U.S. House of Representatives passes Kennedy, Peters, Wyden bill to end government payments to deceased Americans

WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Ron Wyden's (D-Ore.)'s Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which would save hard-earned taxpayer money by curbing erroneous payments to individuals who have passed away. The bill now moves to President Donald Trump's desk for signature.

"The fact that the federal government is sending checks to dead people-often to be cashed by fraudsters-makes me want to reach for the barf bucket. That's why I wrote this bill to permanently stop this outrageous fraud from happening, and I'm thrilled to see Congress officially on board with this commonsense fix," said Kennedy.

In 2020, Kennedy passed a bipartisan law, the Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which put in place key provisions to stop erroneous government payments to deceased individuals for three years. Kennedy's reform was expected to save at least $330 million from 2024 to 2026.

The new Kennedy-Peters-Wyden bill, which the U.S. Senate unanimously passed in September 2025,would make this temporary fix permanent.

"This bill will help save millions of taxpayer dollars by ensuring that the Social Security Administration can permanently share important data with the Treasury's Do Not Pay system, preventing wrongful payments to deceased individuals. I have long supported this legislation because I believe it is a vital step in safeguarding taxpayer dollars and ensuring the integrity of our payment systems," said Peters.

"This bipartisan bill fixes our federal government's payment systems so that millions of taxpayer dollars are saved every year. As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, I am committed to ensuring that Americans' hard earned benefits are protected. That's why I'm supporting this bill to ensure Americans' personal data and earned benefits from Social Security are protected," said Wyden.

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) led the U.S. House of Representatives companion bill to the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) supported its passage.

"Nothing is more wasteful than the federal government sending money to deceased people, and the American taxpayer will no longer foot the bill for the federal government's mistakes. Republicans have prioritized eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, and this legislation builds upon the important reforms we delivered through the Working Families Tax Cuts," said Johnson.

"It's pretty simple: the government shouldn't be sending taxpayer dollars to people who have passed away. Thanks to Sen. Kennedy's Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, the Treasury will put an end to this egregious use of federal dollars. This is another way Republicans are delivering on our promise to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington. I'm thankful to my good friend from Louisiana for his leadership on this issue and am happy to see this critical legislation pass the House and head to the President's desk," said Scalise.

Kennedy's original 2020 law saved taxpayer money by directing the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) to temporarily share its Death Master File-a record of deceased individuals-with the Treasury Department to avoid erroneous payments.

Kennedy's new Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act would permanently allow the SSA to share the Death Master File with the Treasury Department's Do Not Pay system. This change would rein in the government's ability to make improper payments to deceased people in the future.

This bill would also allow the Treasury's Do Not Pay system to compare death information from the SSA with personal information from other federal entities, and to share this information with any paying or administering agency authorized to use the Do Not Pay system.

Sens. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) also cosponsored the Senate bill.

"As stewards of our fellow taxpayers, we owe it to them to be sure their hard-earned dollars are well spent and NOT WASTED. Great to see the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which permanently codifies coordination between the Department of Treasury and Social Security Administration to eliminate payments to dead people, has now passed both the House and the Senate and is headed to the President's desk. A step in the right direction for ending waste, fraud and abuse running rampant in Washington," said Moody.

"Our government has a responsibility to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. I am glad that this bipartisan bill to update existing safeguards and better prevent unintentional payments to deceased people has passed the House, and I encourage President Trump to sign it into law immediately," said Hassan.

"As Americans struggle to afford the cost of living, Congress should be doing everything in its power to save taxpayer dollars and protect government resources from fraud and abuse. I'm thrilled to see this legislation pass through the House of Representatives - the last step needed in order to send this to the President's desk for his signature. I will continue working in a bipartisan manner to improve efficiency and ensure that our government is working for the American people," said Warner.

Background:

Kennedy has long championed the cause of saving billions of dollars in taxpayer money by ending improper payments to deceased Americans:

• In December 2024, Kennedy urged his colleagues from the U.S. Senate floor to save taxpayer dollars by supporting the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased Americans Act.

• In 2021, Kennedy wrote this op-ed sounding the alarm on the government's sending more than $1 billion to deceased Americans.

• Kennedy's Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act became law in December 2020, with its three-year exchange period running from December 27, 2023, to December 27, 2025.

• In 2019, Kennedy questioned U.S. Government Accountability Office Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro about improper payments sent to deceased Americans.

Full bill text is available here.