The Full Faith and Credit Act is an act that has recently been proposed involving national debt issues. This Act would allow the Social Security Administration to access trust funds that would pay for things including social security benefits as well as certain disability payments.
This would be accomplished by permitting the United States Treasury to pay interest payments on the nation’s debt. This bill is fairly complex because it involves various calculations and debt assessments.
This Act also prohibits certain actions, including the use of allocated funds to pay for Congress Members’ compensation.
Is this Act the Same as the Full Faith and Credit Clause?
No, the Act is not the same as the Full Faith and Credit Clause. The Full Faith and Credit Clause is a provision found in the United States Constitution, in Article IV, Section 1.
The Full Faith and Credit Clause is a very broad clause. It requires a court to honor the rulings of other courts in different states.
Under this Constitutional clause, a court is also required to recognize the various legislative acts in addition to public records of other states. For example, suppose an individual obtains a protective order in the state of Nevada.
If that individual then moves to another state, such as Arkansas, that protective order must be honored by the courts in Arkansas. This also applies to other rulings, including:
- Divorce decrees;
- Injunctions;
- Contract rulings; and
- Various other types of decisions.
This clause is especially applicable to family law rulings.
What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?
The Full Faith and Credit Clause is a very important part of the United States Constitution. This clause requires that the decisions, rulings, and public records in all states must be honored in all other states in the United States.
Every United States court must give full faith and credit to the decisions that are rendered by other courts. Without this clause, conflicts may arise between states.
This would cause the legal system to be entangled in various overlapping rulings. The Full Faith and Credit Clause states that all courts are required to honor the judgments, legislative actions, and records from other courts.
This includes out-of-state courts. The courts are required to give full faith and credit to previous rulings handed down in other jurisdictions.
This clause aims to provide harmonious interactions between the different court systems that operate in the United States. This clause also helps reduce judicial waste as well as unnecessary relitigation of issues that have already been decided.
What is the Social Security Administration (SSA)?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is an agency of the federal government that provides financial protection to millions of individuals throughout the United States. This includes:
- Individuals who have been diagnosed with chronic illnesses or disabilities;
- Veterans;
- Retirees;
- Children whose parents are deceased; and
- Surviving spouses.
The SSA is responsible for administering certain social programs and financial benefits to the individual listed above, including:
- Medicare;
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
- Retirement replacement wages; and
- Other programs.
In addition, the SSA is in charge of:
- Overseeing and running the Social Security program;
- Managing the trust fund for the program; and
- Assigning unique Social Security numbers to eligible individuals in the United States.
The SSA comprises one of the largest administrative judicial systems in the world. According to its official website, the SSA provides more than half a million hearing and appeal dispositions every year.
In the event that an individual disagrees with the decision of the Appeals Council or if they decide not to review an individual’s case, the individual may file an SSA lawsuit in their local federal district court. An SSA lawsuit will be an individual’s final chance to have a decision appealed.
However, there is a time limit to file this type of a civil action in court. While it is possible to file a social security case in federal court, an individual will only have 60 days from the time they receive a notice from the Council to do so.
In addition, just because an individual files a lawsuit to have a decision overturned, it does not necessarily mean that a federal court will reverse the Council’s decision. This means, in order to ensure that an individual is in the best possible position to achieve a favorable outcome in their case, they should consider consulting with a local government attorney for further guidance.
What are Social Security Benefits?
Social security benefits typically refer to monthly payments that are received by individuals who are eligible. The most common form of social security benefits include retirement benefits, which an individual may apply for as early as age 62.
The amount of benefits that are awarded are based on how many work credits an individual has obtained over the course of their working life. In general, in order to be entitled to benefits, an individual is required to have earned 40 credits.
Roughly, 40 credits translates to 10 years of full-time work. An individual will receive the maximum benefit amount when they turn 67 years old if they were born in the year 1960 or later.
Individuals who were born prior to 1937 will receive the maximum benefit amount when they reach age 65. Individuals who are between the age of 62 and the age in which they are eligible for the full amount of benefits may continue to work and still receive benefits.
If an individual’s earnings exceed a certain dollar amount, the amount of benefit payments an individual receives will be reduced. If an individual reaches full retirement age, they can generally work and still receive the entirety of their benefit amount.
There are three additional categories of Social Security Benefits, including:
- Social security disability benefits: If an individual has worked for a sufficient amount of time and has paid Social Security taxes on their income, the individual and some of their family members are eligible for benefits through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program.
- In order to qualify for these benefits, an individual must have a disability as defined by the Social Security Administration. Eligible individuals are generally those who are not able to work for one year or more due to their disability;
- Supplemental security income: SSI pays benefits to individuals who are aged, blind, and disabled and who have no income or have insufficient income to qualify for retirement or SSDI benefits; and
- Survivors benefits: These are benefits that a family member may receive if an individual dies. Individuals who work and pay social security taxes have a portion of those taxes set aside for payment of survivors benefits. Spouses, children, and parents of a decedent who were eligible for benefits may receive benefits upon the individual’s death;
- The amount of benefits will depend upon what the individual’s earnings were during their working life. If their spouse dies, and at the time of death is receiving retirement or disability benefits, the surviving spouse may be entitled to receive the benefits to which their deceased spouse was entitled.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help with the Governmental Law Issues?
The Full Faith and Credit Act has not yet been enacted. It is common for governmental laws to be difficult to understand and interpret.
It may be helpful to consult with a social security lawyer if you have a legal issue and need to apply a constitutional principle to your claim. Your attorney can represent you in court and can help determine what types of legal remedies may be available to you.
