U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

39–010 

" ! SENATE 113TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2013

113–124 

Calendar No. 260 

IMPROPER PAYMENTS AGENCY 

COOPERATION ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2013 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

S. 1360 

TO AMEND THE IMPROPER PAYMENTS ELIMINATION AND RECOVERY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2012, INCLUDING MAKING CHANGES 

TO THE DO NOT PAY INITIATIVE, FOR IMPROVED DETECTION, 

PREVENTION, AND RECOVERY OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS TO DECEASED INDIVIDUALS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

DECEMBER 12 (legislative day, DECEMBER 11), 2013.—Ordered to be 

printed 


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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware Chairman 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

JON TESTER, Montana 

MARK BEGICH, Alaska 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

RICHARD J. KESSLER, Staff Director 

JOHN P. KILVINGTON, Deputy Staff Director 

BETH M. GROSSMAN, Chief Counsel 

PETER P. TYLER, Senior Professional Staff Member 

KEITH B. ASHDOWN, Minority Staff Director 

CHRISTOPHER J. BARKLEY, Minority Deputy Staff Director 

ANDREW C. DOCKHAM, Minority Chief Counsel 

PATRICK J. BAILEY, Minority Counsel 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 


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Calendar No. 260 

113TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 1st Session 113–124 

IMPROPER PAYMENTS AGENCY COOPERATION 

ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2013 

DECEMBER 12 (legislative day, DECEMBER 11), 2013.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. CARPER, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1360] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (S. 1360) to amend the Improper 

Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012, including making changes to the Do Not Pay initiative, for improved 

detection, prevention, and recovery of improper payments to deceased individuals, and for other purposes, having considered the 

same, reports favorably thereon and recommends that the bill do 

pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 8 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 8 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 10 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Estimate ......................................................... 11 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ........................... 12 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

S. 1360 seeks to reduce the inadvertent and improper payment 

of federal benefits to deceased individuals. It does so by (1) directing the Social Security Administration (SSA) to share its most complete database of deceased individuals with other federal agencies, 

(2) improving the accuracy of the death data the federal government collects, and (3) improving the sharing of best practices 

among government agencies to better identify, prevent and recover 

improper payments to dead people. In addition, S. 1360 requires 


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1 Congressional Research Service (CRS), Improper Payments and Recovery Audits: Legislation, 

Implementation, and Analysis, R42878 (January 2, 2013), p. 1. 2Pursuant to an executive order, the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Attorney General and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) maintains a website on improper 

payments reporting at http://www.paymentaccuracy.gov/. 3 CRS, Improper Payments and Recovery Audits: Legislation, Implementation, and Analysis, 

R42878, (January 2, 2013), p. 1. 4The list of the 24 agencies covered by this mandate is found at 31 U.S.C.A. § 901(b)(1)(2004). 

5Pub. L.No. 107–300, 116 Stat. 2350, (31 U.S.C.A. § 3321 note)(2002). 

6Pub. L. No. 111–204, 124 Stat. 2224 (2010). 

improvements to the data analytics operations of the Do Not Pay 

Initiative for the purposes of curbing improper payments, and provides federal agencies and their inspectors general with access to 

the Postal Service’s database of mail delivery addresses, to better 

allow identification of individuals or businesses whose lack of a 

physical address prohibits them from billing for federal services. 

II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

This Committee has long been concerned with the federal government’s persistent improper payment problem—that is, executive 

branch agencies’ too common mistake of sending money to people 

or companies, whether for benefits or under contracts, either in an 

incorrect amount or when no money should be paid to the recipient 

at all. Improper payments include remittances to ineligible recipients, duplicate payments, payments for a good or service not received, and payments that do not reflect credits for applicable discounts.1 Improper payments by federal agencies impose a significant cost on taxpayers; the Treasury loses literally billions of dollars annually to overpayments, including, at times, fraudulent payments to government contractors, program beneficiaries, and others. For fiscal year 2012, for example, federal agencies reported an 

estimated total of $108 billion in improper payments, a decrease 

from the $116 billion reported for the prior fiscal year, but still a 

staggering amount.2

A. PREVIOUS LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

For over a decade, a series of important laws and administrative 

actions have attempted to identify, prevent, and recover improper 

payments.3

Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA). Agencies 

began to deal comprehensively with improper payments following 

the enactment of IPIA, which required each agency subject to the 

requirements of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 4 to annually review all programs and activities that it administers, identify 

those that may be susceptible to significant improper payments, develop improper payments estimates for those programs deemed 

susceptible, and report the estimates annually.5

Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 

(IPERA). In July 2010, Congress passed, and the President signed, 

IPERA to enhance the reporting and reduction of improper payments.6 IPERA amended IPIA by expanding on the previous requirements for identifying, estimating, and reporting on programs 

and activities susceptible to significant improper payments and expanding requirements for recovering overpayments across a broad 

range of federal programs. IPERA: 


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7See Memorandum on Enhancing Payment Accuracy Through a ‘‘Do Not Pay List,’’ http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-enhancing-payment-accuracythrough-a-do-not-pay-list. 8Pub. L. No. 112–248, 126 Stat. 2390 (31 U.S.C.A. § 3321 note)(2013). 

• Added a requirement that any program with estimated improper payments exceeding specific dollar amounts and error rate 

thresholds set out in the law must report on the actions the agency 

is taking to reduce improper payments. 

• Imposed a new requirement for agencies to conduct audits to 

recover improper payments, where cost effective, for each program 

and activity with at least $1 million in annual program outlays. 

