[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1333 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1333
To amend the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act
of 2012, including making changes to the Do Not Pay Initiative, for
improved detection, prevention, and recovery of improper payments to
deceased individuals, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 6, 2019
Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Peters, Ms. Hassan, Mr. King,
Ms. Sinema, Mr. Tester, and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act
of 2012, including making changes to the Do Not Pay Initiative, for
improved detection, prevention, and recovery of improper payments to
deceased individuals, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stopping Improper Payments to
Deceased People Act''.
SEC. 2. DISTRIBUTION OF DEATH INFORMATION FURNISHED TO OR MAINTAINED BY
THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--
(1) In general.--Section 205(r) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 405(r)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``may'' and inserting
``shall''; and
(ii) by inserting ``, and to ensure the
completeness, timeliness, and accuracy of,''
after ``transmitting'';
(B) by striking paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) and
inserting the following:
``(3)(A) In the case of individuals with respect to whom federally
funded benefits are provided by (or through) a Federal or State agency,
the Commissioner of Social Security shall, to the extent feasible,
provide such information through a cooperative arrangement with such
agency for ensuring proper payment of those benefits with respect to
such individuals if--
``(i) under such arrangement the agency agrees to such
safeguards as the Commissioner determines are necessary or
appropriate to protect the information from unauthorized use or
disclosure;
``(ii) under such arrangement the agency provides
reimbursement to the Commissioner of Social Security for the
reasonable cost of carrying out such arrangement, including the
reasonable costs associated with the collection and maintenance
of information regarding deceased individuals furnished to the
Commissioner pursuant to paragraph (1); and
``(iii) such arrangement does not conflict with the duties
of the Commissioner of Social Security under paragraph (1).
``(B) The Commissioner of Social Security shall, to the extent
feasible, provide for the use of information regarding all deceased
individuals furnished to or maintained by the Commissioner under this
subsection, through a cooperative arrangement in order for a Federal
agency to carry out any of the following purposes, if the requirements
of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A) are met:
``(i) Under such arrangement, the agency operating the Do
Not Pay working system established under section 5 of the
Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of
2012 may compare death information disclosed by the
Commissioner with personally identifiable information reviewed
through the working system, and may redisclose such comparison
of information, as appropriate, to any Federal or State agency
authorized to use the working system.
``(ii) The tax administration duties of the agency.
``(iii) Oversight activities of the Inspector General of an
agency that is provided information regarding all deceased
individuals pursuant to this subsection.
``(iv) Civil or criminal enforcement activities that are
authorized by law.
``(C) With respect to the reimbursement to the Commissioner of
Social Security for the reasonable cost of carrying out a cooperative
arrangement described in subparagraph (A) between the Commissioner of
Social Security and an agency, the Commissioner shall--
``(i) establish a defined calculation method for purposes
of calculating the reasonable cost of carrying out the
arrangement that does not take into account any services,
information, or unrelated payments provided by the agency to
the Commissioner; and
``(ii) reimbursement payments shall be accounted for and
recorded separately from other transactions.
``(4) The Commissioner of Social Security may enter into similar
arrangements with States to provide information regarding all deceased
individuals furnished to or maintained by the Commissioner under this
subsection for use by States in programs wholly funded by the States,
or for use in the administration of a benefit pension plan or
retirement system for employees of a State or a political subdivision
thereof, if the requirements of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of
paragraph (3)(A) are met. For purposes of this paragraph, the terms
retirement system and political subdivision have the meanings given
such terms in section 218(b).
``(5) The Commissioner of Social Security may use or provide for
the use of information regarding all deceased individuals furnished to
or maintained by the Commissioner under this subsection for statistical
purposes and research activities by Federal and State agencies
(including research activities conducted under a contract or a
cooperative arrangement (as such terms are defined for purposes of
sections 6303 and 6305, respectively, of title 31, United States Code)
with such an agency) if the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of
paragraph (3)(A) are met.''; and
(C) in paragraph (8)(A)(i), by striking
``subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (3)'' and
inserting ``clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of paragraph
(3)(A)''.
(2) Repeal.--Effective on the date that is 5 years after
the date of enactment of this Act, the amendments made by this
subsection to paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (8) of section
205(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)) are
repealed, and the provisions of section 205(r) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)) so amended are restored and
revived as if such amendments had not been enacted.
(b) Amendments to Internal Revenue Code.--
(1) In general.--Section 6103(d)(4) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended--
(A) in subparagraphs (A) and (B), by striking
``Secretary of Health and Human Services'' each place
it appears and inserting ``Commissioner of Social
Security''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``such
Secretary'' and all that follows through ``deceased
individuals.'' and inserting ``such Commissioner
pursuant to such contract, except that such contract
may provide that such information is only to be used by
the Social Security Administration (or any other
Federal agency) for purposes authorized in the Social
Security Act or this title.''.
