H.R. 2716 · Where this bill is now
Became law through another bill
Its text was included in S. 269, Public Law 119-77 (per the Congressional Research Service). This bill number itself: Waiting for a House vote.
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryPermanently stops payments to deceased people
Right now, the Social Security Administration shares death records with the Treasury Department's system for checking improper payments, but this arrangement only lasts three years. This bill makes that sharing permanent, so the government can keep using death records to catch and prevent payments going to people who have passed away.
How it affects you
This mainly affects how federal agencies operate behind the scenes. For you as a taxpayer, it could mean slightly less government money goes to payments that shouldn't happen in the first place, though the official summary doesn't spell out exactly how much this would save or how it would change things for specific groups of people.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Apr 8, 2025)
Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
This bill permanently allows the Department of the Treasury to access certain death records maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) in order to facilitate the identification and prevention of improper payments (e.g., payments to deceased individuals).
Current law requires the SSA to share its Death Master File with the Do Not Pay system maintained by Treasury for three years. The bill makes this requirement permanent.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 2716
A BILL
Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
Sponsor: Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA-3) · Introduced Apr 8, 2025 · Social Welfare · 2 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jan 7, 2026: “Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 371.”
Numbers that changed
Dollar amounts, dates and percentages, taken word for word from the text| Section | Where | Before | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sec. 2Date | Improving coordination between Federal and State agencies and the do not pay working system…made by this section shall take effect on December 27, 2026.…Introduced → Committee version | December 28, 2026 | December 27, 2026 |
Listed only when one value replaced another and the surrounding words stayed the same. Open a section to read the full wording.