• Established incentives and budgetary penalties for programs 

that fail to comply with the requirements of the law over a reasonable number of years. 

• Required each federal agency’s inspector general to determine 

annually whether his or her agency is in compliance with certain 

IPERA requirements and to report on that determination. 

Do Not Pay List. In June 2010, the Administration established 

a Do Not Pay List via a White House memorandum.7 The memorandum requires agencies to prevent payment errors before they 

occur by directing them to check the Do Not Pay List before making any payments or grants. Housed within the Department of the 

Treasury, the Do Not Pay List was established to allow single-stop 

screening against the following databases: 

• The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Death Master 

File (DMF), which lists all deaths reported to the agency since 

1936; 

• The General Services Administration’s Excluded Parties 

List System, which lists entities debarred from receiving federal contracts; 

• The Department of the Treasury’s Debt Check Database, 

which contains information on individuals who owe delinquent 

child support or non-tax debt that might exclude them from 

certain federal loans, loan insurance, or loan guarantees; 

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 

(HUD) Credit Alert Verification Reporting System, which provides information on individuals who are in default or have 

had claims paid on direct or guaranteed federal loans, or are 

delinquent on other debts owed to federal agencies; and 

• The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of 

Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) List of Excluded Individuals/ 

Entities, which identifies those barred from federally-funded 

health care programs. 

The memorandum requires that agencies access these databases 

through a single federal government electronic portal. 

IPERA Improvement Act of 2012 (the ‘‘Improvement Act’’). This 

law went beyond IPERA’s goals for curbing agencies’ improper payments.8 Specifically, the Improvement Act: 

• Expanded requirements for agencies to estimate improper payments, forcing agencies to improve previously weak efforts at estimating such payments. For example, the Act prevents agencies 

from relying only on voluntary disclosure of improper payments by 

contractors and requires agencies to produce documentation to 

prove a payment was correct. 


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9 42 U.S.C.A. § 405(r)(2010) 

10 42 U.S.C.A. § 405(r)(6)( 2010). 11 ‘‘Curbing Federal Agency Waste and Fraud: New Steps to Strengthen the Integrity of Federal 

Payments;’’ Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

113th Cong. (2013) http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/curbing-federal-agency-waste-andfraud-new-steps-to-strengthen-the-integrity-of-federal-payments. 12To eliminate any confusion about the version that should be available to federal agencies, 

Section 7(b) of S. 1360 changes the name of the Death Master File to the National Death Registry (the ‘‘Registry’’). 

• Established in statute the government-wide Do Not Pay program (previously established through White House memorandum 

as described above) that requires agencies to check against a central, comprehensive database of entities ineligible to receive federal 

funds before making payments, including the SSA’s DMF and the 

other databases specified in the 2010 White House memorandum. 

The law also addressed some of the challenges encountered by the 

Administration as it attempted to implement its Do Not Pay program, such as the need for multilateral data sharing agreements 

among agencies. 

• Required that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 

within 120 days of enactment, issue a plan for curbing improper 

payments to deceased individuals. 

B. IMPEDIMENTS TO AGENCY ACCESS TO THE MOST COMPLETE

VERSION OF THE DEATH DATA

Most federal agencies do not have access to the most complete 

death records maintained by the SSA. The most complete version 

is provided to only a limited number of agencies due to statutory 

limits and a lack of interagency agreements between the requesting 

agency and SSA for sharing the death data. 

The SSA receives death reports from family members, funeral 

homes, states, other federal agencies, postal authorities, and financial institutions. SSA records a person’s death in the DMF if it can 

match that person’s name and Social Security number to its 

records. The Social Security Act requires SSA to share death information, including data reported by the states, with federal agencies 

to ensure proper payment of benefits to individuals.9

However, that same provision of the Social Security Act prohibits 

SSA from sharing state-reported death information for any other 

non-beneficiary purposes.10 As a result, SSA maintains a shorter 

public list, available for purchase from the Commerce Department’s 

National Technical Information Service, which excludes state-reported deaths—about 25 percent of SSA’s total records. 

Based on congressional testimony,11 the Committee believes that 

barring all non-beneficiary agencies from accessing the most complete death data is antiquated, and that the law must therefore be 

updated. Procedures would be in place to ensure security and privacy of the data by non-beneficiary paying agencies (the same required for beneficiary paying agencies). 

Unfortunately, even many benefit-paying federal agencies do not 

have access to the more comprehensive DMF.12 This is largely because establishing a cooperative agreement with SSA—a prerequisite under the statute—is a time-consuming process often taking years and can be a low priority for SSA and other agencies. Examples of benefit-paying federal agencies that currently do not 

have access to the complete DMF include: (1) Department of HomeVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:06 Dec 15, 2013 Jkt 039010 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR124.XXX SR124

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13Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (OPM–OIG), Stopping Improper 

Payment to Deceased Annuitants (September 14, 2011), p. ii. http://www.opm.gov/our-inspectorgeneral/legal-and-legislative-affairs/stopping-improper-payments-to-deceased-annuitants.pdf. 14GAO, Federal Farm Programs: USDA Needs to Strengthen Management Controls to Prevent 

Improper Payments to Estates and Deceased Individuals, GAO–07–1137T (July 24, 2007), p. 2. 

