S. 579 · 117th Congress

A bill to make a technical correction to the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019.

Introduced on Mar 3, 2021 by Mike Braun (R-IN). 3 cosponsors, 2 of them from another party. Became Public Law 117-3.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-3
Introduced
Mar 3, 2021
Cosponsors
3
2 from the other party
Policy area
Social Welfare
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Subjects

  • Disability assistance
  • Neurological disorders

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Mar 23, 2021). Public domain.

This bill retroactively eliminates the waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for certain individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

Under current law, most SSDI recipients must wait five months after becoming disabled before their benefit payments may begin. The ALS Disability Insurance Access Act of 2019 eliminated the waiting period for individuals with ALS but only covers individuals who apply for benefits after the date of enactment (December 20, 2020). As a result, individuals with ALS who applied for SSDI benefits in the five months before that date are still subject to the waiting period. This bill eliminates the waiting period for those individuals.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Mike BraunR-INSponsor

Democrats · 2

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 3, 2021Introduced in Senate
  2. Mar 3, 2021Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S1022; text: CR S1029)
  3. Mar 3, 2021 · SenateIntroduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S1022; text: CR S1029)
  4. Mar 8, 2021 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  5. Mar 8, 2021 · HouseReceived in the House.
  6. Mar 8, 2021 · HouseHeld at the desk.
  7. Mar 11, 2021 · HouseMr. Thompson (CA) asked unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table and consider.
  8. Mar 11, 2021 · HouseConsidered by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR H1334)
  9. Mar 11, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed without objection.(text: CR H1334)
  10. Mar 11, 2021 · HouseOn passage Passed without objection. (text: CR H1334)
  11. Mar 11, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table. Agreed to without objection.
  12. Mar 22, 2021Presented to President.
  13. Mar 22, 2021 · HousePresented to President.
  14. Mar 23, 2021Signed by President.
  15. Mar 23, 2021Signed by President.
  16. Mar 23, 2021Became Public Law No: 117-3.
  17. Mar 23, 2021Became Public Law No: 117-3.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER1 report
    $220K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER$7M in contracts, FY2026AI match · 100%

Reports filed in 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.