Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) announced that his bill, the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, has passed both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and is now awaiting the president’s signature.
“I want to talk to you about the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act. Boy, that’s a mouthful. Here’s what I want to talk about: Many Louisianians read the stories about the welfare fraud in Minnesota, and frankly in other states, and it makes them nauseous. I feel the same way. That’s why I have been working for years—literally years—to target welfare fraud, especially the fraudsters who conduct fraud in the name of deceased Americans,” Kennedy said.
He highlighted that in 2023, $1.3 billion was sent by the federal government to deceased individuals. The Social Security Administration keeps a list called the Death Master File, which records deaths reported by states.
“We found that Social Security was not sharing this information—the names of the folks on the Death Master File—with the rest of the federal government. One branch of government wasn’t talking to another branch of government,” Kennedy stated.
Kennedy explained he questioned why this information was not being shared more widely within federal agencies: “I asked [the Social Security Administration], ‘Why don’t you talk to your colleagues and other colleagues in the federal government, so we stop paying dead people?’ Social Security told me it needed Congress’s permission to share this information with, for example, the Treasury Department so it could include the list of dead Americans in its Do Not Pay system.”
He continued: “I didn’t argue with them. I said, ‘I’m just going to go pass a bill.’ Well, a few years ago, I did. I passed a bill called the Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, and that bill allowed the Social Security Administration to temporarily share its Death Master File with the Department of the Treasury.”
According to Kennedy, since December 2023 this temporary data-sharing measure saved at least $330 million by reducing improper payments: “Well, it worked—duh. Since December of 2023, this bill has saved the federal government at least $330 million in improper payments. We’re no longer paying dead people and having their friends or relatives or whomever cash the checks.”
Kennedy emphasized that making this arrangement permanent required further legislation: “It was obvious that Congress needed to make this data-sharing arrangement permanent, so . . . I introduced a second bill to do just that. That’s why it took years to get this done. This week, I’m pleased to say the House passed my bill, the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act. This bill had already passed the Senate, and now that it’s passed the House, it’s on its way to President Trump’s desk so he can sign it into law.”
He concluded: “Now, dead people don’t need welfare. I think that’s obvious. But I’m not going to stop with just this bill. I’m going to continue to urge my colleagues in the Senate and my friends in the House to pass another reconciliation bill—which we can do without Democratic votes, just like we did the One Big Beautiful Bill—to include the subject of welfare fraud. Welfare fraud: it’s inexcusable. It’s unconscionable.
“These are taxpayer dollars, and I’m not going to stop until we get it done.”
Senator Kennedy represents Louisiana as a member of the U.S. Senate and operates offices across several cities including Alexandria and Baton Rouge as well as Washington D.C., according to his official website. He also chairs key committees such as Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and serves on Appropriations among others (source). Kennedy engages constituents through public events and newsletters (source) while offering services like assistance with federal agencies.
