William Helms: “a less formal but somewhat more revealing title for this bill would be ``The Prevention of Prisoner Double- Dipping…”

“a less formal but somewhat more revealing title for this bill would be ``The Prevention of Prisoner Double- Dipping Act.'' A rose by any other name is still a rose and this bill is a winner by any name. It will save millions of dollars of the taxpayers' money and it will put a stop to the injustice of paying scarce Social Security disability benefits to prisoners charged with a felony who have been in jail for 30 or more days awaiting trial. Current law prohibits payment of disability benefits to anyone in jail after conviction for a felony. A loophole permits prisoners to continue receiving benefits despite the fact that they are in jail if they have not yet been convicted of the crime charged. This bill will close that loophole. Mr. President, I learned that prisoners are continuing to receive these benefits when Sheriff Mike Joyce of Stokes County, NC, wrote me earlier this year about it. Sheriff Joyce wrote to me about Earl Blevins, a career criminal and convicted murderer, who has been in Stokes County jail since December 16, 1995, awaiting trial on charges of larceny and breaking and entering.”