Treasury blocks $175M in improper taxpayer payments to dead people

Key Points:

• The Treasury Department blocked $175 million in federal payments to deceased recipients in fiscal year 2026, a significant increase from $99 million identified earlier, following expanded government-wide screening efforts initiated under the Trump administration.
• Republican Senator John Kennedy praised the Treasury's actions, highlighting his legislative efforts to grant the department greater access to Social Security death records, culminating in the permanent data-sharing law signed by Trump in February 2026.
• Under President Trump's directive to combat fraud, waste, and abuse, the Treasury screened over 1.1 billion payments totaling $3.7 trillion in FY2026, using improved data and technology to prevent improper payments before funds are disbursed.
• The "Do Not Pay" tool's access expanded from 4% to over 99% of federal programs, screening more than 2.3 billion records in FY2026, reflecting a major enhancement in fraud prevention aligned with a 2025 executive order.
• New safeguards verifying bank accounts and Taxpayer Identification Numbers became fully operational on September 30, enabling the Treasury to flag and return payments failing verification before distribution.