Social Security Programs: Scope of SSA's Authority to Deny	 
Benefits to Fugitive Felons and to Release Information About OASI
and DI Beneficiaries Who Are Fugitive Felons (27-FEB-02,	 
GAO-02-459R).							 
								 
Fugitive felons are ineligible for Supplemental Security Income  
(SSI) benefits under the Social Security Act. Furthermore, Social
Security Administration (SSA) provides law enforcement agencies, 
on request, the current address and Social Security number of	 
fugitive felons who are SSI recipients. The SSI program is a	 
welfare program funded from general revenues that provides	 
monthly cash assistance payments to aged, blind, or disabled	 
individuals in financial need. SSA also administers the Old Age  
and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI)	 
programs. These entitlement programs are funded from trust funds 
supported by withholding taxes. To administer the OASI, DI, and  
SSI programs, SSA retains information about each individual with 
a social security number (SSN). When a person starts working, SSA
establishes a lifetime history of the person's earnings. SSA	 
collects more extensive information about persons who apply for  
or are receiving OASI, DI, or SSI benefits, to enable it to	 
administer these programs. Since its enactment in 1974, the	 
Privacy Act has governed federal agencies', including SSA's,	 
disclosure of personal information they maintain. It prohibits	 
federal agencies from disclosing to others, including other	 
government agencies, any information they have on file about	 
individuals. However, the act allows agencies to disclose	 
information about individuals under certain circumstances. The	 
Social Security Act does not give SSA the authority to determine 
if individuals are not entitled to OASI and DI benefits because  
they are fugitive felons. Further, under the Privacy Act, when	 
the head of a law enforcement agency asks SSA for information	 
about an individual for civil or criminal law enforcement	 
activity, SSA has the authority to disclose this information but 
is not required to do so.					 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-02-459R					        
    ACCNO:   A02858						        
  TITLE:     Social Security Programs: Scope of SSA's Authority to    
Deny Benefits to Fugitive Felons and to Release Information About
OASI and DI Beneficiaries Who Are Fugitive Felons		 
     DATE:   02/27/2002 
  SUBJECT:   Criminals						 
	     Information disclosure				 
	     Jurisdictional authority				 
	     Law enforcement					 
	     Social security benefits				 
	     Disability Insurance Program			 
	     Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Program		 
	     Supplemental Security Income  Program		 

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GAO-02-459R
     

United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548

February 27, 2002

The Honorable Rick Santorum United States Senate

Subject: Social Security Programs: The Scope of SSA's Authority to Deny
Benefits to Fugitive Felons and to Release Information About OASI and DI
Beneficiaries Who Are Fugitive Felons

Dear Senator Santorum:

Under the Social Security Act, fugitive felons1 are ineligible for
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.2 Furthermore, the Social
Security Act requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide to
law enforcement agencies, on request, the current address and Social
Security number (SSN) of fugitive felons who are SSI recipients.3 This
letter responds to your request that we determine if SSA also has the
authority (1) to deny Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability
Insurance (DI) benefits to fugitive felons and (2) to give law enforcement
agencies the current address and SSN of OASI and DI beneficiaries who are
fugitive felons.

To make these determinations, we reviewed the Social Security Act and the
Privacy Act, as well as SSA regulations and policies concerning the receipt
of Social Security benefits by fugitive felons and concerning the disclosure
by SSA of information about individuals; we also spoke with SSA officials
about these regulations and policies. In brief, we have determined on the
basis of this review that SSA currently lacks the authority to deny OASI and
DI benefits to fugitive felons who otherwise are entitled to receive them.
We also have determined that the Privacy Act authorizes, but does not
require, SSA to provide information that it collects about individuals,
including OASI and DI beneficiaries who are fugitive felons, to heads of law
enforcement agencies. SSA's regulations, however, generally only allow
disclosure of information that it collects about individuals, including OASI
and DI

1A "felony" generally refers to a serious crime, either violent or
nonviolent, that is usually punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year.
A fugitive felon is defined as someone who is fleeing to avoid prosecution
for a felony, or to avoid custody or confinement after conviction for a
felony or an attempt to commit a felony. Violators of probation or parole
imposed under federal or state law are also ineligible for SSI benefits. For
the purposes of this correspondence, we use the term "fugitive felon" to
include probation and parole violators. 2The Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) amended the Social
Security Act by making fugitive felons ineligible for SSI benefits. PRWORA
also made fugitive felons ineligible for other welfare benefits including
food stamps, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and certain
federal housing assistance benefits. 3PRWORA added these provisions to the
Social Security Act for recipients of TANF, and recipients of SSI benefits;
PRWORA added similar provisions to the Food Stamp Act for recipients of food
stamps and to the U.S. Housing Act for recipients of federal housing
assistance. GAO is conducting a review to determine how the fugitive felon
provisions have been implemented.

beneficiaries, in cases involving indictment or conviction for violent
crimes.4 A more detailed explanation of these findings and of the specific
procedural requirements that apply to these laws and regulations follows.

