PASSED THE SENATE: Bill to End Unintentional Government Payments to Deceased Americans

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation cosponsored by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) that would save Americans’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars by curbing unintentional payments to individuals who have died.

“Our government has a responsibility to safeguard taxpayer dollars and root out waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan bill takes an important step forward by updating existing safeguards so that the federal government can better prevent payments from being unintentionally sent to deceased individuals.”

The Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act would permanently amend the Social Security Act to allow the Social Security Administration to share the Death Master File – a record of deceased individuals – with the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay system. Because long-standing privacy restrictions limit how the Social Security Administration can share this information, federal agencies often do not receive timely notice when a beneficiary has died, which can unintentionally lead to improper payments. The bill would also allow the Treasury’s Do Not Pay system to compare death information from the Social Security Administration with personal information from other federal entities and to share this information with any paying or administering agency that is authorized to use the Do Not Pay system.

This legislation is part of Senator Hassan’s ongoing efforts to save taxpayer dollars and cut waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. In April, in her role as Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, Senator Hassan helped lead a hearing focused on ways to use artificial intelligence and data to improve government efficiency.

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