[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 183 (Tuesday, December 8, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H13596-H13597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         NO SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FOR PRISONERS ACT OF 2009

  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4218) to amend titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act 
to prohibit retroactive payments to individuals during periods for 
which such individuals are prisoners, fugitive felons, or probation or 
parole violators.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4218

       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 ``No Social Security Benefits 
     for Prisoners Act of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF RETROACTIVE TITLE II AND TITLE XVI 
                   PAYMENTS TO PRISONERS, FUGITIVE FELONS, AND 
                   PROBATION OR PAROLE VIOLATORS.

       (a) Amendments to Title II.--Section 204(a)(1)(B) of the 
     Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 404(a)(1)(B)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``(B) With'' and inserting ``(B)(i) Subject 
     to clause (ii), with''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(ii) No payment shall be made under this subparagraph to 
     any person during any period for which monthly insurance 
     benefits of such person--
       ``(I) are subject to nonpayment by reason of section 
     202(x)(1), or
       ``(II) in the case of a person whose monthly insurance 
     benefits have terminated for a reason other than death, would 
     be subject to nonpayment by reason of section 202(x)(1) but 
     for the termination of such benefits,
     until section 202(x)(1) no longer applies, or would no longer 
     apply in the case of benefits that have terminated.
       ``(iii) Nothing in clause (ii) shall be construed to limit 
     the Commissioner's authority to withhold amounts, make 
     adjustments, or recover amounts due under this title, title 
     VIII or title XVI that would be deducted from a payment that 
     would otherwise be payable to such person but for such 
     clause.''.
       (b) Amendments to Title XVI.--Section 1631(b) of such Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1383(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(7)(A) In the case of payment of less than the correct 
     amount of benefits to or on behalf of any individual, no 
     payment shall be made to such individual pursuant to this 
     subsection during any period for which such individual--
       ``(i) is not an eligible individual or eligible spouse 
     under section 1611(e)(1) because such individual is an inmate 
     of a public institution that is a jail, prison, or other 
     penal institution or correctional facility the purpose of 
     which is to confine individuals as described in clause (ii) 
     or (iii) of section 202(x)(1)(A), or
       ``(ii) is not an eligible individual or eligible spouse 
     under section 1611(e)(4),
     until such person is no longer considered an ineligible 
     individual or ineligible spouse under section 1611(e)(1) or 
     1611(e)(4).
       ``(B) Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to 
     limit the Commissioner's authority to withhold amounts, make 
     adjustments, or recover amounts due under this title, title 
     II, or title VIII that would be deducted from a payment that 
     would otherwise be payable to such individual but for such 
     subparagraph.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall be effective for payments that would otherwise be made 
     on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Tanner) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 
4218.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.
  Mr. Johnson and I bring this bill to the floor today. It's a stopgap 
measure, Mr. Speaker.
  The Social Security Act already prohibits payment of Social Security 
and SSI benefits to individuals in prison and to those who are fleeing 
to avoid prosecution, custody, or confinement for a felony. The law 
also prohibits payments to individuals violating a condition of parole 
or probation. However, payments of retroactive benefits owed to such 
individuals are not currently barred by law, and this ensures that 
retroactive payments are treated the same as monthly benefits.
  The need for this law to be done quickly is because of a recent court 
determination that the Social Security Administration's implementation 
of this prohibition for those fleeing prosecution or imprisonment was 
applied too broadly. Without this legislation, the Social Security 
Administration will be obligated under court order to make payments to 
some of these individuals as early as next week.
  What Mr. Johnson and I wanted to do was to bring this bill today and 
pass it so we can get it to the Senate and give some guidance to the 
Social Security Administration in this regard.
  Mr. Speaker, with that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the point of this bill is 
simple. Social Security and supplemental security income benefits 
should not be paid to prisoners, probation, or parole violators or 
fugitive felons. That is why I joined the Ways and Means Social 
Security Subcommittee with John Tanner, who is great about looking into 
these things, and we cosponsored this bill. And I ask all of my 
colleagues to support it.
  This stopgap measure addresses a glitch in the current law discovered 
when Social Security began to implement a nationwide class-action 
settlement agreement reached in September in the case of Martinez v. 
Astrue. That agreement reduced the number and type of felony arrest 
warrants used to prohibit benefit payments, resulting in retroactive 
payments to certain recipients.
  In the first phase of settlement implementation, notices will be 
issued beginning this week to 28,000 individuals. Of these, Social 
Security recently identified 150 as prisoners.
  Current law already prohibits prisoners, fugitive felons, and 
probation/parole violators from receiving benefits. The same law should 
apply to retroactive benefits as well but right now

