U.S. Senate passes Kennedy, Peters, Wyden bill to end government payments to deceased Americans

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate 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.

Kennedy's original bipartisan law established key provisions to curb erroneous government payments to deceased individuals for a three-year period, a reform expected to save at least $330 million from 2024 to 2026. The new Kennedy-Peters-Wyden bill would make this temporary halt on such payments permanent.

"It is unconscionable that hardworking Americans are forced to foot the bill for the government's wasteful payments to dead people. I applaud the U.S. Senate for taking bold action by passing my crucial bill to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from our federal budget. Now, the U.S. House of Representatives ought to step up and pass this vital reform without delay," said Kennedy.

"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.

In January 2025, the Treasury Department announced that it recovered $31 million in fraud and improper payments during the first five months of the implementation of Kennedy's Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, in which the U.S. Social Security Administration shared its Death Master File with the Treasury Department to temporarily avoid erroneous payments.

The Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act would permanently amend the Social Security Act to allow the Social Security Administration to share the Death Master File-a record of deceased individuals-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 working system to compare death information from the Social Security Administration with personal information from other federal entities and to share this information with any paying or administering agency that is authorized to use the Do Not Pay system.

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

"Government by and for the people should run as efficiently as possible, and we owe it to the people to cut waste. I'm proud to cosponsor the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which has now passed out of the Senate, that permanently codifies coordination between the Department of Treasury and Social Security Administration to eliminate payments to dead people," said Moody.

"I'm glad to see this important legislation to save taxpayer money pass through the Senate. This is the kind of strategic approach we should be taking to improve government efficiency - a measured and bipartisan legislative fix to ensure federal funds are being appropriately spent. I hope this targeted fix is soon signed into law," 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 July 2025, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously advanced Kennedy's Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, sending it to the Senate floor.

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

• In May 2024, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously passed Kennedy's Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People's Act.

• Kennedy's Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act became law in December 2020. This bill mandated the sharing of the Social Security Administration's Death Master File with the Department of the Treasury's Do Not Pay working system within three years after enactment. The three-year exchange period runs from December 27, 2023, to December 27, 2025.

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

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

Full bill text is available here.