No Social Security Benefits for Prisoners Act of 2009
Public Law 111-115 · H.R. 4218 · 111th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Barack Obama (D) on Dec 15, 2009 · Social Welfare
Sponsor: Rep. John Tanner (D-TN-8)
Cosponsors (1): Rep. Sam Johnson
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) No Social Security Benefits for Prisoners Act of 2009 - Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) 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.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
The record lists no related bills.
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 14 actions.
- Dec 15, 2009Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 111-115.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Dec 14, 2009FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Dec 11, 2009FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Dec 10, 2009FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- OtherOther · Cleared for White House.
- Dec 8, 2009FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4218.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Tanner moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate, read twice.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.