Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Became law without a recorded vote. It passed by voice vote or unanimous consent, which don't record how each member voted.
R
KennedySponsor5 cosponsors · 3 D, 2 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
- Senate Introduced Jan 28, 2025
- Senate Passed Sep 19, 2025
- House Passed Jan 12, 2026
- President To the President Feb 3, 2026
- President Signed Feb 10, 2026
- Law Feb 10, 2026
This act permanently allows the Department of the Treasury to access certain death records maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help prevent and recover improper payments (e.g., payments to deceased individuals). The act also establishes evidentiary requirements the SSA must meet before identifying an individual as deceased.
What it does: CRS summary · Public Law · Feb 10, 2026
Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
This act permanently allows the Department of the Treasury to access certain death records maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help prevent and recover improper payments (e.g., payments to deceased individuals). The act also establishes evidentiary requirements the SSA must meet before identifying an individual as deceased.
Current law requires the SSA to share its Death Master File with the Do Not Pay system maintained by Treasury for three years. The act makes this requirement permanent. Treasury must enter into an agreement with the SSA related to Treasury's share of the cost of state death data.
The act also prohibits the SSA from recording a death in the master file unless the SSA has clear and convincing evidence that the individual should be presumed deceased. If an individual is incorrectly identified as deceased and provides the SSA with supporting documentation, the SSA may notify certain agencies that have access to the master file, including Treasury and federal or state agencies that provide or disburse federally funded benefits.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act
Latest action (Feb 10, 2026): Became Public Law No: 119-77.
Policy area: Social Welfare · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Jan 28, 2025
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
- Senate Introduced Jan 28, 2025
- Senate Passed Sep 19, 2025
- House Passed Jan 12, 2026
- President To the President Feb 3, 2026
- President Signed Feb 10, 2026
- Law Feb 10, 2026
No recorded floor vote found.