A recent report found that payments to dead individuals continue to be a problem at the Department of Agriculture. See Farm Programs: USDA Needs to Do More to Prevent Improper Payments to Deceased Individuals, GAO–13–503 (June 28, 2013). 15 Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS–OIG), Review of Medicare 

Payments to Prescription Drug Plans on Behalf of Deceased Enrollees, A–05–09–00027 (May 17, 

2011), p. i. 16 HHS–OIG, Review of Medicare Parts A and B Services Billed with Dates of Services After 

Beneficiaries’ Deaths, A–01–09–00519 (September 2010), p. i. 17 HHS–OIG, Review of Medicaid Payments for Deceased Recipients in New Mexico, A–06–10– 

00093 (March 31, 2011), p.i. 

land Security (2) Department of Agriculture (3) Department of 

Labor (4) Federal Black Lung Benefits Program (5) Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (6) Department of the Treasury and 

(7) Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. 

Even if these benefit-paying federal agencies received access to 

the more comprehensive list, many other agencies that make nonbenefit payments—and even programs within benefit-paying federal agencies that do not themselves make benefit payments—still 

would not have the ability to ensure that they were not making 

payments to deceased individuals. And their Inspectors General, 

whose audit work is so critical to ensuring the efficient function of 

federal programs, also would continue to have access only to the 

less complete list. Some examples of non-beneficiary agencies that 

are denied access to the complete DMF include: (1) Department of 

Justice (2) Department of State (3) Drug Enforcement Administration (4) Federal Bureau of Investigation (5) General Services Administration and (6) Centers for Disease Control. 

While all payment-making agencies are allowed access to the Do 

Not Pay Initiative to screen payments, SSA has provided the 

Treasury Department with access only to its less comprehensive 

death list for use in the Do Not Pay initiative. This means that a 

critical screening mechanism established by the IPERA Improvement Act to screen federal payments for improper payments omits 

a significant number of individuals that SSA knows have died. 

Denying access of the most complete death data to many federal 

agencies is significant and consequential to the level of federal improper payments. Federal agencies have in recent years remitted a 

large amount of money either to dead beneficiaries, or for payments 

for services for deceased individuals: 

• A total of $601 million in improper payments were made from 

2006 through 2010 to federal retirees found to have already died.13

• More than $1 billion in farm program payments were made to 

farmers who were dead for more than three years.14

• Medicare prescription drug plans were paid approximately $3.6 

million for drugs provided to 1,500 dead beneficiaries.15

• Medicare did not identify or recover an estimated $8.2 million 

in overpayments for claims with dates of service after the beneficiaries’ deaths.16

• New Mexico paid claims for 11 deceased Medicaid beneficiaries 

who died in other states and therefore were not included in the 

death data maintained by New Mexico Bureau of Vital Records, a 

situation not unique to New Mexico.17


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18 Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD–OIG), HUD Did Not 

Maintain Documentation to Determine if Public Housing Agencies Took Corrective Action on its 

January 7, 2008 Memorandum and Public Housing Agencies Paid an Estimated $7 million for 

Deceased Tenants, 2010–FW–0001 (November 10, 2009), p. 1. 19GAO, Social Security Administration: Preliminary Observations on the Death Master File, 

GAO–13–574T (May 8, 2013), p. 5. 20SSA–OIG, Title II Deceased Beneficiaries Who Do Not Have Death Information in the 

Numident, A–09–11–21171 (July 2012), p. 2. 21GAO, Social Security Administration: Preliminary Observations on the Death Master File, 

GAO–13–574T (May 8, 2013); GAO, Social Security Death Data: Additional Action Needed to 

Address Data Errors and Federal Agency Access, GAO–14–46 (November 2013); and SSA Inspector General, Hearing Statement for the Record before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Curbing Federal Agency Waste and: New Steps to Strengthen the 

Integrity of Federal Payments (May 8, 2013). 

• Public housing agencies paid an estimated $7 million in federal 

rental assistance to deceased tenants in single-member households, 

even after receiving a 2008 memo from HUD to take corrective actions.18

C. IMPROVING ACCURACY OF THE DEATH DATA

In addition to SSA offering incomplete access to benefit-paying 

federal agencies, the DMF, as currently administered, faces additional shortcomings. Indications of these shortcomings include: • In 2013, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported its analysis showing 130 records where the date of 

death was recorded to occur before the date of birth, and 1,295 

records where the recorded age at death was between 111 and 

129; 19 and • In July 2012, the Social Security Administration Office of 

Inspector General (SSA–OIG) reported that approximately 1.2 

million deceased beneficiaries were not captured on the DMF 

because SSA was unable to match the beneficiaries’ personally 

identifiable information in its records.20

The SSA Inspector General and GAO made recommendations to 

improve the accuracy of the DMF, both the complete database 

available to some agencies, and the less complete public DMF. 

These steps include more frequent analysis of the existing data and 

improved procedures for correction.21

D. ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO CURB FEDERAL IMPROPER

PAYMENTS

Agencies can take actions to curb improper payments beyond 

those involving deceased individuals. 

Since passage of the IPERA Improvement Act, the Department 

of Treasury established operations of the Do Not Pay Initiative. 

This Initiative includes the creation of a center within the Treasury 

Department that will analyze payment data in order to identify 

payments that are improper or potentially fraudulent. This analysis would involve payments across a wide-range of federal agencies and programs. However, the roles and responsibilities of this 

analysis center have not yet been determined. For example, the 

center’s interaction with similar efforts by federal agency inspectors general is not yet defined, and there is no timetable for the 

continuing development of the center. 

