The Treasury Department sent dead people more than 1 million stimulus checks totaling $1.4 billion
- A congressional watchdog issued a report that said the federal government sent 1.1 million stimulus checks to dead people, totaling $1.4 billion.
- The report from the Government Accountability Office said that in the scramble to issue direct payments, administrative problems led to cash being sent to the deceased.
- Around $269 billion in stimulus payments had been sent as of May 31, and the payments to dead people made up a sliver of the entire government payout.
- Treasury officials had ordered delivery of the stimulus payments "as fast as possible," the report said.
A congressional watchdog reported on Wednesday that the federal government sent 1.1 million stimulus payments to dead people, totaling $1.4 billion.
The report from the Government Accountability Office said that in the scramble to send direct payments to Americans after the CARES Act passed in March, a portion of the money went to the deceased.
The problem partly arose from administrative issues, the watchdog said. While the IRS has access to death records from the Social Security Administration, the Treasury Department — which distributed the economic impact payments to people — does not.
The Treasury Department took similar procedural steps from the last round of stimulus payments in 2008, which didn't filter out payments for dead people. Treasury officials had ordered delivery of the stimulus payments "as fast as possible," the report said.
Once it learned stimulus checks were going to the dead, Treasury secured temporary access to the death data from the SSA.
The GAO urged Congress to "provide Treasury with access to the Social Security Administration's full set of death records, and require that Treasury consistently use it, to help reduce similar types of improper payments."
The IRS had previously said on May 6 that money found to be going to dead people had to be returned. But the report says the agency doesn't intend to take steps to get the funds back anytime soon.
The GAO also said that up to May 31, the Treasury Department and the IRS sent 160 million payments amounting to $269 billion, making payments to dead people a sliver of the entire payout.
The report comes as the Trump administration weighs whether to push for another round of direct payments for Americans as part of another economic relief package. President Donald Trump backs the idea, but other top White House economic officials are split.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin opened the door for another round of payments earlier this month. Meanwhile, Larry Kudlow, the head of the National Economic Council, said the administration may seek to send aid to "people who lost their jobs or are most in need."
Under the CARES Act, individuals earning below $75,000 received the full $1,200 check, and the amount scaled down until the eligibility cutoff at $99,000. People also qualified for an extra $500 for each dependent child under 17.