Senator Carper Applauds Unanimous Passage Out of Committee of Two Bills Aimed at Safeguarding the Use of American Taxpayer Dollars

The Bipartisan Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act and Federal Employees Health Benefits Protection Act both work to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in government

Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) applauded the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s unanimous passage of two of his bipartisan bills aimed at safeguarding the use of American taxpayer dollars. The Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act would save millions of dollars by curbing erroneous federal payments to individuals who have passed away. The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Protection Act would reduce fraud within the largest employer-sponsored health insurance program by auditing the enrolled population and removing ineligible individuals.

“It’s important that we, as lawmakers, act as good stewards of American taxpayer dollars. Today, I was proud to join my colleagues on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to unanimously advance two of my bills that fulfill that promise,” said Senator Carper. “Since my time as Chairman of the Committee, I have worked to end improper payments and empower government agencies to address fraud. I’m grateful for the partnership of Senator John Kennedy and Senator Rick Scott as we continue that critical work, and I look forward to the whole Senate considering these bipartisan, commonsense bills.”

Senator Carper introduced the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act with Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) in July 2023. He introduced the FEHB Protection Act with Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in March 2024.

Senator Carper, a senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has spent nearly a decade working to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in government. In 2019, he introduced legislation with Senator Kennedy to curb erroneous government payments to deceased individuals for a temporary three-year period; the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act would make these provisions permanent. He also led the successful passage and implementation of the Payment Integrity Information Act, bipartisan legislation designed to cut down on government waste and improper payments made by the federal government – including overpayments, underpayments, payments made to ineligible recipients and payments that were not properly documented. In October 2023, he and Senator Braun (R-Ind.) introduced the Safeguarding the Transparency and Efficiency of Payments (STEP) Act to build on the success of this legislation and expand reporting requirements to combat and deter improper payments.

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