[Senate Report 118-252]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 653
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-252
_______________________________________________________________________
ENDING IMPROPER PAYMENTS TO DECEASED PEOPLE ACT
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
TO ACCOMPANY
S. 2492
TO AMEND TITLE II OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT
TO IMPROVE COORDINATION BETWEEN THE DO NOT PAY
WORKING SYSTEM AND FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES
AUTHORIZED TO USE THE SYSTEM
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
December 2, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
59-010 WASHINGTON : 2025
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
LAPHONZA R. BUTLER, California ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Alan S. Kahn, Chief Counsel
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Annika W. Christensen, Senior Professional Staff Member
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 653
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-252
======================================================================
ENDING IMPROPER PAYMENTS TO DECEASED
PEOPLE ACT
_______
December 2, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2492]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 2492) to amend
title II of the Social Security Act to improve coordination
between the Do Not Pay working system and Federal and State
agencies authorized to use the system, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment, in the
nature of a substitute, and recommends that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............5
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 2492, the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People
Act, would permanently authorize the Social Security
Administration (SSA) to share access to the full death data
file, the most accurate and complete list of deceased people
maintained by SSA, with the Do Not Pay (DNP) working system at
the Department of the Treasury. The current authorization to
share this information is temporary and expires in 2026. DNP is
responsible for helping federal agencies prevent and detect
improper payments, and it uses this data to prevent erroneous
federal payments including payments to deceased people.
Ensuring DNP can continue using this data would help combat
improper payments, with an estimated impact of $49.9 million in
prevention, detection, and recovery of improper payments over
ten years.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
In June 2019, the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs reported S. 1333, the Stopping Improper
Payments to Deceased People Act, a bipartisan bill that
required SSA to share its full death data file with DNP. DNP is
a federal resource, governed by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and managed by the Treasury Department, that
allows agencies to check against key federal data sources
before making a payment. That legislation aimed to ensure all
agencies have access to the most complete and up-to-date list
of deceased individuals, helping avoid improper payments to
those individuals.\1\ In December 2020, a version of S. 1333
was enacted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021,
requiring SSA to share its death data with DNP. The
Consolidated Appropriations Act included a three-year sunset on
these authorities, which expires in December 2026.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\S. 1333, 116th Cong. (2019).
\2\Pub. L. No. 116-260. Sec. 801, 134 Stat. 1182, 3201 (Dec. 27,
2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Committee has conducted oversight for many years on
the issue of improper payments by the federal government to
people who are deceased. In 2010, the Committee's first
investigation resulted in a report by the Ranking Member of the
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, identifying
various federal payments to individuals who were deceased, from
farm subsidies to rental assistance. Committee hearings and
continued oversight in the 113th and 114th Congresses found
that many federal agencies did not have access to sufficient
and accurate information needed to prevent improper payments to
deceased individuals. Most federal agencies did not have access
to the complete death information maintained by SSA (a file
incorporating death reports that SSA receives from family
members, funeral homes, states, agencies, postal authorities,
and financial institutions) and instead relied on a slimmed
down, less complete, and less timely version of this file.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
Report to Accompany S. 1333 (June 2019) (S. Rept. 116-49).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This issue has persisted, despite evolving federal tools to
combat improper payments. In 2012, Congress authorized the ``Do
Not Pay initiative,'' requiring agencies to check a central set
of federal databases before making a payment, to ensure the
recipient is not ineligible to receive federal funds. DNP
allows agencies to quickly check against key data sources from
Treasury, GSA, HUD, and others.\4\ DNP also allowed agencies to
check the partial, incomplete SSA list of deceased individuals.
However, DNP was not authorized to access SSA's full death data
file SSA maintains.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\Pub. L. No. 112-248 (2012).
\5\Government Accountability Office, COVID-19: Opportunities to
Improve Federal Response and Recovery Efforts (GAO-20-625), at 27 (June
2020) (https://www.gao.gov/assets/d20625%20opt.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In April and May 2020, this issue arose again after
enactment of the CARES Act, when federal Economic Impact
Payments were improperly sent to deceased people.\6\ DNP's lack
of access to SSA's full death data was a key contributor in
failing to detect these improper payments. While the IRS had
access to the full death data maintained by SSA, Treasury and
its Bureau of the Fiscal Service did not. Lack of full access
to this data delayed solutions to filtering out improper
payments, as these agencies were forced to create temporary
data agreements and processes.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\Minority Staff, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee, Billions Wasted: No Excuse for Taxpayer Dollars
Going to Deceased People (June 2020) (https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-
content/uploads/imo/media/doc/200629_HSGACReport_
ImproperPaymentsCARESAct.pdf).
\7\Government Accountability Office, supra note 4, at 25-28.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act would
extend current authorities and authorize SSA to continue
sharing the most complete death data with DNP, to help agencies
combat improper payments. According to the Treasury Department,
ensuring permanent access to this death data would help
agencies prevent, detect, or recover approximately $49.9
million in improper payments over ten years.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, FY
2024 Budget: Legislative Proposals (copy on file with Committee).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Legislative History
Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced S. 2492, the Ending
Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, on July 25, 2023,
with original cosponsor Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE). The bill
was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs. Senator Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH)
joined as an additional cosponsor on May 14, 2024.
