WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The U.S. government clawed back more than $31 million in Social Security payments that improperly went to dead people, a recovery that one official said Wednesday was 鈥渏ust the tip of the iceberg.鈥�
The money was reclaimed as part of a five-month pilot program after Congress gave the temporary access to the 's 鈥淔ull Death Master File鈥� for three years as part of the omnibus appropriations bill in 2021. The SSA maintains the most complete federal database of individuals who have died, and the file contains more than 142 million records, which go back to 1899, according to the Treasury.
The Treasury projects that it will recover more than $215 million during its three-year access period, which runs from December 2023 through 2026.
鈥淭hese results are just the tip of the iceberg,鈥� the Treasury鈥檚 Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk said in a news release. He urged Congress to give the Treasury full access to the master file, saying it would 鈥渟ignificantly reduce fraud, improve program integrity, and better safeguard taxpayer dollars.鈥�
The effort has shown areas where the government is preventing fraud, waste and abuse 鈥� which is also one of campaign promises.
The president-elect has tapped two business titans 鈥� and 鈥� to lead the , or DOGE, a new nongovernmental task force assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations, all part of what Trump calls his 鈥淪ave America鈥� agenda for his second term in the White House.
A representative from the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the incoming administration would continue the efforts or seek to make the Treasury's temporary access to the file permanent.
Fatima Hussein, The Associated Press
