# 119-hr-2716: Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act

119-hr-2716, Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-29).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2716
- As of: 2026-07-29
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-2716
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-04-08
- Sponsor: Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Social Welfare
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-29

## Summary

**Better federal-state data sharing to stop improper payments.** This bill would let the Social Security Administration (SSA) share death and related records with the Do Not Pay working system to prevent and recover improper payments, require strong proof before SSA records a death, and set rules for states to share costs. It takes effect December 27, 2026. - Families and beneficiaries: Reduces the risk that someone is wrongly recorded as deceased and loses benefits. SSA could not record a death for shared records without clear and convincing evidence. - State agencies: Requires a cooperative agreement that spells out each party's share of State death data costs and allows periodic review of that cost-sharing method. - Federal payment-integrity programs: Allows the Do Not Pay agency to use SSA-provided data for authorized prevention and recovery work, and requires notice to cooperating agencies when errors occur.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Meuser, Daniel [R-PA-9] (R-PA), 2025-12-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller-Meeks, Mariannette [R-IA-1] (R-IA), 2025-12-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Clear proof needed before marking death: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would prohibit the Social Security Administration from recording a death in records that could be shared under this section unless the agency has clear and convincing evidence the person is deceased. The rule would raise the proof needed before someone is marked as dead to redu…
- New death-data sharing for Social Security: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would let the Social Security Administration share death records with the federal Do Not Pay working system to help stop improper payments and recover overpayments. The sharing would be only to the extent feasible and only through cooperative arrangements that meet the law's ex…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-2716 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2716)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-21)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2716 (as of 2026-07-29).