Improper Payments Agency Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2013 - Amends the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 to require the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to: (1) establish and maintain the National Deaths Registry to provide information relating to the deaths of individuals for the purpose of supporting the Do Not Pay Initiative and otherwise preventing, identifying, or recovering improper payments; (2) enter into cooperative agreements with federal agencies, including Inspectors General, and states, local and tribal governments to provide information in the Registry to such agencies and entities to prevent and recover improper payments; and (3) implement procedures for identifying and correcting errors in the Registry.
Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to identify each agency that operates or maintains a database relating to federal beneficiaries and annuity recipients. Requires each agency to establish: (1) a data matching procedure to compare agency information with information in the Registry, and (2) a procedure for prompt reporting to the Commissioner of information relating to the death of a recipient of federal benefits or a retirement annuity.
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report to Congress on data analytics performed as part of the Do Not Pay Initiative and the metrics used in determining whether the analytic and investigatory efforts have reduced improper payments or awards.
Directs OMB to convene a task force of agencies to: (1) identify ways to improve the sharing of information relating to deaths of individuals receiving a federal retirement annuity, (2) share best practices for identifying deceased annuitants, and (3) report to Congress on such efforts.
Requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to provide agencies access to information on delivery addresses, including Commercial Mail Receiving Agency lists of known locations of commercial mail boxes, for purposes of improved detection, prevention, and recovery of improper payments.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3555 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3555
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 20, 2013
Mrs. Bustos (for herself, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Murphy of Florida, Mr.
Enyart, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Ribble, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Cooper, Mr.
Carney, Mr. Owens, Mr. Welch, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Kuster, Mr.
Braley of Iowa, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Mr. Kind, Mr. Rush, Mr. Maffei, Mr.
Loebsack, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Himes, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Peters of Michigan,
Ms. Schwartz, Mr. Walz, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mr. Barber, Ms.
Frankel of Florida, Mr. Clay, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico,
Mr. Cohen, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Cleaver, Mr.
Carson of Indiana, Mr. Delaney, Mr. Moran, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Shimkus,
Mr. Honda, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Matheson, Mr. Barrow of Georgia, Mr.
Lipinski, Mr. Dingell, Ms. Brownley of California, Ms. Titus, Ms. Meng,
Mr. Peters of California, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Perlmutter,
Ms. DeGette, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Holt, and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Improper Payments Agency Cooperation
Enhancement Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE SHARING AND USE OF DEATH DATA BY GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES TO CURB IMPROPER PAYMENTS.
(a) In General.--The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery
Improvement Act of 2012 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``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
``(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
governments.--
``(A) For making 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 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 agencies.--
``(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
the date of enactment of the Improper Payments Agency
Cooperation 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
governments.--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
regarding 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 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.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Section 2(g)(3) of the
Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) is
amended by striking ``Federal employee,'' and inserting ``Federal
employee or any other individual in Federal service,''.
SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF PREPAYMENT AND PRE-AWARD PROCEDURES.
Section 5(a) of the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery
Improvement Act of 2012 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2) by adding, after subparagraph (E), the
following:
``(F) The registry of people who are deceased
established by the Commissioner of Social Security
under section 7.''; and
(2) by adding, after paragraph (2), the following:
``(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.''.
SEC. 4. DATA ANALYTICS.
Section 5 of the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery
Improvement Act of 2012 (31 U.S.C. 3321 note) is amended by adding at
the end the following--
``(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 pre-
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
programs 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
``(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. 5. CURBING IMPROPER PAYMENT OF FEDERAL RETIREMENT ANNUITIES TO
DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall convene a task force of agencies (in this section referred
to as the ``task force'') to--
(1) identify ways to improve the sharing of information
relating to the death of an individual receiving an annuity
under a Federal retirement program; and
(2) share best practices for identifying deceased
annuitants.
(b) Membership.--The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall appoint the members of the task force, which shall include
a representative of--
(1) the Department of Defense;
(2) the Social Security Administration;
(3) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(4) the Office of Personnel Management; and
(5) any other agency that provides annuities or is relevant
to the oversight of annuity payments.
(c) Plan.--Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the task force shall establish a plan to carry out the
purposes described in subsection (a).
(d) Reports.--The task force shall--
(1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, submit to Congress a report on the plan established
under subsection (c); and
(2) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, submit to Congress a report on implementation of the
plan by agencies.
(e) Termination.--The task force shall terminate on the day after
the date on which the task force submits the report required under
subsection (d)(2).
SEC. 6. AGENCY ACCESS TO POSTAL DATABASE.
Section 412 of title 39, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``subsection (b)'' and
inserting ``subsection (b) or (c)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(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.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line