[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3565-S3567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2171. Mr. CARPER (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4049, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place insert the following:
SEC. __. IMPROVING THE DETECTION, PREVENTION, AND RECOVERY OF
IMPROPER PAYMENTS TO DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.
(a) Distribution of Death Information Furnished to or
Maintained by the Social Security Administration.--
(1) In general.--
(A) In general.--Section 205(r) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 405(r)) is amended--
(i) 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'';
(ii) 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--
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``(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
(iii) 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)''.
(B) Repeal.--Effective on the date that is 5 years after
the date of enactment of this Act, the amendments made by
this paragraph 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.
(2) Amendments to internal revenue code.--
(A) In general.--Section 6103(d)(4) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended--
(i) in subparagraphs (A) and (B), by striking ``Secretary
of Health and Human Services'' each place it appears and
inserting ``Commissioner of Social Security''; and
(ii) 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.''.
(B) Effective date.--The amendments made by this paragraph
take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
(3) Report to congress on alternative sources of death
data.--
(A) 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--
(i) the accuracy and completeness of such data;
(ii) interoperability of such data;
(iii) the extent to which there is efficient accessibility
of such data by Federal agencies;
(iv) the cost to Federal agencies of accessing and
maintaining such data;
(v) the security of such data;
(vi) the reliability of such data; and
(vii) a comparison of the potential alternate sources of
death data to the death data distributed by the Commissioner
of Social Security.
(B) 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
subparagraph (A). 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 paragraph (1)(A) beyond the date
on which such amendments are to be repealed under paragraph
(1)(B).
(b) 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).''.
(c) Plan for Ensuring the Accuracy and Completeness of
Death Data Maintained and Distributed by the Social Security
Administration.--
(1) 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
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under titles II or XVI of the Social Security Act) maintained
and distributed by the Social Security Administration.
(2) Content of plan.--In developing the plan required under
paragraph (1), the Commissioner of Social Security shall
consider whether to include the following elements:
(A) Procedures for--
(i) 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;
(ii) verifying the information contained in the records of
the Social Security Administration with respect to
individuals described in clause (i) and correcting any
inaccuracies; and
(iii) where appropriate, disclosing corrections made to the
records of the Social Security Administration.
(B) Improved policies and procedures for identifying and
correcting erroneous death records, including policies and
procedures for--
(i) identifying individuals listed as dead who are actually
alive;
(ii) identifying individuals listed as alive who are
actually dead; and
(iii) allowing individuals or survivors of deceased
individuals to notify the Social Security Administration of
potential errors.
(C) Improved policies and procedures to identify and
correct discrepancies in the records of the Social Security
Administration, including social security number records.
(D) 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.
(E) Recommendations for legislation, as necessary.
(d) 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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