The Committee considered S. 2492 at a business meeting on
May 15, 2024. At the business meeting, Senator Carper offered a
substitute amendment to the bill. The Carper substitute
amendment incorporated technical assistance from agencies,
including the Treasury Department, the Social Security
Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget. The
substitute amendment eliminated duplicative language in the
introduced bill that unnecessarily restated existing Do Not Pay
authorities. Instead, the substitute amendment clarified that
data may be used only for authorized uses of Do Not Pay. The
substitute amendment also adjusted language regarding the
effective date of the bill, to account for time passed since
the bill's introduction. The Committee adopted the Carper
substitute amendment by unanimous consent, with Senators
Peters, Carper, Hassan, Rosen, Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford,
Romney, Scott, Hawley, and Marshall present. The bill, as
amended by the Carper substitute amendment, was ordered
reported favorably by roll call vote of 11 yeas to 0 nays, with
Senators Peters, Carper, Hassan, Rosen, Blumenthal, Paul,
Lankford, Romney, Scott, Hawley, and Marshall voting in the
affirmative. Senators Sinema, Ossoff, Butler, and Johnson voted
yea by proxy, for the record only.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act.''
Section 2. Improving coordination between Federal and State agencies
and the Do Not Pay working system
This section authorizes the Commissioner of Social Security
to share SSA's death certificate information with the DNP
working system at the Department of Treasury, for authorized
uses of the DNP working system (i.e., to identify ineligible
recipients and prevent improper payments). This section also
contains conforming amendments to have the bill take effect on
December 28, 2026.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 2492 would permanently require the Social Security
Administration (SSA) to share all of its data on deaths with
the Do Not Pay program--a program administered by the
Department of the Treasury that allows agencies to identify
ineligible recipients by checking various databases before
payments are made. Under current law, that requirement expires
on December 27, 2026.
SSA collects information on deaths and maintains a record
of all deaths reported to the agency, dating to 1936. SSA has
more than 142 million death records that contain the deceased
person's name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date
of death, including 40 million records of deaths reported by
states. SSA uses those data to administer its programs and
shares the information with other agencies that administer
federal benefit programs.
SSA provides the complete death file (also known as the
full file of death information) to eight federal agencies,
including the Internal Revenue Service, the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Department of Defense.
Other agencies that pay federal benefits can access that
information using the Do Not Pay program.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-
260) directed SSA to make the complete death file available to
the Do Not Pay program through December 27, 2026. Before that
law was enacted, the Do Not Pay program did not have access to
the complete death file. After December 27, 2026, the Do Not
Pay program will not include data on the 40 million deaths
reported by states.
CBO expects that the expanded availability of information
on deaths reduces the amount of mistaken payments. However, the
agencies making the largest benefit payments already use the
full file of death information, so the availability of that
data through the Do Not Pay program is unlikely to
significantly reduce payments to deceased people. In addition,
the Department of the Treasury has mechanisms to recover
improper payments that are identified after the fact, so many
such payments are already recovered. For those reasons, CBO
estimates that enacting S. 2492 would reduce direct spending by
an insignificant amount.
Because the bill would extend current policy, CBO estimates
that implementing it would increase agency administrative costs
by an insignificant amount. Such spending would be subject to
the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Noah Meyerson
and Matthew Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by Christina
Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021
* * * * * * *
DIVISION FF--OTHER MATTER
* * * * * * *
Title VIII--Access to Death Information Furnished to or Maintained by
the Social Security Administration
* * * * * * *
SEC. 801. ACCESS TO DEATH INFORMATION FURNISHED TO OR MAINTAINED BY THE
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.
(a) In General.--Section 205(r) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 405(r)) is amended--
(1) * * *
(2) * * *
(3) * * *
(4) * * *
(5) * * *
(6) * * *
[(7) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(11) During the 3-year period that begins on the
effective date of this paragraph, the Commissioner of
Social Security shall, to the extent feasible, provide
information furnished to the Commissioner under
paragraph (1) to the agency operating the Do Not Pay
working system described in section 3354(c) of title
31, United States Code, to prevent improper payments to
deceased individuals through a cooperative arrangement
with such agency, provided that the requirements of
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (3) are met with
respect to such arrangement with such agency.''.]
(7) by adding at the end the following paragraph:
``(11) The Commissioner of Social Security shall, to
the extent feasible, provide information furnished to
the Commissioner under paragraph (1) to the agency
operating the Do Not Pay working system described in
section 3354(c) of title 31, United States Code, for
the authorized uses of the Do Not Pay working system
through a cooperative arrangement with such agency,
provided that the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and
(B) of paragraph (3) are met with respect to such
arrangement with such agency.'.''.
(b) Effective Dates.--
(1) * * *
(2) Delay.--The amendment made by paragraph (7) of
subsection (a) shall take effect [on the date that is 3
years after the date of enactment of this Act] on
December 28, 2026.
* * * * * * *
[all]