A common challenge for improving the detection of improper payments is access to databases helpful for identifying the validity of 

payment recipients under program rules. A common need is to 

verify business or home addresses. The U.S. Postal Service mainVerDate Mar 15 2010 07:06 Dec 15, 2013 Jkt 039010 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR124.XXX SR124

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tains a list of mail delivery addresses, including the lists of known 

locations of commercial mailboxes and unoccupied buildings. This 

database is helpful for purposes of curbing improper payments 

when a valid address is necessary, and the lack of a valid address 

is an indicator of potential fraud. However, most agencies and inspectors general do not yet have access to this database. 

E. HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

OVERSIGHT HEARING

On May 8, 2013, the Committee held a hearing to examine the 

implementation of IPERA and the IPERA Improvement Act, and to 

explore potential next steps for similar initiatives, such as improving the sharing and accuracy of data to prevent improper payments 

to dead people. At the hearing, The Honorable Daniel I. Werfel, 

Controller, OMB’s Office of Federal Financial Management, highlighted federal efforts to prevent improper payments. Both his testimony and that of Richard L. Gregg, Fiscal Assistant Secretary at 

the Department of the Treasury, also provided an update on the 

progress made in implementing the Do Not Pay initiative, acknowledging that there was much to be done to ensure that the initiative 

provided a comprehensive solution to payment integrity. The Honorable Patrick P. O’Carroll, Jr., SSA Inspector General and Daniel 

Bertoni, a GAO Director for Education, Welfare, and Income Security highlighted continuing weaknesses in the DMF. Finally, 

Marianna LaCanfora, the SSA Acting Deputy Commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy, discussed administration proposals 

to make the DMF more widely available to federal agencies for purposes of combatting fraud and curbing improper payments. The 

proposals would require legislative action. 

S. 1360 reflects lessons learned through the June 2013 hearing, 

as well as the Committee’s other ongoing oversight of federal agency improper payments. 

F. SUMMARY OF NEEDS FOR IMPROVEMENTS

S. 1360, the Improper Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act, provides federal agencies, and states that manage federal programs, with much greater access to the complete DMF in 

order to curb improper payments to deceased individuals, as well 

as for other needs such as public safety and health. The Act also 

improves the accuracy of the DMF by establishing requirements for 

correcting any errors detected and by establishing procedures for 

sharing the instances of death among federal agencies. The Act 

convenes a short-term task force to ensure that federal agencies 

managing retirement programs share best practices for identifying 

deceased recipients. Also, the Act requires the Treasury Department to submit a report to Congress describing how the Do Not 

Pay data analysis center will operate. Finally, the Act requires the 

Postal Service to provide federal agencies and inspectors general 

with access to its database of mail delivery addresses, which can 

help to curb payments to fraudulent business that use invalid addresses. 


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III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senators Carper, Coburn, Ayotte, Johnson, McCaskill, and Tester 

introduced S. 1360 on July 24, 2013, and the bill was referred to 

the Committee. 

The Committee considered S. 1360 at a business meeting on July 

31, 2013. The Committee adopted the bill by voice vote. Members 

present for the vote on the bill were Senators Carper, Levin, 

McCaskill, Tester, Begich, Baldwin, Coburn, Johnson, Ayotte, and 

Chiesa. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1—Short title 

This section establishes the Act’s title as the ‘‘Improper Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2013.’’ 

Section 2—Improving the sharing and use of death data by government agencies to curb improper payments 

This section amends the IPERA Improvement Act by adding to it 

a new Section 7, which establishes new requirements regarding improper payments. 

Subsection (a) defines key terms used in the Act. 

Subsection (b) requires the SSA Commissioner to establish and 

maintain a National Deaths Registry (the National Deaths Registry 

is the new name the bill gives to the existing Death Master File 

currently maintained by SSA). 

Subsection (c) requires the Commissioner to enter into cooperative agreements with federal agencies, under which the agencies 

and their inspectors general may receive information in the Registry (in full and without limitation). The agreements will require 

agencies to reimburse SSA for the reasonable cost of providing such 

information. The agencies may receive the Registry information for 

the following purposes: (i) making authorized payments or to prevent, identify, or recover improper payments; (ii) curbing improper 

payments of federal retirement annuities to deceased individuals; 

(iii) verifying information obtained as part of the decennial census; 

and (iv) facilitating other agency functions, including public health 

or safety, law enforcement, tax administration, health administration, and debt collection. Subsection (c) also requires the SSA Commissioner, to the extent feasible, to enter into cooperative agreements with states and local and tribal governments to provide, on 

a reimbursable basis, information in the Registry for purposes of 

making federally funded payments, avoiding federally funded improper payments, and for making payments wholly funded by state 

or local or tribal governments. The Commissioner may withhold information in the Registry if he determines that there are exceptional circumstances, such as safety of the individual or interference with an investigation. Information provided from the Registry shall be considered strictly confidential and only used for purposes described therein. 

Subsection (d) establishes Registry requirements. It requires the 

SSA Commissioner to implement procedures for identifying and 

correcting errors in the Registry identified by federal agencies, 

states and local and tribal governments, and members of the public. These procedures shall include a process for determining the 


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accuracy of death records in the Registry through the use of a statistical sample. The Commissioner shall ensure that the Registry 

is operated and maintained in accordance with protocols that ensure the secure transfer and storage of information. The Commissioner shall also make information in the Registry available to a 

contractor of any agency, state, or local or tribal government for 

purposes described in the Act if the agency, state or local or tribal 

government certifies that the contractor is in compliance with the 

Act’s privacy and security requirements. 

