PUBLIC LAW 98-76—AUG. 12, 1983 97 STAT. 437 agency of the United States shall have any authority to require the Board to submit its budget requests or estimates, legislative recom- mendations, prepared testimony for congressional hearings, or com- ments on legislation to any officer or agency of the United States for approval, comments, or review, prior to the submission of such recommendations, testimony, or comments to the Congress.". SEC. 417. (a) Section 15 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(i)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall implement procedures to permit the identification of each check issued for benefits under this Act that has not been presented for payment by the close of the sixth month following the month of its issuance. "(2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall, on a monthly basis, credit each account established in the Treasury for the payment of benefits under this Act for the proportionate amount of benefit checks (including interest thereon) drawn on each such Account more than six months previously but not presented for payment and not previously credited to such Account, to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts. "(3) If a benefit check is presented for payment to the Treasury and the amount of the appropriate portion thereof has been previ- ously credited pursuant to paragraph (2) to an Account or Accounts, the Secretary of the Treasury shall nevertheless pay such check, if otherwise proper, recharge such Account or Accounts for the amount of such check attributable to such Account or Accounts and notify the Board. "(4) A benefit check bearing a current date may be issued to an individual who did not negotiate the original benefit check and who surrenders such check for cancellation if the Secretary of the Treas- ury determines it is necessary to effect proper payment of benefits." (b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to all checks for benefits under this Act which are issued on or after May 1, 1985. (c)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the gen- eral fund of the Treasury to each Account established in the Treasury for the payment of benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 in the month following the month in which this section is enacted and in each of the next succeeding months until May, 1985, such sums as may be necessary to reimburse such Accounts in the proportionate amount of all checks (including interest thereon) attributable to such Accounts which the Secretary and the Board jointly determine to be unnegotiated benefit checks, to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts. After any amounts authorized by this subsection have been transferred to an Account or Accounts with respect to any benefit check, the provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 15(i) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (as added by subsection (a) of this section) shall be applicable to such check. (2) As used in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the term 'unnego- tiated benefit checks' means checks for benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 or under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937 which are issued prior to May 1, 1985, which remain unnego- tiated after the sixth month following the date on which they were issued, and with respect to which no transfers have previously been made in accordance with the first sentence of such paragraph. SEC. 418. The Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 45 USC 231n. Check identification. 45 USC 231n note. Transfer of funds. 45 USC 231n note. 45 USC 231t. "Unnegotiated benefit checks.' 45 USC 231t.
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