Improving Coordination Between Federal and State Agencies and the Do Not Pay Working System
Section 2 · Sec. 2 ·
What this chapter is about
This part changes an older law about Social Security. It tells the head of Social Security to hand death records to a federal check called Do Not Pay. That check tries to stop money going to people who have died. The two offices must agree on how to split the cost of state death records. It also says a person may not be marked dead without strong, clear proof. Offices with a deal must be told when a name is listed wrong.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Commissioner of Social SecurityHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“The Commissioner of Social Security shall, to the extent feasible, provide information furnished to the Commissioner under paragraph (1) to the agency operating the Do Not Pay working system described in section 3354(c) of title 31, United States Code”
Paragraph (11) of section 205(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)) is struck and this text is inserted in its place. The duty is qualified: it runs to the extent feasible, it runs through a cooperative arrangement with that agency, and the arrangement is conditioned on the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (3) being met. The stated purposes are the authorized uses of the Do Not Pay working system, to help prevent improper payments of, and support the recovery of improperly paid, benefits or other payments. This Act does not state what paragraph (1), paragraph (3) or the struck paragraph (11) provides.
What the document actually says
“The Commissioner of Social Security shall, to the extent feasible, provide information furnished to the Commissioner under paragraph (1) to the agency operating the Do Not Pay working system described in section 3354(c) of title 31, United States Code”
That sentence, in plain words
The head of Social Security gets records of deaths. Those records must go to another federal office. That office runs a check called Do Not Pay. This must be done as far as it can be.
What this is about
Do Not Pay is a check made before money goes out. It tries to catch payments to people who have died. The two offices work under a written deal. Some tests must be met before the deal can be made.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: Commissioner of Social Security, agency operating the Do Not Pay working systemHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“enter into an agreement based upon an agreed upon methodology, which covers the proportional share of State death data costs, which the Commissioner of Social Security and the agency operating the Do Not Pay working system may periodically review”
The second sentence of the new paragraph (11). While the data described in the first sentence is being provided, the Commissioner of Social Security and the agency operating the Do Not Pay working system are to enter into this agreement. It rests on an agreed upon methodology, it covers the proportional share of State death data costs, and the two may periodically review it. The Act does not set the methodology, name a share, or say what follows if no agreement is reached.
What the document actually says
“enter into an agreement based upon an agreed upon methodology, which covers the proportional share of State death data costs, which the Commissioner of Social Security and the agency operating the Do Not Pay working system may periodically review”
That sentence, in plain words
The two offices must sign a deal. It sets how much of the cost each one pays. They may look at it again from time to time.
What this is about
States charge for the death records they send. Someone has to pay that bill. The deal splits it. The law does not say how they must work the split out.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “may not”Who acts: Commissioner of Social SecurityHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“The Commissioner of Social Security may not record a death to a record that may be provided under this section for any individual unless the Commissioner of Social Security has found it has clear and convincing evidence to support that the individual should be presumed to be deceased.”
Added as paragraph (12) of section 205(r) of the Social Security Act by the same instruction that replaces paragraph (11). It sets a condition on recording a death to a record that may be provided under that section: a finding of clear and convincing evidence to support that the individual should be presumed to be deceased. The Act does not define clear and convincing evidence, and it does not state which records may be provided.
What the document actually says
“The Commissioner of Social Security may not record a death to a record that may be provided under this section for any individual unless the Commissioner of Social Security has found it has clear and convincing evidence to support that the individual should be presumed to be deceased.”
That sentence, in plain words
A person is not marked dead on these records right away. There must be strong, clear proof first. Only then can the mark be made.
What this is about
The mark matters because it can stop a payment. So the law sets a test that must be met. The law does not spell out what counts as proof.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “requires”Who acts: Commissioner of Social SecurityHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“notify any agency that has a cooperative arrangement with the Commissioner of Social Security under paragraph (3) or (11) of the error”
Added as subparagraph (C) at the end of section 205(r)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)(7)), which was itself added by section 801(a)(4) of title VIII of division FF of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260). The subparagraph reaches an agency that has a cooperative arrangement with the Commissioner of Social Security under paragraph (3) or paragraph (11), and it is that agency that is to be notified of the error. This Act does not state what the rest of paragraph (7) provides or what the error there refers to.
What the document actually says
“notify any agency that has a cooperative arrangement with the Commissioner of Social Security under paragraph (3) or (11) of the error”
That sentence, in plain words
Some offices have a deal with Social Security. When there is a mistake, they must be told.
What this is about
The heading of this part names the problem. It is about people wrongly listed as dead. This law adds one line to an older law. It does not say what the rest of that part asks for.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
The document says “shall”Who acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says
“The amendments made by this section shall take effect on December 27, 2026.”
The last subsection of section 2. It sets one date for everything the section does. The Act was approved on February 10, 2026, so the amendments are made on that day and take effect on the later one.
What the document actually says
“The amendments made by this section shall take effect on December 27, 2026.”
That sentence, in plain words
The changes in this part do not start right away. They start on December 27, 2026.
What this is about
A law can pass on one day and start on another. This one was signed on February 10, 2026. The changes wait until the later date.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Each distinct thing the section requires: the information the Commissioner of Social Security is to provide to the agency operating the Do Not Pay working system, the cost sharing agreement the two are to enter into, the evidence standard set for recording a death, the notice owed to an agency holding a cooperative arrangement, and the date the amendments take effect.
The punctuation edits in subsection (b), which strike an and at the end of subparagraph (A) and replace the period at the end of subparagraph (B) with a semicolon and an and. They make room for the new subparagraph and require nothing of anybody.
The section works by amending section 205(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(r)), and that statute is not indexed here. So the site does not record what the struck paragraph (11) said, what paragraphs (1), (3) and (7) of that subsection provide, or how the subsection reads once these amendments apply. The same holds for section 3354(c) of title 31, United States Code, which this Act names without reproducing, and for the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260), cited here only to identify the earlier amendments to the text being changed.