Subsection (e) requires the Director of OMB to identify each 

agency that maintains a beneficiary database that would benefit 

from improved data matching with the Registry. The head of each 

such agency shall establish a data matching procedure and, within 

one year of the enactment of this Act, a process to promptly inform 

the Commissioner of the death of a federal beneficiary or annuitant. Establishing such a data matching procedure shall not diminish the requirement for the OMB Director to convene a task 

force to improve the sharing of information related to the death of 

an individual receiving a federal retirement annuity. 

Subsection (f) requires the OMB Director to (1) issue implementation guidance within six months of the date of enactment, after 

consulting with the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and 

Efficiency, the SSA Commissioner, and the heads of other relevant 

agencies; (2) provide guidance to states and local and tribal governments on accessing and using the Registry; (3) develop a plan to 

assist states and local and tribal governments in order to enable 

them to electronically submit death records to the SSA Commissioner no later than January 1, 2015, including recommendations 

for statutory changes or financial assistance necessary to facilitate 

such electronic submissions. 

Subsection (g) requires the OMB Director to (1) consult with relevant parties and to submit a plan within 270 days of enactment 

describing how states and local governments that provide benefits 

under a federally funded program will improve data matching with 

the Registry and (2) report annually on the implementation of this 

Act within one year of enactment and for three additional years. 

Subsection (h) requires the SSA Commissioner to include in the 

Registry information regarding death information received from a 

state, or any other source, and to provide such information as authorized by the Act to any agency and inspector general, thereby 

overriding current statutory restrictions on such sharing. The Commissioner may use any information in the Registry for any purpose 

authorized under the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 401 et seq.) 

regardless of whether the information was provided to the Commissioner under the authority of this Act or the Social Security Act. 

Section 2 of the Act also makes a technical correction to Section 

2(g)(3) of IPIA of 2002 (31 U.S.C. § 3321 note) to ensure that the 

definition of improper payments does not inadvertently omit any 

group of potential recipients. Specifically, this provision clarifies 

that improper payments encompasses improper payments not only 

to any non-federal person or entity and to federal employees but 

also to ‘‘any other individual in federal service,’’ which includes 

elected officials and uniformed personnel as well. 


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Section 3. Enhancement of prepayment and pre-award procedures 

This section amends Section 5(a)(2) of the IPERA Improvement 

Act of 2012 (31 U.S.C. § 3321 note) by adding subparagraph (F), 

which states ‘‘The registry of people who are deceased established 

by the Commissioner of Social Security under section 7.’’; and by 

adding paragraph (3), requiring each agency operating or maintaining a database described in paragraph (2) to provide each other 

agency access to such database, subject to reasonable conditions. 

These amendments have the intent of requiring that relevant federal agencies, as determined, share information on identified deceased individuals. 

Section 4. Data analytics 

This section amends section 5 of the IPERA Improvement Act of 

2012 (31 U.S.C. § 3321 note) by adding subparagraph (h), requiring 

the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report to Congress describing how the Do Not Pay Initiative data analytics center incorporate (1) comparisons of payment and beneficiary enrollment lists 

for state programs that use federal funds to identify improper payments, (2) reviews of payments across federal programs to identify 

payment duplication, and (3) reviews of other information determined to be effective. The report, due within 180 days after enactment, must also describe the metrics used to determine if the analytic and investigatory efforts have helped reduce improper payments. 

Section 5. Curbing improper payment of federal retirement annuities to deceased individuals 

This section requires the OMB Director to convene a task force 

within 60 days of enactment charged with identifying ways to improve information sharing and best practices with respect to the 

deaths of retired annuitants. Task force membership shall include 

the Department of Defense, SSA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of Personnel Management, and any other agency 

that provides annuity payments. The task force’s plan is due within 

270 days of enactment, and a report to the Congress on that plan 

is due no later than one year after enactment. The task force shall 

also report to Congress on the plan’s implementation no later than 

two years after enactment, at which time the task force will be dissolved. 

Section 6. Agency access to postal database 

This section amends 39 U.S.C. § 412 to require the Postal Service 

to provide agencies and inspectors general with access to its database of mail delivery addresses, including the lists of known locations of commercial mailbox offices, for purposes of curbing improper payments. Such access shall be made under mutually agreeable terms and be reimbursable. This section also specifies the definitions of certain terms. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this bill. The Committee concurs with the 


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Congressional Budget Office, which states that the bill contains no 

intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act and would not affect state, local, and 

tribal governments. The enactment of this legislation will not have 

significant regulatory impact. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, November 19, 2013. 

Hon. TOM CARPER, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1360, the Improper Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2013. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sheila Dacey. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

S. 1360—Improper Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act 

of 2013 

S. 1360 would require federal agencies to expand their use of information on deceased individuals to improve accuracy of payments 

and for other purposes. To that end, the bill would require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to share information on deaths 

with more agencies and for a broader range of purposes. In addition, it would require the Office of Management and Budget to provide guidance, convene a task force on sharing information on the 

deaths of federal retirees, and submit reports to the Congress. Finally, the bill would require the Secretary of the Treasury to report 

efforts to reduce improper payments and require the Postal Service 

to share information on delivery addresses for the purposes of reducing improper payments. 

Enacting S. 1360 could reduce direct spending; therefore, pay-asyou-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that such effects 

would probably be insignificant for each year over the next 10 

years. The bill also would not have a significant effect on revenues. 

CBO estimates that implementing S. 1360 would have no significant net impact on discretionary spending. 

Under current law, the Social Security Administration collects 

information on deaths and maintains a record—the Death Master 

File (DMF)—of all deaths reported to the agency dating to 1936. 

