Denial of Federal Benefits Program and Clearinghouse. Now codified at Title 21, United States Code, Section 862, the law provides a sentencing option for Federal and State courts to deny all or selected benefits available from the Federal Government to those convicted of drug trafficking or possession. BJA also operates a Denial of Federal Benefits Program Clearinghouse, which maintains a database of the names of convicted individuals and the benefits they have been denied. Rationale for the Denial of Federal Benefits Program Drug offenders place an extraordinary burden on the criminal justice system. Existing correctional institutions are overwhelmed by the task of incarcerating serious drug offenders.
Probation alone is an inadequate tool for dealing with drug offenders.
However, lower level drug offenders are not routinely incarcerated unless they also commit a serious offense or have multiple drug-related convictions. To close the gap between incarceration and probation, the U.S. Department of Justice has explored numerous intermediate steps or punishments, including civil penalties, license suspension and revocation, boot camps and shock incarceration, halfway houses, electronic monitoring, drug testing, and denial of Federal benefits such as grants, contracts, purchase orders, financial aid, and business and professional licenses. The denial of Federal benefits sanction helps ensure that individuals found guilty of violating the Controlled Substances Act will, at the very least, forfeit their claims to most taxpayer-supported economic benefits and other privileges. However, some benefits are excluded from the denial process. These include public housing, welfare, and drug treatment benefits, as well as benefits earned through financial contributions or services to the Federal Government, such as Social Security, health, disability, and veterans' benefits.