Background

SSA is responsible for administering the SSI program, which is a welfare
program funded from general revenues that provides monthly cash assistance
payments to individuals in financial need who are aged, blind, or disabled.5
The SSI eligibility requirements and benefit amounts are specified in the
Social Security Act. SSA estimates that in fiscal year 2002, payments of
about $31.5 billion in SSI benefits will be made to about 6.4 million
individuals.

SSA also administers the OASI and DI programs, which are entitlement
programs funded from trust funds supported by taxes that workers pay on
their wages. The OASI program provides monthly cash retirement to workers
and their dependents or, when workers die, provides survivor benefits to the
survivors. The DI program provides monthly cash benefits to workers and
their dependents when workers are determined to be disabled. Criteria for
entitlement to retirement and disability benefits, and the benefit amount
received, also are set by the Social Security Act and are based, in part, on
how long and how much workers have contributed to OASI and DI trust funds.
In 2002, the OASI and DI programs are expected to pay about $447 billion in
benefits to about 46 million eligible workers, dependents, and survivors.

To administer the OASI, DI, and SSI programs, SSA retains information about
each individual with a SSN. The information provided to SSA about an
individual may begin shortly after that person's birth. Parents who apply
for a SSN for their newborn, for example, must provide such information as
the child's full name, sex, date of birth, citizenship, and mother's maiden
name, which SSA keeps on file. When a person starts working, SSA receives
information from employers to establish a lifetime history of the person's
earnings. SSA collects more extensive information about persons who apply
for or are receiving OASI, DI, or SSI benefits, to enable it to administer
these benefit programs. For instance, to determine eligibility for SSI
disability benefits, SSA collects information on a person's income,
resources, living arrangements, and medical history. However, according to
SSA, the agency has only the most recent addresses of individuals who
receive or who have applied for OASI, DI, or SSI benefits.

Since its enactment in 1974, the Privacy Act has governed federal agencies',
including SSA's, disclosure of the personal information they maintain about
individuals. Generally, the Privacy Act prohibits federal agencies from
disclosing to others,

4SSA also allows disclosure in cases of criminal activity involving Social
Security programs or certain other federal programs.

5In addition to federal SSI benefits, states may provide supplementary
payments. These payments vary, reflecting differences in regional living
costs as well as in living arrangements.

including other government agencies, any information they have on file about
individuals. However, the act allows agencies to disclose information about
individuals under certain circumstances, including

to another agency . . . for a civil or criminal law enforcement activity if
the activity is authorized by law, and if the head of the agency . . . has
made a written request to the agency which maintains the record specifying
the particular portion desired and the law enforcement activity for which
the record is sought.6

SSA Does Not Have the Authority to Deny OASI or DI Benefits to Fugitive
Felons

The Social Security Act does not give SSA the authority to determine that
individuals are not entitled to OASI or DI benefits because they are
fugitive felons. Title XVI of the Social Security Act contains eligibility
criteria for SSI benefits, while Title II of the act specifies entitlement
criteria for OASI and DI benefits. The Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) added a provision to Title
XVI making fugitive felons ineligible for SSI benefits.7 There is no similar
provision, however, that is applicable to Title II of the act.8 To enable
SSA to deny OASI and DI benefits to fugitive felons, Title II would have to
be amended to explicitly disqualify fugitive felons from receiving OASI and
DI benefits.9

SSA Has the Authority to Disclose Beneficiary Information to Heads of Law
Enforcement Agencies but Generally Limits Disclosure

Under the Privacy Act, when the head of a law enforcement agency10 asks SSA
for information about an individual, such as his or her current address,
SSN, date of birth, or medical records, for a civil or criminal law
enforcement activity, SSA has the authority to disclose this information but
is not required to do so. While the Privacy Act permits SSA to disclose such
information about individuals, SSA's regulation implementing the Privacy Act
provides that it will do so "only in limited situations."11 SSA's regulation
generally permits disclosure of information about an individual only when he
or she has been indicted for or convicted of a crime,12 and only when the