The DMF includes the deceased person’s name, social security 

number, date of birth, and date of death. SSA uses the DMF to administer its own program and shares the information with other 

programs that pay federal benefits. For some federal agencies like 

the Internal Revenue Service, SSA provides the entire file. SSA 

also establishes cooperative agreements with other agencies, such 

as state agencies administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to periodically verify identifying information on program applicants and recipients against the DMF. SSA also makes 


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a less-complete file of information on deaths available to the general public. That public file has information on about 87 million deceased individuals compared to 98 million in the complete file. (A 

provision of law restricts SSA from sharing information about 

deaths that were reported to SSA by states with anyone other than 

agencies that pay federal benefits.) 

S. 1360 would require SSA to share the complete DMF with more 

agencies and for a broader range of purposes. It also would make 

the complete DMF part of the Do Not Pay program—a program administered by the Department of the Treasury that allows agencies 

to check various databases before making payments in order to 

identify ineligible recipients. Hence, there would likely be more frequent checks against the DMF than occur under current law. 

The expanded availability of information on deaths would probably reduce the amount of mistaken payments to dead people, but 

CBO expects that any budgetary savings would be small. Because 

large, benefit-paying agencies generally already use the complete 

DMF, CBO expects that enacting the bill would not reduce the 

number of payments to deceased people by a significant amount. In 

addition, the Department of Treasury has mechanisms it uses to 

recover such payments if they are identified at a later time, so 

many such improper payments are recovered anyway. For these 

reasons, CBO estimates that any reduction in unrecovered payments to deceased individuals as a result of enacting S. 1360 would 

be small. 

S. 1360 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Sheila Dacey and 

Matt Pickford. The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 1360 as 

reported are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

IMPROPER PAYMENTS ELIMINATION AND RECOVERY 

IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2012 

P.L. 112–248 

(31 U.S.C. § 3321 note) 

Section 1. Short title. 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 5. DO NOT PAY INITIATIVE. 

* * * 

(a) PREPAYMENT AND PREAWARD PROCEDURES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Each agency shall review prepayment and 

preaward procedures and ensure that a thorough review of 

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curs to determine program or award eligibility and prevent improper payments before the release of any Federal funds. 

(2) DATABASES.—At a minimum and before issuing any payment and award, each agency shall review as appropriate the 

following databases to verify eligibility of the payment and 

award: 

(A) The Death Master File of the Social Security Administration. 

(B) The General Services Administration’s Excluded Parties List System. 

(C) The Debt Check Database of the Department of the 

Treasury. 

(D) The Credit Alert System or Credit Alert Interactive 

Voice Response System of the Department of Housing and 

Urban Development. 

(E) The List of Excluded Individuals/Entities of the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and 

Human Services. 

(F) The registry of people who are deceased established 

by the Commissioner of Social Security under section 7. 

(3) AGENCIES TO PROVIDE ACCESS.—Each agency that operates or maintains a database described in paragraph (2) shall 

provide each other agency with access to the information contained in that database for purposes of complying with paragraphs (1) and (2), subject to such reasonable and permissible 

conditions as the agency operating or maintaining the database 

establishes. 

* * * * * * * 

(h) REPORT ON IMPROPER PAYMENTS DATA ANALYSIS.—Not later 

than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Improper Payments 

Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2013, the Secretary of the 

Treasury shall submit to Congress a report, which may be included 

as part of another report submitted to Congress, which shall include 

a description of— 

(1) data analytics performed as part of the Do Not Pay Initiative for the purpose of detecting, preventing, and recovering improper payments through pre-award, post-award per-payment, 

and post-payment analysis which shall include a description of 

any analysis or investigations incorporating— 

(A) review and data matching of payments and beneficiary enrollment lists of State programs carried out using 

Federal funds for the purposes of identifying eligibility duplication, residency ineligibility, duplicate payments, or 

other potential improper payment issues; 

(B) review of multiple Federal agencies and program for 

which comparison of data could show payment duplication; 

and 

(C) review of other information the Secretary of the 

Treasury determines are effective, which may include investigation or review of information from multiple Federal 

agencies or programs; and 


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(2) the metrics used in determining whether the analytic and 

investigatory efforts have reduced, or contributed to the reduction of, improper payments or improper awards. 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 7. IMPROVING THE SHARING AND USE OF DEATH DATA BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO CURB IMPROPER PAYMENTS. 

(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

(1) the term ‘‘Commissioner’’ means the Commissioner of Social Security; 

(2) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Office of 

Management and Budget; 

(3) the term ‘‘Inspector General’’ has the meaning defined by 

section 5(e)(1); 

(4) the term ‘‘local government’’ means the government of a 

political subdivision of a State; 

(5) the term ‘‘payment’’ has the meaning given that term 

under section 2(g) of the Improper Payment Information Act of 

2002 (31 U.S.C. § 3321 note); 

(6) the term ‘‘Registry’’ means the National Deaths Registry 

established under subsection (b)(1); and 

(7) the term ‘‘tribal government’’ means the government of an 

Indian tribe, as that term is defined in section 4 of the Indian 

Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

§ 450b). 

(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRY.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall establish and 

maintain a registry of information relating to the deaths of individuals, to be known as the National Deaths Registry. 

(2) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION.—As provided under this section and in accordance with the guidance issued under subsection (f), the Commissioner shall include information relating 

to the deaths of individuals in the Registry for the purpose of 

supporting the Do Not Pay Initiative under section 5 and otherwise preventing, identifying, or recovering improper payments. 

