Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today celebrated the enactment of his legislation that would save Americans’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars by curbing erroneous payments to individuals who have died.
“Today is the final lap of getting this bill across the finish line so that the personal data and Social Security benefits of millions of Americans are protected,” Wyden said. ““I am pleased to see the signing of our bipartisan bill into law, fixing our federal government’s payment systems to ensure that millions of taxpayer dollars are saved every year. As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, I am committed to safeguarding the hard-earned benefits of Americans.”
Joining Wyden, the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act was also led by U.S. Senators John Kennedy, R-La., and Gary Peters, D-Mich. U.S. Representative Clay Higgins, R-La., led the companion version of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 2023, the Social Security Administration (SSA) began sharing its list of deceased individuals with the Treasury Department to reduce improper payments to these individuals. This data exchange, established by Congress on a three-year pilot program, allowed the federal government to generate substantial savings. In its first five months, the Treasury Department announced it recovered $31 million in fraud and improper payments. The Department also projected it would reduce more than $215 million in improper payments by 2027.
Wyden’s Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act made this data-sharing agreement permanent to prevent agencies from making improper payments to deceased people.
Wyden also authored a provision in the bill to prohibit the SSA from listing any individual in its records as ‘deceased’ unless it has clear and convincing evidence that the individual is in fact deceased. This provision was developed in response to news reports that the SSA was falsely declaring certain immigrants as ‘deceased’ to pressure legal U.S. residents to leave the country. Following these concerning reports, Wyden demanded the SSA stop this illegal, unconstitutional action and launch a full investigation. In June, the SSA informed Wyden that it stopped this practice. Wyden’s provision in this bill would ensure the SSA can no longer weaponize its data to take away Americans’ earned benefits or inflict irreparable harm on people who are alive.
The text of the bill is here.