-=Continued from previous post=- 
                Stopping Inmate's SS Fraud, Part 2
     California Congressman Wally Herger has a sequel to the law
he authored in 1996 that a Social Security official says will
save taxpayers billions of dollars by preventing illegal payments
to prison and jail inmates (CWW 3/24/98).
     The California Republican's HR 3433 marked up by the House
Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee last week is titled
the "Criminal Welfare Prevention Act, Part II."
     Essentially, the bill expands Rep. Herger's earlier  law
that covered only Supplemental Security Income to include Social
Security benefits. Like the earlier law, it would give that
agency the authority to make cash payment to sheriffs and other
law enforcement authorities reporting inmates who illegally
receive government benefits.
     "Taxpayers already pay for inmates' food, clothing and
shelter," Rep. Herger said.  "It's outrageous that prisoners have
also been receiving fraudulent benefit checks as 'bonuses' every
month."
             Illinois Acts To Replace Sentencing Law
     The Illinois Senate voted 53-0 last week to reenact  its
1995 Truth-In-Sentencing law overturned on a technicality 
by the Illinois Supreme Court (CWW 3/10/98).
     As many as 1,500 violent criminals sentenced under the law
passed by the legislature in 1995 may get their sentences
shortened under the court decision.  The state's high court found
the law unconstitutional because the legislature had
unconstitutionally attached an unrelated measure to the
sentencing law on passage.
     Though the state is appealing, legislators acted quickly to
enact a "clean" Truth-In-Sentencing law to preclude more violent
criminals from escaping the law's punishment.  Most Illinois
criminals were serving less than half their sentences before
Truth In Sentencing became law.
              As Tax Deadline Time Approaches . . .
     A pair of Oklahoma prison inmates have been indicted by a
federal grand jury  for running a federal tax refund fraud while
serving time.  
     The indictments allege that Victor Cooper and Keith Orange
used a scheme involving false W-2 forms in an attempt to
illegally obtain $90,000 via income tax refunds over a three-year
period. 
=+=+=+=+
This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.
This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is
available at: http://WWW.NRA.Org
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End of GENERAL-RKBA Digest 349
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