(c) USE OF THE REGISTRY.— (1) AVAILABILITY TO FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The Commissioner 

shall enter into cooperative agreements with agencies, including 

Inspectors General— 

(A) under which the Commissioner shall provide the information in the Registry (in full and without limitation, as 

provided in subsection (h)(1)) to the agency or Inspector 

General for purposes of facilitating— 

(i) the making of authorized payments or the prevention, identification, or recovery of improper payments; 

(ii) carrying out section 5; 

(iii) in the case of the Bureau of the Census, verifying 

information obtained as part of a decennial census conducted under section 141(a) of title 13, United States 

Code; or (iv) other agency functions, including public 

health or safety, law enforcement, tax administration, 

health administration oversight, and debt collection, as 

determined appropriate by the Commissioner and in 

accordance with guidance issued under subsection (f); 

and 


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(B) which shall require the agency or Inspector General 

to provide reimbursement to the Commissioner for the reasonable cost of carrying out the agreement. 

(2) AVAILABILITY TO STATES AND LOCAL AND TRIBAL GOVERN- MENT.— 

(A) FOR MAKING FEDERALLY FUNDED PAYMENTS OR AVOID- ING FEDERALLY FUNDED PAYMENTS OR AVOIDING FEDERALLY

FUNDED IMPROPER PAYMENTS.—The Commissioner shall, to 

the extent feasible, enter into cooperative agreements with 

States and local and tribal governments— 

(i) to provide the information in the Registry to the 

State or local or tribal government for purposes of facilitating the making of authorized payments and the 

prevention, identification, or recovery of improper payments under federally funded programs; and 

(ii) which shall require the State or local or tribal 

government to provide reimbursement to the Commissioner for the reasonable cost of carrying out the agreement. 

(B) FOR PROGRAMS WHOLLY FUNDED BY STATES AND

LOCAL AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.—The Commissioner may 

enter into cooperative agreements with States and local and 

tribal governments— 

(i) to provide the information in the Registry for purposes relating to programs wholly funded by the State 

or local or tribal governments; and 

(ii) which shall require the State or local or tribal 

government to provide reimbursement to the Commissioner for the reasonable cost of carrying out the agreement. 

(3) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Commissioner may 

withhold information that would otherwise be required to be 

disclosed under a cooperative agreement under this subsection 

if the Commissioner determines there are exceptional circumstances warranting an exception (such as safety of the individual or interference with an investigation). 

(4) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Information provided by the Commission under an agreement under this subsection or by an individual to any agency that has entered into a cooperative agreement under this subsection shall be— 

(A) considered as strictly confidential; and 

(B) used only for the purposes described in this subsection and for carrying out an agreement under this subsection. 

(d) REGISTRY REQUIREMENTS.—The Commissioner shall— 

(1) implement procedures for identifying and correcting errors, including those identified— 

(A) by agencies; 

(B) by States and local and tribal governments; and 

(C) by members of the public; 

(2) include a process for determining the accuracy of death 

records in the Registry, including estimates of accuracy through 

the use of statistical sampling of errors on a systematic basis; 

(3) ensure the Registry is operated and maintained in accordance with protocols that ensure the secure transfer and storage 


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of any information provided to another entity consistent with 

applicable laws and best practices of the Federal Government 

relating to information, privacy, security, and disclosure, including protecting social security numbers and other identifiers 

determined appropriate by the Commissioner; and 

(4) make the information in the Registry available to a contractor of an agency, State, or local or tribal government for 

carrying out a purpose described in subsection (c)(1) or (c)(2) 

and in accordance with the cooperative agreement with the 

agency, State, or local or tribal government if the agency, State, 

or local or tribal government submits to the Commissioner a 

certification that the contractor is in compliance with the requirements of the agency relating to privacy and security described in paragraph (3). 

(e) REPORTING BY FEDERAL AGENCIES OF ADDITIONAL DEATH

DATA TO THE REGISTRY.— 

(1) IMPROVED DEATH DATA MATCHING BY FEDERAL AGEN- CIES.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

of enactment of the Improper Payments Agency Cooperation 

Enhancement Act of 2013, the Director shall identify each 

agency or component of an agency that operates or maintains a database of information relating to beneficiaries, 

annuity recipients, or other matters such that improved 

data matching with the Registry would be desirable, as determined by the Director. 

(B) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— (i) IN GENERAL.—The head of each agency identified 

by the Director under subparagraph (A) shall establish 

a data matching procedure under which the agency 

shall compare information in the database of the agency with information in the Registry in order to improve 

the accuracy and completeness of the information in 

both the database of the agency and in the Registry relating to the death of individuals and to facilitate the 

prevention, identification, and recovery of improper 

payments. 

(ii) DO NOT PAY PROGRAM.—The requirement to establish a data matching procedure under this subparagraph shall not be construed to diminish in any way 

the requirements for an agency under section 5, relating to preventing identifying, and recovering improper 

payments, including to deceased individuals. 

(2) PROMPT REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

of enactment of the Improper Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2013, each agency identified by the Director 

under paragraph (1)(A) shall establish a procedure (consistent 

with guidance issued under subsection (f)) under which the 

agency shall, promptly and on a regular basis, submit to the 

Commissioner information relating to the death of a Federal 

beneficiary, Federal annuitant recipient, or other individual relevant for the purposes of this section. 

(f) GUIDANCE BY THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.— 

(1) GUIDANCE TO AGENCIES.—Not later than 6 months after 

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operation Enhancement Act of 2013, and in consultation with 

the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, 

the Commissioner, and the heads of other relevant agencies, the 

Director shall issue guidance for agencies regarding implementation of this section. 

