Florida Senator Ashley Moody’s bill to end government payments to deceased Americans passed the House.
Florida Senator Ashley Moody joined Senators John Kennedy, Gary Peters, and Ron Wyden in applauding the House of Representatives passage of their Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which would save hard-earned taxpayer money by curbing erroneous payments to individuals who have passed away. The bill now moves to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature. Senators Maggie Hassan, Mark Warner, and Joni Ernst also cosponsored the bipartisan Senate bill.
“As stewards of our fellow taxpayers, we owe it to them to be sure their hard-earned dollars are well spent and NOT WASTED,” Republican Senator Ashley Moody said. “Great to see the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which permanently codifies coordination between the Department of Treasury and Social Security Administration to eliminate payments to dead people, has now passed both the House and the Senate and is headed to the President’s desk. A step in the right direction for ending waste, fraud and abuse running rampant in Washington.”
The Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act would permanently allow the SSA to share the Death Master File with the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay system. This change would rein in the government’s ability to make improper payments to deceased people in the future.
“The fact that the federal government is sending checks to dead people—often to be cashed by fraudsters—makes me want to reach for the barf bucket,” Republican Senator John Kennedy said. “That’s why I wrote this bill to permanently stop this outrageous fraud from happening, and I’m thrilled to see Congress officially on board with this commonsense fix.”
This bill would also allow the Treasury’s Do Not Pay system to compare death information from the SSA with personal information from other federal entities, and to share this information with any paying or administering agency authorized to use the Do Not Pay system.
Full bill text is available online.
“This bill will help save millions of taxpayer dollars by ensuring that the Social Security Administration can permanently share important data with the Treasury’s Do Not Pay system, preventing wrongful payments to deceased individuals,” Democratic Senator Gary Peters said. “I have long supported this legislation because I believe it is a vital step in safeguarding taxpayer dollars and ensuring the integrity of our payment systems.”
“This bipartisan bill fixes our federal government’s payment systems so that millions of taxpayer dollars are saved every year,” said Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat. “As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, I am committed to ensuring that Americans’ hard earned benefits are protected. That’s why I’m supporting this bill to ensure Americans’ personal data and earned benefits from Social Security are protected.”
“As Americans struggle to afford the cost of living, Congress should be doing everything in its power to save taxpayer dollars and protect government resources from fraud and abuse,” Democratic Senator Mark Warner said. “I’m thrilled to see this legislation pass through the House of Representatives – the last step needed in order to send this to the President’s desk for his signature. I will continue working in a bipartisan manner to improve efficiency and ensure that our government is working for the American people.”