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Trump Treasury Blocks $175 Million In Federal Payments To Dead Recipients
Authored by AG News Staff via American Greatness,
The Treasury Department blocked $175 million in federal payments from going to deceased recipients in fiscal year 2026 as the Trump administration expanded efforts to prevent fraud and improper government spending.
Treasury screened more than 1.1 billion federal payments totaling approximately $3.7 trillion during the fiscal year, identifying and returning about 13,500 payments that otherwise would have gone to people listed as deceased, according to the department.
The results represent another step in President Donald Trump's push to tighten safeguards around taxpayer money. Access to Treasury's "Do Not Pay" system expanded from roughly 4 percent of federal programs at the end of fiscal 2025 to 99 percent in fiscal 2026.
"Treasury continues to transform how the federal government protects taxpayer dollars by using better data, stronger controls, and advanced technology to stop fraud and improper payments before money goes out the door," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The administration's efforts received praise from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who spent years pushing legislation giving Treasury permanent access to Social Security death records.
"Unless you were playing Frisbee in the quad during Econ 101, you know the federal government shouldn't be sending taxpayer money to dead people," Kennedy said.
Congress advanced legislation to permanently authorize the Social Security Administration to share its full Death Master File with Treasury's Do Not Pay system, giving federal agencies more complete death information when determining eligibility for payments.
Treasury has also added safeguards to verify bank account ownership and Taxpayer Identification Numbers associated with federal payments. Those capabilities became fully operational Sept. 30, allowing Treasury to flag payments that fail verification before the money leaves government coffers.
Tyler Durden Thu, 10/08/2026 - 15:05
Continue reading...
[ H/T ZeroHedge ]
Authored by AG News Staff via American Greatness,
The Treasury Department blocked $175 million in federal payments from going to deceased recipients in fiscal year 2026 as the Trump administration expanded efforts to prevent fraud and improper government spending.
Treasury screened more than 1.1 billion federal payments totaling approximately $3.7 trillion during the fiscal year, identifying and returning about 13,500 payments that otherwise would have gone to people listed as deceased, according to the department.
The results represent another step in President Donald Trump's push to tighten safeguards around taxpayer money. Access to Treasury's "Do Not Pay" system expanded from roughly 4 percent of federal programs at the end of fiscal 2025 to 99 percent in fiscal 2026.
"Treasury continues to transform how the federal government protects taxpayer dollars by using better data, stronger controls, and advanced technology to stop fraud and improper payments before money goes out the door," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The administration's efforts received praise from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who spent years pushing legislation giving Treasury permanent access to Social Security death records.
"Unless you were playing Frisbee in the quad during Econ 101, you know the federal government shouldn't be sending taxpayer money to dead people," Kennedy said.
Congress advanced legislation to permanently authorize the Social Security Administration to share its full Death Master File with Treasury's Do Not Pay system, giving federal agencies more complete death information when determining eligibility for payments.
Treasury has also added safeguards to verify bank account ownership and Taxpayer Identification Numbers associated with federal payments. Those capabilities became fully operational Sept. 30, allowing Treasury to flag payments that fail verification before the money leaves government coffers.
Tyler Durden Thu, 10/08/2026 - 15:05
Continue reading...
[ H/T ZeroHedge ]