(2) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
(c) Report to Congress on Alternative Sources of Death Data.--
(1) Requirements.--The Commissioner of Social Security, in
coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall conduct
a review of potential alternative sources of death data
maintained by the non-Federal sources, including sources
maintained by State agencies or associations of State agencies,
for use by Federal agencies and programs. The review shall
include analyses of--
(A) the accuracy and completeness of such data;
(B) interoperability of such data;
(C) the extent to which there is efficient
accessibility of such data by Federal agencies;
(D) the cost to Federal agencies of accessing and
maintaining such data;
(E) the security of such data;
(F) the reliability of such data; and
(G) a comparison of the potential alternate sources
of death data to the death data distributed by the
Commissioner of Social Security.
(2) Report.--Not later than 4 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget shall submit a report to Congress on the results of
the review and analyses required under paragraph (1). The
report shall include a recommendation by the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget regarding whether to extend the
agency access to death data distributed by the Commissioner of
Social Security provided under the amendments made by
subsection (a)(1) beyond the date on which such amendments are
to be repealed under subsection (a)(2).
SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE USE OF DATA BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO CURB
IMPROPER PAYMENTS.
The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of
2012 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 8. IMPROVING THE USE OF DEATH DATA BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
``(a) Guidance by the Office of Management and Budget.--
``(1) Guidance to agencies.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this section, and in consultation with
the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
and the heads of other relevant Federal, State, and local
agencies, and Indian tribes and tribal organizations, the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall issue
guidance for each agency or component of an agency that
operates or maintains a database of information relating to
beneficiaries, annuity recipients, or any purpose described in
section 205(r)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
405(r)(3)(B)) for which improved data matching with databases
relating to the death of an individual (in this section
referred to as death databases) would be relevant and necessary
regarding implementation of this section to provide such
agencies or components access to the death databases no later
than 1 year after such date of enactment.
``(2) Plan to assist states and local agencies and indian
tribes and tribal organizations.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services and the Secretary of the Treasury shall
jointly develop a plan to assist States and local agencies, and
Indian tribes and tribal organizations, in providing
electronically to the Federal Government records relating to
the death of individuals, which may include recommendations to
Congress for any statutory changes or financial assistance to
States and local agencies and Indian tribes and tribal
organizations that are necessary to ensure States and local
agencies and Indian tribes and tribal organizations can provide
such records electronically. The plan may include
recommendations for the authorization of appropriations or
other funding to carry out the plan.
``(b) Reports.--
``(1) Report to congress on improving data matching
regarding payments to deceased individuals.--Not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary
of the Treasury, in consultation with the heads of other
relevant Federal agencies, and in consultation with States and
local agencies, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, shall
submit to Congress a plan to improve how States and local
agencies and Indian tribes and tribal organizations that
provide benefits under a federally funded program will improve
data matching with the Federal Government with respect to the
death of individuals who are recipients of such benefits.
``(2) Annual report.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this section, and for each of the 4 succeeding
years, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to Congress a
report regarding the implementation of this section. The first
report submitted under this paragraph shall include the
recommendations of the Secretary required under subsection
(a)(2).
``(c) Definitions.--In this section, the terms Indian tribe and
tribal organization have the meanings given those terms in section 4 of
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
450b).''.
SEC. 4. PLAN FOR ENSURING THE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF DEATH DATA
MAINTAINED AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE SOCIAL SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security shall submit to
Congress a plan, which shall include an estimate of the cost of
implementing the policies and procedures described in such plan, to
improve the accuracy and completeness of the death data (including,
where feasible and cost-effective, data regarding individuals who are
not eligible for or receiving benefits under titles II or XVI of the
Social Security Act) maintained and distributed by the Social Security
Administration.
(b) Content of Plan.--In developing the plan required under
subsection (a), the Commissioner of Social Security shall consider
whether to include the following elements:
(1) Procedures for--
(A) identifying individuals who are extremely
elderly, as determined by the Commissioner, but for
whom no record of death exists in the records of the
Social Security Administration;
(B) verifying the information contained in the
records of the Social Security Administration with
respect to individuals described in subparagraph (A)
and correcting any inaccuracies; and
(C) where appropriate, disclosing corrections made
to the records of the Social Security Administration.
(2) Improved policies and procedures for identifying and
correcting erroneous death records, including policies and
procedures for--
(A) identifying individuals listed as dead who are
actually alive;
(B) identifying individuals listed as alive who are
actually dead; and
(C) allowing individuals or survivors of deceased
individuals to notify the Social Security
Administration of potential errors.
(3) Improved policies and procedures to identify and
correct discrepancies in the records of the Social Security
Administration, including social security number records.
(4) A process for employing statistical analysis of the
death data maintained and distributed by the Social Security
Administration to determine an estimate of the number of
erroneous records.
(5) Recommendations for legislation, as necessary.
SEC. 5. REPORT ON INFORMATION SECURITY.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Commissioner of Social Security shall submit a report to the
Committees on Ways and Means, Oversight and Reform, and Homeland
Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committees on Finance
and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate that--
(1) identifies all information systems of the Social
Security Administration containing sensitive information; and
(2) describes the measures the Commissioner is taking to
secure and protect such information systems.
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