Social Security Administration: Suspension of Benefits for Fugitive Felons and the Agencyâs Response to the Fowlkes Decision (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
April 27, 2006 |
| Report Number |
RL33394 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Scott Szymendera, Domestic Social Policy Division; Kathleen S. Swendiman, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Fugitive felons are not eligible to receive benefits from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). For the purposes of these programs, fugitive felons are currently considered to be any persons with outstanding warrants for felony offenses. These prohibitions first went into effect in 1996 for the SSI program and in 2005 for the SSDI and OASI programs. This report includes an overview of the current laws, regulations, and internal SSA guidance related to fugitive felons; an explanation of the limited exception provided in cases of mitigating circumstances; and a brief legislative history of the provisions.
In December 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision in Fowlkes v. Adamec, 432 F. 3d 90 (2nd 2005), that struck down part of the SSA's interpretation of its fugitive felon regulations, and held that the mere existence of an outstanding arrest warrant does not make a beneficiary a fugitive felon whose benefits may be suspended. This report includes a discussion of this decision as well as an overview of the SSA's acquiescence ruling that will apply this decision to SSI, SSDI, and OASI cases in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont.
This report will be updated to reflect any policy changes.
