HR8478Referred to Committee

RECON Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-04-23
Introduced
0
Cosponsors
HR
Type

Sponsor

Valerie P. Foushee
Valerie P. Foushee
Democrat · NC · Representative
Votes with party: 98.0% (595 recorded votes)
Top industries funding sponsor:
  • Progressive Groups$400k
  • Climate & Environment$1k

Full profile: /officials/F000477

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (0)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

2026-04-23

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

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Previously

Plain-English Summary

The proposal would allow Social Security disability and supplemental income applicants to skip the reconsideration step when their initial claim is denied, letting them go directly to a hearing before a judge instead. Currently, people must request reconsideration (where the same agency reviews the denial) before they can appeal to a judge, which can delay their case by months. This change would give applicants more control over their appeals process and potentially speed up decisions for those who want to move straight to a hearing.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Social Welfare

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8478 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8478 To amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act to make the reconsideration review process optional. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 23, 2026 Mrs. Foushee introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act to make the reconsideration review process optional. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Respecting Every Claimant's appeal Options Now Act'' or the ``RECON Act''. SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF MANDATORY RECONSIDERATION REVIEW. (a) Title II Amendment.--Section 205(b)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``The Commissioner shall provide opportunity for a hearing in accordance with this subsection with respect to any initial decision or determination under this title upon the request of such applicant or such other individual. The Commissioner may not require reconsideration of the initial decision or determination prior to the hearing.''. (b) Title XVI Amendment.--Section 1631(c)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(c)(1)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``The Commissioner shall provide opportunity for a hearing in accordance with this subsection with respect to any initial decision or determination under this title upon the request of such individual. The Commissioner may not require reconsideration of the initial decision or determination prior to the hearing.''. (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to any initial decision or determination relating to entitlement to a benefit under title II or XVI of the Social Security Act made on or after the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. <all>

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