[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7135 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7135

To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify 
the obligation of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation to reclaim 
   any overpayment of special financial assistance payment under the 
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, including amounts paid on behalf of a 
      deceased participant or beneficiary, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 30, 2024

   Ms. Foxx introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify 
the obligation of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation to reclaim 
   any overpayment of special financial assistance payment under the 
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, including amounts paid on behalf of a 
      deceased participant or beneficiary, 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 ``Ghost Handouts and Overpayments Stop 
Today Act'' or the ``GHOST Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has the 
        authority and responsibility to recover taxpayer funded 
        benefits disbursed by the corporation in error, including any 
        amount disbursed to fund benefits for participants or 
        beneficiaries who are deceased as of the date of the 
        disbursement.
            (2) The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is obligated 
        to ensure, through strong accounting processes and controls and 
        using the resources available (and should follow procedures 
        recommended by the Office of the Inspector General and verify 
        census data for multiemployer plans that will receive or have 
        received special financial assistance), that taxpayer money is 
        not wasted.
            (3) The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is obligated 
        to audit, investigate, and resolve any discrepancies in census 
        data for all special financial assistance plans, including 
        through matching data for participants and beneficiaries to 
        data that resides in the Social Security Administration's Death 
        Master File.
            (4) Multiemployer plans are obligated to remit to the 
        Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and the corporation is 
        obligated to take all steps necessary to ensure full recovery 
        of, the amount of any special financial assistance payment made 
        to a multiemployer plan as a result of an error and the amount 
        of any special financial assistance payment attributable to any 
        deceased participants or beneficiaries, and the associated 
        earnings thereon.

SEC. 3. RECOVERY OF OVERPAYMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 4262 of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1104) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(o) Recovery.--
            ``(1) In general.--If the corporation makes a determination 
        that an overpayment of special financial assistance, including 
        an overpayment of special financial assistance described in 
        paragraph (2)(A), was made under this section, the applicable 
        multiemployer plan (or a successor plan) shall pay, not later 
        than 30 days after the date of such determination, to the 
        corporation an amount equal to the total amount of overpayment 
        of special financial assistance to the applicable multiemployer 
        plan, adjusted by the corporation for interest (using the 
        interest rate used in determining the amount of special 
        financial assistance under subsection (e)(2)) for the period 
        beginning on the date on which the special financial assistance 
        was provided to such plan and ending on the date that such plan 
        makes the payment required under this paragraph.
            ``(2) Recovery in case of deceased participant or 
        beneficiary.--
                    ``(A) Determination.--Not later than 45 days after 
                the later of the date on which an audit conducted under 
                subparagraph (B) is complete or the date on which the 
                hearing described in subparagraph (C) occurs, the 
                corporation shall make a determination of the total 
                amount of special financial assistance paid to the 
                applicable multiemployer plan on behalf of participants 
                or beneficiaries determined to be deceased, which shall 
                be deemed an overpayment of special financial 
                assistance.
                    ``(B) Audit.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 6 months 
                        after the date of enactment of this subsection 
                        or, in the case of an eligible multiemployer 
                        plan to which special financial assistance is 
                        provided under this section after the date of 
                        enactment of this subsection, 6 months after 
                        the date on which such assistance is provided, 
                        the corporation shall audit the census data 
                        maintained by an eligible multiemployer plan to 
                        which such assistance was provided to 
                        determine--
                                    ``(I) whether any of such 
                                assistance was provided on behalf of a 
                                participant or beneficiary who was 
                                deceased as of the date such assistance 
                                was provided; and
                                    ``(II) the total amount of special 
                                financial assistance paid to such plan 
                                on behalf of participants or 
                                beneficiaries described in subclause 
                                (I).
                            ``(ii) Process.--In conducting an audit 
                        under clause (i), the corporation shall--
                                    ``(I) follow a process recommended 
                                by the Office of the Inspector General 
                                of the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
                                Corporation, including the 
                                recommendations in the white paper 
                                issued by such Office entitled 
                                `Detecting Fraud and Improper Payments 
                                Involving Deceased Participants' and 
                                dated March 9, 2018; and
                                    ``(II) match census data with the 
                                information on records of death 
                                maintained by the Social Security 
                                Administration under section 205(r) of 
                                the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
                                405(r)).
                            ``(iii) Review.--The Office of the 
                        Inspector General of the Pension Benefit 
                        Guaranty Corporation shall review an audit 
                        conducted under clause (i) prior to such audit 
                        being provided to an eligible multiemployer 
                        plan under paragraph (C).
                    ``(C) Hearing.--
                            ``(i) Notice.--Not later than 10 days after 
                        the completion of an audit under subparagraph 
                        (B), the corporation shall provide to the 
                        eligible multiemployer plan (or a successor 
                        plan) the following information:
                                    ``(I) A list of participants or 
                                beneficiaries on behalf of whom 
                                assistance was provided as described in 
                                subparagraph (B)(i)(I).
                                    ``(II) The total amount of 
                                financial assistance paid as described 
                                in subparagraph (B)(i)(II).
                            ``(ii) Hearing.--The corporation shall 
                        provide an eligible employer plan with the 
                        opportunity for a hearing--
                                    ``(I) which shall, unless 
                                extenuating circumstances (as 
                                determined by the corporation) exist, 
                                occur not later than 60 days after the 
                                information described in clause (i) is 
                                provided to the plan; and
                                    ``(II) at which such plan may 
                                demonstrate that a participant or 
                                beneficiary is alive.
            ``(3) Transfer to general fund.--Any amount paid under 
        paragraph (1), or any other payment that represents a voluntary 
        return of a special financial assistance payment, shall be 
        transferred to the general fund of the Treasury.
    ``(p) Payments From Applicable Multiemployer Plans.--The 
corporation shall accept any payment (including a payment required 
under subsection (o)(1)) made to such corporation by an eligible 
multiemployer plan.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to overpayments of special financial assistance 
under section 4262 of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (29 
U.S.C. 1104) occurring before, on, or after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
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