,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #accc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #f1 #bjai,mr4 ,carper 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,mr4 ,king1 ,ms4 ,sinema1 ,mr4 ,tester1 and ,mr4 ,warner7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,improper ,payments ,elimination and ,recovery ,improvement ,act of #bjab1 including making changes to the ,do ,not ,pay ,initiative1 for improved detection1 prevention1 and recovery of improper payments to deceased individuals1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,stopping ,improper ,payments to ,deceased ,people ,act4 #b4 ,distribution of death information furnished to or maintained by the social security administration 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,in general ,section #bje7r7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dje7r77 is amended-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7i7 by striking may and inserting shall2 and 7ii7 by inserting 1 and to ensure the completeness1 timeliness1 and accuracy of1 after transmitting2 7,b7 by striking paragraphs 7#c71 7#d71 and 7#e7 and inserting the following3 7#c7 7,a7 ,in the case of individuals with respect to whom federally funded benefits are provided by 7or through7 a ,federal or ,state agency1 the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall1 to the extent feasible1 provide such information through a cooperative arrangement with such agency for ensuring proper payment of those benefits with respect to such individuals if-- 7i7 under such arrangement the agency agrees to such safeguards as the ,commissioner determines are necessary or appropriate to protect the information from unauthorized use or disclosure2 7ii7 under such arrangement the agency provides reimbursement to the ,commissioner of ,social ,security for the reasonable cost of carrying out such arrangement1 including the reasonable costs associated with the collection and maintenance of information regarding deceased individuals furnished to the ,commissioner pursuant to paragraph 7#a72 and 7iii7 such arrangement does not conflict with the duties of the ,commissioner of ,social ,security under paragraph 7#a74 7,b7 ,the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall1 to the extent feasible1 provide for the use of information regarding all deceased individuals furnished to or maintained by the ,commissioner under this subsection1 through a cooperative arrangement in order for a ,federal agency to carry out any of the following purposes1 if the requirements of clauses 7i71 7ii71 and 7iii7 of subparagraph 7,a7 are met3 7i7 ,under such arrangement1 the agency operating the ,do ,not ,pay working system established under section #e of the ,improper ,payments ,elimination and ,recovery ,improvement ,act of #bjab may compare death information disclosed by the ,commissioner with personally identifiable information reviewed through the working system1 and may redisclose such comparison of information1 as appropriate1 to any ,federal or ,state agency authorized to use the working system4 7ii7 ,the tax administration duties of the agency4 7iii7 ,oversight activities of the ,inspector ,general of an agency that is provided information regarding all deceased individuals pursuant to this subsection4 7iv7 ,civil or criminal enforcement activities that are authorized by law4 7,c7 ,with respect to the reimbursement to the ,commissioner of ,social ,security for the reasonable cost of carrying out a cooperative arrangement described in subparagraph 7,a7 between the ,commissioner of ,social ,security and an agency1 the ,commissioner shall-- 7i7 establish a defined calculation method for purposes of calculating the reasonable cost of carrying out the arrangement that does not take into account any services1 information1 or unrelated payments provided by the agency to the ,commissioner2 and 7ii7 reimbursement payments shall be accounted for and recorded separately from other transactions4 7#d7 ,the ,commissioner of ,social ,security may enter into similar arrangements with ,states to provide information regarding all deceased individuals furnished to or maintained by the ,commissioner under this subsection for use by ,states in programs wholly funded by the ,states1 or for use in the administration of a benefit pension plan or retirement system for employees of a ,state or a political subdivision thereof1 if the requirements of clauses 7i71 7ii71 and 7iii7 of paragraph 7#c77;,a7 are met4 ,for purposes of this paragraph1 the terms retirement system and political subdivision have the meanings given such terms in section #bah7;b74 7#e7 ,the ,commissioner of ,social ,security may use or provide for the use of information regarding all deceased individuals furnished to or maintained by the ,commissioner under this subsection for statistical purposes and research activities by ,federal and ,state agencies 7including research activities conducted under a contract or a cooperative arrangement 7as such terms are defined for purposes of sections #fcjc and #fcje1 respectively1 of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code7 with such an agency7 if the requirements of clauses 7i7 and 7ii7 of paragraph 7#c77;,a7 are met4 2 and 7,c7 in paragraph 7#h77;,a77i71 by striking subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 of paragraph 7#c7 and inserting clauses 7i71 7ii71 and 7iii7 of paragraph 7#c77;,a74 7#b7 ,repeal ,effective on the date that is #e years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the amendments made by this subsection to paragraphs 7#c71 7#d71 7#e71 and 7#h7 of section #bje7r7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dje7r77 are repealed1 and the provisions of section #bje7r7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dje7r77 so amended are restored and revived as if such amendments had not been enacted4 7b7 ,amendments to internal revenue code 7#a7 ,in general ,section #fajc7;d77#d7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended-- 7,a7 in subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b71 by striking ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services each place it appears and inserting ,commissioner of ,social ,security2 and 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,b77ii71 by striking such ,secretary and all that follows through deceased individuals4 and inserting such ,commissioner pursuant to such contract1 except that such contract may provide that such information is only to be used by the ,social ,security ,administration 7or any other ,federal agency7 for purposes authorized in the ,social ,security ,act or this title44 7#b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this subsection take effect #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act4 7c7 ,report to ,congress on alternative sources of death data 7#a7 ,requirements ,the ,commissioner of ,social ,security1 in coordination with the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 shall conduct a review of potential alternative sources of death data maintained by the non-,federal sources1 including sources maintained by ,state agencies or associations of ,state agencies1 for use by ,federal agencies and programs4 ,the review shall include