Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) have advanced their joint legislation, the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, through the House of Representatives. The bill is now awaiting President Trump’s signature to become law.
The proposed law seeks to address government inefficiency by requiring the Social Security Administration to regularly share its “Death Master File” with the Treasury Department’s “Do Not Pay” system. This measure aims to prevent payments from being sent to deceased individuals. In 2023, $1.3 billion in federal funds were reportedly sent to people who had already died.
“This legislation will immediately save American taxpayers billions of dollars. It’s a simple fix to address government waste,” said Congressman Higgins. “As a fiscal conservative, I’m eager to see this bill, which reduces wasteful spending without expanding the size of the government, signed into law. I appreciate Senator Kennedy for his diligent work to get this joint effort to President Trump’s desk.”
Senator Kennedy added, “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.”
Clay Higgins has served as U.S. Representative for Louisiana’s 3rd district since 2017 after succeeding Charles Boustany and previously served in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Born in New Orleans in 1961, Higgins currently resides in Lafayette.
