Sen. John Kennedy, R-LA, interviewed with Katie Pavlich on NewsNation about a bill recently signed into law that aims to stop the federal government from sending money to dead people.
Kennedy said that Donald Trump’s administration is stopping the federal government from sending money to dead people.
Trump signed the bill, S. 269, the “Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act,” which aims to permanently allow the sharing of death data to prevent and recover improper payments, on Feb. 10.
The bill allows the Social Security Administration to share the Death Master File – a record of deceased individuals – with the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay system.
A 2015 Inspector General Report identified 6.5 million people listed as living who were listed as being over 112 years old.
The change will help agencies better identify and stop improper payments, Kennedy told Pavlich.
The law also authorizes the Treasury to compare SSA death data with data held by other federal entities and share relevant matches with any paying or administering agency authorized to use the Do Not Pay system.
Senator John Kennedy just delivered over two straight minutes of pitch-perfect “Kennedyisms” on NewsNation.
— Overton (@overton_news) February 13, 2026
As @KatiePavlich sat across from Kennedy, she couldn’t help but crack up at times.
KENNEDY: “The idea that we send billions of dollars to dead people and they get cashed.… pic.twitter.com/S47Ka6LEKB
The reform is expected to save about $330 million from 2024 to 2026, according to the Treasury Department. Kennedy’s reform is expected to save at least $330 million from 2024 to 2026.
“Using dead Americans to rip off taxpayers is as low as it gets. Many Americans have seen these scams play out across the country and are tired of watching these fraudsters game the system—so am I. That’s why I wrote this common-sense bill to end this outrageous abuse permanently, and I’m grateful President Trump signed it into law so we can ensure taxpayer dollars go to living Americans who actually need our help,” said Kennedy.
He continued: “This place is…uhhh…some days it’s like the game room of a mental hospital up here.”
BFD83D63B445A93697151F4C0F97D19E49E586DBAC391500B1D84597CC4705AB.23f2cb5be05df2798f6828e86b08a363dd84152724... by scott.mcclallen
Kennedy described Washington D.C: “There are a lot of of intelligent people in Washington, but I call them high IQ stupid people.”“They’ve got lot of education, but no sense.”
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