analyses of-- 7,a7 the accuracy and completeness of such data2 7,b7 interoperability of such data2 7,c7 the extent to which there is efficient accessibility of such data by ,federal agencies2 7,d7 the cost to ,federal agencies of accessing and maintaining such data2 7,e7 the security of such data2 7,f7 the reliability of such data2 and 7,g7 a comparison of the potential alternate sources of death data to the death data distributed by the ,commissioner of ,social ,security4 7#b7 ,report ,not later than #d years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget shall submit a report to ,congress on the results of the review and analyses required under paragraph 7#a74 ,the report shall include a recommendation by the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget regarding whether to extend the agency access to death data distributed by the ,commissioner of ,social ,security provided under the amendments made by subsection 7a77#a7 beyond the date on which such amendments are to be repealed under subsection 7a77#b74 #c4 ,improving the use of data by government agencies to curb improper payments ,the ,improper ,payments ,elimination and ,recovery ,improvement ,act of #bjab 7#ca ,u4,s4,c4 #ccba note7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #h4 ,improving the use of death data by government agencies 7a7 ,guidance by the office of management and budget 7#a7 ,guidance to agencies ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this section1 and in consultation with the ,council of ,inspectors ,general on ,integrity and ,efficiency and the heads of other relevant ,federal1 ,state1 and local agencies1 and ,indian tribes and tribal organizations1 the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget shall issue guidance for each agency or component of an agency that operates or maintains a database of information relating to beneficiaries1 annuity recipients1 or any purpose described in section #bje7r77#c77;,b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #dje7r77#c77;,b77 for which improved data matching with databases relating to the death of an individual 7in this section referred to as death databases7 would be relevant and necessary regarding implementation of this section to provide such agencies or components access to the death databases no later than #a year after such date of enactment4 7#b7 ,plan to assist ,states and local agencies and ,indian tribes and tribal organizations ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this section1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services and the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall jointly develop a plan to assist ,states and local agencies1 and ,indian tribes and tribal organizations1 in providing electronically to the ,federal ,government records relating to the death of individuals1 which may include recommendations to ,congress for any statutory changes or financial assistance to ,states and local agencies and ,indian tribes and tribal organizations that are necessary to ensure ,states and local agencies and ,indian tribes and tribal organizations can provide such records electronically4 ,the plan may include recommendations for the authorization of appropriations or other funding to carry out the plan4 7b7 ,reports 7#a7 ,report to congress on improving data matching regarding payments to deceased individuals ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this section1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 in consultation with the heads of other relevant ,federal agencies1 and in consultation with ,states and local agencies1 ,indian tribes and tribal organizations1 shall submit to ,congress a plan to improve how ,states and local agencies and ,indian tribes and tribal organizations that provide benefits under a federally funded program will improve data matching with the ,federal ,government with respect to the death of individuals who are recipients of such benefits4 7#b7 ,annual report ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this section1 and for each of the #d succeeding years1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall submit to ,congress a report regarding the implementation of this section4 ,the first report submitted under this paragraph shall include the recommendations of the ,secretary required under subsection 7a77#b74 7c7 ,definitions ,in this section1 the terms ,indian tribe and tribal organization have the meanings given those terms in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #dej;b74 4 #d4 ,plan for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of death data maintained and distributed by the ,social ,security ,administration 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall submit to ,congress a plan1 which shall include an estimate of the cost of implementing the policies and procedures described in such plan1 to improve the accuracy and completeness of the death data 7including1 where feasible and cost-effective1 data regarding individuals who are not eligible for or receiving benefits under titles ,,ii or ,,xvi of the ,social ,security ,act7 maintained and distributed by the ,social ,security ,administration4 7b7 ,content of plan ,in developing the plan required under subsection 7a71 the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall consider whether to include the following elements3 7#a7 ,procedures for-- 7,a7 identifying individuals who are extremely elderly1 as determined by the ,commissioner1 but for whom no record of death exists in the records of the ,social ,security ,administration2 7,b7 verifying the information contained in the records of the ,social ,security ,administration with respect to individuals described in subparagraph 7,a7 and correcting any inaccuracies2 and 7,c7 where appropriate1 disclosing corrections made to the records of the ,social ,security ,administration4 7#b7 ,improved policies and procedures for identifying and correcting erroneous death records1 including policies and procedures for-- 7,a7 identifying individuals listed as dead who are actually alive2 7,b7 identifying individuals listed as alive who are actually dead2 and 7,c7 allowing individuals or survivors of deceased individuals to notify the ,social ,security ,administration of potential errors4 7#c7 ,improved policies and procedures to identify and correct discrepancies in the records of the ,social ,security ,administration1 including social security number records4 7#d7 ,a process for employing statistical analysis of the death data maintained and distributed by the ,social ,security ,administration to determine an estimate of the number of erroneous records4 7#e7 ,recommendations for legislation1 as necessary4 #e4 ,report on information security ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall submit a report to the ,committees on ,ways and ,means1 ,oversight and ,reform1 and ,homeland ,security of the ,house of ,representatives1 and the ,committees on ,finance and ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate that-- 7#a7 identifies all information systems of the ,social ,security ,administration containing sensitive information2 and 7#b7 describes the measures the ,commissioner is taking to secure and protect such information systems4