Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
Latest action · Feb 10, 2026 Became Public Law No: 119-77.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 28, 2025
- Passed SenateSep 19, 2025
- Passed HouseJan 12, 2026
- To the PresidentFeb 3, 2026
- Became lawFeb 10, 2026Public Law 119-77
Summary
Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
This act permanently allows the Department of the Treasury to access certain death records maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help prevent and recover improper payments (e.g., payments to deceased individuals). The act also establishes evidentiary requirements the SSA must meet before identifying an individual as deceased.
Current law requires the SSA to share its Death Master File with the Do Not Pay system maintained by Treasury for three years. The act makes this requirement permanent. Treasury must enter into an agreement with the SSA related to Treasury's share of the cost of state death data.
The act also prohibits the SSA from recording a death in the master file unless the SSA has clear and convincing evidence that the individual should be presumed deceased. If an individual is incorrectly identified as deceased and provides the SSA with supporting documentation, the SSA may notify certain agencies that have access to the master file, including Treasury and federal or state agencies that provide or disburse federally funded benefits.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 28, 2025 to Jul 29, 2025; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Original | Jan 28, 2025 |
| D-VA | Mark R. Warner | Feb 24, 2025 | |
| R-IA | Joni Ernst | Mar 10, 2025 | |
| R-FL | Ashley Moody | Jul 29, 2025 | |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Jul 29, 2025 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | Referred Jan 28, 2025Markup Jul 30, 2025Discharged Sep 19, 2025 |
Actions 17
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 10, 2026Signed by President.
- Feb 10, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-77.
- Feb 3, 2026Presented to President.
- Jan 12, 2026Mr. Smith (MO) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Jan 12, 2026Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H634-637)
- Jan 12, 2026DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 269.
- Jan 12, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H634)
- Jan 12, 2026Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Oct 10, 2025Received in the House.
- Oct 10, 2025Held at the desk.
- Oct 8, 2025Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Sep 19, 2025Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
- Sep 19, 2025Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6798)
- Sep 19, 2025Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S6798)
- Jul 30, 2025Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Jan 28, 2025Introduced in Senate
- Jan 28, 2025Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H634–H637Text printed H634 | Aaron Bean R-FL, Jason Smith R-MO, Lloyd Doggett D-TX, Ron Estes R-KS | Jan 12, 2026 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6798Amendments S6797, S6798 | Gary C. Peters D-MI (amendment), John Kennedy R-LA (amendment), John Thune R-SD, Ron Wyden D-OR (amendment) | Sep 19, 2025 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 119-55 | CURBING FEDERAL FRAUD: EXAMINING INNOVATIVE TOOLS TO DETECT AND PREVENT FRAUD IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS34 pages | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Jan 13, 2026 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R48850 | Centralizing Access to Data to Prevent Improper Payments: A Discussion of the Do Not Pay Data System | Report | Feb 9, 2026 |
Amendments 1
Amendments offered to this bill.
| Amendment | Description | Offered by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SA 3912 | In the nature of a substitute. | John Kennedy R-LAfor John Thune | Amendment SA 3912 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent. |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2716 | Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act | Identical bill | Jan 7, 2026 |
Titles 4
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to improve coordination between Federal and State agencies and the Do Not Pay working system.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed Senate
- Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
- Short Titles from ENR (Enrolled) bill text
- Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Social Welfare.
Text 3
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- Sep 19, 2025Engrossed in Senate
- Jan 28, 2025Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
