119-HR-2716 Journalist Public Summary
119 · HR 2716 Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
A House bill would keep Social Security death data flowing to Treasury’s Do Not Pay system to stop payments to people who have died, add safeguards to avoid wrongly marking someone as deceased, and is now queued for House floor consideration. (congress.gov)
Headline Summary
Keeps federal “Do Not Pay” checks using Social Security death records going past 2026 and adds protections so living people aren’t mistakenly flagged as dead. (congress.gov)
What It Does
- Continues sharing Social Security death information with the Treasury’s Do Not Pay system so agencies can prevent and claw back improper payments, and sets up an agreement to split state data costs. (congress.gov) - Raises the bar for recording a death at SSA to a “clear and convincing evidence” standard. (congress.gov) - Requires SSA to notify partner agencies if someone is wrongly listed as deceased, to help fix errors across programs. (congress.gov) - Takes effect December 27, 2026 (timed to when current temporary access authority ends). (congress.gov) - Context: Do Not Pay is a Treasury-run tool agencies use to check eligibility against data sources like death records before paying. (law.cornell.edu)
Why It Matters
- Stopping payments to deceased individuals can save taxpayer dollars; a recent Treasury pilot using full death data prevented or recovered $31 million in five months. (home.treasury.gov) - Keeping access to complete death data after 2026 avoids a lapse that could weaken pre‑payment checks. (congress.gov)
Who’s For It
- Sponsor: Rep. Clay Higgins (R‑LA). (congress.gov)
- Bipartisan committee backing: House Ways and Means advanced it 40–0 on December 10, 2025. (congress.gov)
- Supporters argue it reduces waste by letting agencies catch errors before money goes out, pointing to Do Not Pay’s track record and pilot results. (home.treasury.gov)
Who’s Against It
- No formal opposition was recorded in committee. (congress.gov)
- Skeptics note potential savings may be modest because many big programs already use full death data; CBO has previously estimated only a small budget impact from making access permanent. (congress.gov)
- Privacy and accuracy concerns can arise with data matching; the bill addresses this by requiring stronger evidence before SSA marks a death and by notifying agencies to correct mistakes. (law.cornell.edu)
What’s Next
The bill was reported to the House on January 7, 2026 and placed on the Union Calendar (No. 371). Next step: House floor debate and vote; if it passes, it moves to the Senate. A similar Senate measure (S.269) has already passed the Senate and is held at the House desk. (congress.gov)
Discussion