(2) GUIDANCE FOR STATES AND LOCAL AND TRIBAL GOVERN- MENTS.—Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 

the Improper Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act 

of 2013, the Director shall provide guidance to States and local 

and tribal governments relating to accessing and using information in the Registry. 

(3) PLAN TO ASSIST STATES AND LOCAL AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.—The Director shall develop a plan to assist States and 

local and tribal governments in providing electronically to the 

Commissioner, for use or inclusion in the Registry, records relating to the death of individuals, which shall include recommendations to Congress for any statutory changes or financial assistance to States and local and tribal governments that 

are necessary to ensure States and local and tribal governments 

can provide such records electronically not later than January 

1, 2015. 

(g) REPORTING.— (1) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON IMPROVING DATA MATCHING RE- GARDING PAYMENTS TO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DECEASED.—Not 

later than 270 days after the date of enactment of Improper 

Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2013, the 

Director, after consultation with the Commissioner, the heads of 

other relevant agencies, and States and local and tribal governments, shall submit to Congress a plan regarding how States 

and local and tribal governments that provide benefits under a 

federally funded program will improve data matching with the 

Registry. 

(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

enactment of the Improper Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2013, and every year thereafter until the date 

that is 4 years after such date of enactment, the Director shall 

submit to Congress a report, which may be included as part of 

another report submitted to Congress by the Director, regarding 

the implementation of this section and the Improper Payments 

Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2013. The first report 

under this paragraph shall include the recommendations of the 

Director described in subsection (f)(3). 

(h) CONSISTENCY WITH THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 205(r) of the Social 

Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 405(r)) or any other provision of that 

Act, the Commissioner may include in the Registry any information provided to the Commissioner pursuant to that Act (including any information received from a State or any other 

source) and may use or provide all such information (including 

information received from States or any other source) as authorized under this section to any agency, including any Inspector 

General. 

(2) FUNCTIONS.—To the extent any function of the Commissioner under the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 401 et seq.) is 

the same as a required function of the Commissioner under this 


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section, performance of the function under that Act shall also 

satisfy the requirement to perform the function under this section. 

(3) USE REGARDLESS OF SOURCE OF INFORMATION.—The Commissioner may use any information in the Registry for any purpose authorized under the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 401 

et seq.), regardless of whether the information was provided to 

the Commissioner under authority of this section or any provision of the Social Security Act. 

IMPROPER PAYMENTS INFORMATION ACT OF 2002 

P.L. 107–300 

(31 U.S.C. § 3321 note) 

Section 2. Estimates of Improper Payments and Reports on Actions to Reduce Them. 

(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means an executive agency, 

as that term is defined in section 102 of title 31, United States 

Code. 

(2) IMPROPER PAYMENT.—The term ‘‘improper payment’’— 

(A) means any payment that should not have been made 

or that was made in an incorrect amount (including overpayments and underpayments) under statutory, contractual, administrative, or other legally applicable requirements; and 

(B) includes any payment to an ineligible recipient, any 

payment for an ineligible good or service, any duplicate 

payment, any payment for a good or service not received 

(except for such payments where authorized by law), and 

any payment that does not account for credit for applicable 

discounts. 

(3) PAYMENT.—The term ‘‘payment’’ means any transfer or 

commitment for future transfer of Federal funds such as cash, 

securities, loans, loan guarantees, and insurance subsidies to 

any non-Federal person or entity or a Federal employee or any 

other individual in Federal service, that is made by a Federal 

agency, a Federal contractor, a Federal grantee, or a governmental or other organization administering a Federal program 

or activity. 

TITLE 39—POSTAL SERVICE 

PART I. GENERAL 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 4. GENERAL AUTHORITY 

SEC. 412. NONDISCLOSURE OF LISTS OF NAMES AND ADDRESSES. 

(a) Except as specifically provided by subsection ø(b)¿ subsection 

(b) or (c) or other law, no officer or employee of the Postal Service 

shall make available to the public by any means or for any purpose 


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any mailing or other list of names or addresses (past or present) 

of postal patrons or other persons. 

(b) The Postal Service shall provide to the Secretary of Commerce for use by the Bureau of the Census such address information, address-related information, and point of postal delivery information, including postal delivery codes, as may be determined by 

the Secretary to be appropriate for any census or survey being conducted by the Bureau of the Census. The provision of such information under this subsection shall be in accordance with such mutually agreeable terms and conditions, including reimbursability, as 

the Postal Service and the Secretary of Commerce shall deem appropriate. 

(c)(1) FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBSECTION.— 

(A) the term ‘‘agency’’ means an executive agency as that term 

is defined under section 102 of title 31; 

(B) the term ‘‘improper payment’’ has the meaning given that 

term in section 2(g) of the Improper Payments Information Act 

of 2002 (31 U.S.C. § 3321 note); and 

(C) the term ‘‘Inspector General’’ has the meaning given that 

term in section 5(e)(1) of the Improper Payments Elimination 

and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 (31 U.S.C. § 3321 note); 

(2) The Postal Service shall provide to agencies (including to Inspectors General) access to information concerning delivery addresses, including the Commercial Mail Receiving Agency lists of known 

locations of commercial mailbox offices, for purposes of improved 

detection, prevention, and recovery of improper payments. 

(3) The provision of information under this subsection shall be in 

accordance with such mutually agreeable terms and conditions, including reimbursability, as the Postal Service and the agency or Inspector General determine appropriate. 

Æ 


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