65 U.S.C. 552a(b)(7).
7Section 1611(e)(4) of the Social Security Act states that "no person shall
be considered an eligible individual or eligible spouse
for purposes of this title with respect to any month if during such month
the person is (A) fleeing to avoid prosecution, or
custody or confinement after conviction, under the laws of the place from
which the person flees, for a crime, or an attempt to
commit a crime, which is a felony under the laws of the place from which the
person flees, or which, in the case of the State of
New Jersey, is a high misdemeanor under the laws of such State; or (B)
violating a condition of probation or parole imposed
under Federal or State law."
8The Social Security Act specifically requires SSA to suspend OASI or DI
benefits of individuals confined to a correctional
facility.
9SSA's actuary estimates that if fugitive felons were ineligible to receive
OASI and DI benefits, $387 million in program savings
could be realized over the 5-year period from 2003 through 2007.
10The Privacy Act requires that requests for information must be from the
head of a law enforcement agency. In contrast, the
disclosure requirements under PRWORA for SSI allow that requests can be from
any law enforcement officer.
1120 C.F.R. 401.155
12As noted earlier, SSA's regulation also allows disclosure in cases of
criminal activity involving Social Security programs or
certain other federal programs.

crime is violent, such as murder or kidnapping.13 SSA's regulation makes no
allowance for disclosing information about individuals who are (1) fleeing
prosecution for a crime or (2) wanted in connection with a felony that is
not violent.

Agency officials said that SSA's regulation restricting disclosure of
personal information balances, on the one hand, the need of law enforcement
agencies for information that could enable them to apprehend criminals and,
on the other hand, the expectations of the public that the information they
provide to SSA about themselves for program administration purposes will be
kept confidential. SSA's restriction on disclosure of information about
individuals also reflects its concern about the possibility that its
workload would increase if access to this information were not restricted.

To enable law enforcement officials to obtain the current address and SSN of
OASI and DI beneficiaries who are fugitive felons, as they now can for SSI
recipients who are fugitive felons,14 either SSA's regulation governing
disclosure of information must be changed, or Title II of the Social
Security Act must be amended with the addition of a provision explicitly
requiring SSA to disclose this information about fugitive felons on the OASI
and DI rolls to law enforcement officers. In regard to the first
alternative, SSA officials noted that the agency would be limited under the
Privacy Act to responding to requests only from heads of agencies. In
contrast, the PRWORA amendment covering SSI recipients permits requests to
be made by any law enforcement officer. Agency officials also noted that law
enforcement officials might find it frustrating and confusing if rules for
disclosing information on fugitive felons varied on the basis of whether the
individual receives SSI rather than OASI or DI benefits.

SSA officials from the Office of General Counsel, Office of Disclosure
Policy, Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs, Office of
Operations/Division Operations Support, and Office of Program Benefits
reviewed a draft of this letter. They generally agreed with the facts
presented in the draft and provided technical comments, which we
incorporated as appropriate.

As arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce its contents
earlier, we will make no further distribution of this letter until 7 days
after the date of this letter. At that time, we will make copies available
to others on request.

13As defined by SSA, other examples of violent crimes include rape; armed
robbery; burglary of a dwelling; arson; drug trafficking or possession with
intent to manufacture, import, export, distribute, or dispense; hijacking;
carjacking; and terrorism. For parole violations, SSA will release
information if the violent crime provisions are met for the original
conviction.

14Section 1611(e)(5) of the Social Security Act now states that "the
Commissioner shall furnish any Federal, State, or local law enforcement
officer, upon the written request of the officer, with the current address,
Social Security number, and photograph (if applicable) of any recipient of
benefits under [Title XVI], if the officer furnishes the Commissioner with
the name of the recipient, and other identifying information as reasonably
required by the Commissioner to establish the unique identity of the
recipient, and notifies the Commissioner that the recipient is [a fugitive
felon]; and has information that is necessary for the officer to conduct the
officer's official duties; and the location or apprehension of the recipient
is within the officer's official duties."

If you have any questions about the information in this letter, please
contact me at (202) 512-9889 or my assistant director, Clarita Mrena, at
(202) 512-3022. Major contributors to this report also include William
Hutchinson, Senior Analyst, and Jonathan Barker of GAO's Office of General
Counsel.

Sincerely yours, Robert E. Robertson

Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues

(130104)
*** End of document. ***