[[Page H13597]]

it doesn't. That is why we need to pass this bill. If we don't, 
prisoners eligible for payments from before they were in jail may soon 
receive a lump sum retroactive check, some covering back benefits over 
3 or 4 years.
  Thanks in large part to the work of my Ways and Means colleague, 
Wally Herger, those with outstanding felony arrest warrants, known as 
fugitive felons, have not been able to receive supplemental security 
income, Social Security, or Social Security disability benefits.
  According to the Office of the Inspector General, their data-sharing 
efforts with local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies 
contributed to over 83,000 arrests since the program's inception in 
1996. While well-intentioned, the Martinez settlement nevertheless 
requires Social Security to pay benefits that had been suspended. And 
as a result, taxpayers are now on the hook for millions of dollars. We 
can and we must do better.
  I look forward to working with Chairman Tanner to right this wrong 
and draft legislation to suspend payments for those fugitives wanted 
for the most heinous crimes while permitting lenience in cases where 
good cause exemptions make sense.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TANNER. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. At this time, I'd like to recognize and 
yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), a member of the 
Ways and Means Committee and one of our staunch allies, as much time as 
he may consume.
  Mr. HERGER. I thank my good friend from Texas.
  I rise today to discuss an issue I have been involved with for many 
years.
  The landmark 1996 welfare reform included legislation I drafted that 
denies fugitive felons, along with probation and parole violators, 
Supplemental Security Income checks. GAO long recognized those SSI 
disability payments were at a high risk for fraud and abuse and 
encouraged Congress to act. Subsequent legislation expanded that 1996 
ban to include certain Social Security checks. These provisions have 
been successful in saving millions of taxpayer dollars and have 
assisted law enforcement in making over 86,000 arrests and getting 
felons off the street, including a man wanted in Texas for 20 counts of 
child molestation.
  Due to a recent court action, however, the Social Security 
Administration now is required to ban payments only to fugitive felons 
issued a warrant for trying to escape arrest rather than the broader 
group of fugitives with an outstanding felony arrest warrant. That 
action also compels SSA to restore benefits denied earlier, which will 
result in large retroactive payments of as much as $30,000 per 
individual. Not only will this cost taxpayers millions of dollars, but 
I'm deeply concerned that the effectiveness of the program we set up in 
1996 could be greatly reduced.
  The bill before us would immediately prevent checks for past-due 
Social Security and SSI benefits from being sent to currently 
incarcerated individuals, including checks that, without this action, 
could pay inmates tens of thousands of dollars while they are behind 
bars. Thus, the bill before us is a step in the right direction of 
addressing issues created by the court decision.
  But there are more steps to take.
  Following release of an October 2009 report from the SSA Inspector 
General that brought to light concerns with SSA's fugitive felon 
policy, I joined other Ways and Means members in requesting additional 
information on how SSA has used the good cause exemptions it is already 
allowed to make in certain cases. I believe the Social Security 
Administration should continue to suspend payments for those fugitives 
wanted based on the most heinous crimes while using the authority it 
already has to make good cause exemptions as appropriate.
  As the legislation before us suggests, many of those made eligible 
for disability payments under the recent court action continue to break 
the law and can and do wind up in jail, costing taxpayers thousands of 
dollars.
  I look forward to the Inspector General's response to our inquiry so 
that Congress can determine the best way forward to improve this 
important program and prevent the misuse of taxpayer dollars while 
protecting those who truly merit relief.
  Let's stop these payments from going to prisoners today, and then 
keep working to ensure the right people are getting the right benefits 
and that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely to help only those truly in 
need.
  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Johnson for working with 
us on this.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4218.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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