required under subsec. (b)(2) of this section, Director of 
Office of Personnel Management was to transmit to Congress a report 
specifying total number of Senior Executive Services positions 
authorized for Social Security Administration in connection with such 
work force plan.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 405, 1383 of this title.
