Congressman Cohen: 60 Minutes Highlights Need to Reduce Social Security Fraud by Modernizing Vital Records

Press Release

Sunday's 60 Minutes shed light on a growing problem that Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) has worked to address for several years, the archaic state record-keeping systems that contribute, along with inaccurate reports from other sources, to errors in Social Security's so-called "death master file," which most federal agencies and private firms rely on to limit payments and other services. For five years, Congressman Cohen has called for funding to modernize the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), which would improve timely reporting and reduce errors that cost American taxpayers billions in unnecessary and often fraudulent government benefit payments as well as ruin the lives of the citizens erroneously declared deceased in the master file each year.

"Accurate and efficient electronic reporting of vital records is critical to protecting taxpayers from paying for fraudulent benefit payments," said Congressman Cohen. "Erroneous record keeping can also cause significant, long-lasting frustration and hardship for innocent Americans trying to live their lives. It is long past time for our nation to modernize these record-keeping systems to protect taxpayers and prevent harm, and I hope my colleagues will join me in seeking the funding needed to make it happen."

The Social Security Administration (SSA) currently believes there to be more than 6 million Americans who are 112 years of age or older, simply because the SSA does not have a record of death. Despite the overwhelming majority having unquestionably passed away, these 6 million names remain eligible for certain government benefits, including Social Security and farm subsidy payments. These payments cost taxpayers billions while allowing criminals significant opportunities to defraud the government. It is likely that many of these deaths occurred prior to the mid-1980s, when the SSA began to receive reports of death from state vital records agencies.

Additionally, countless Americans are erroneously declared deceased each year, making them ineligible for government services and causing financial institutions to cut off access to their savings and other accounts as well as their credit and debit cards. As 60 Minutes noted, in some cases erroneous records have led to the arrest of clearly-living citizens accused of stealing their own identities. Living citizens who have been declared deceased often have a nearly impossible task to maintain a normal life, as even if they are able to get the error fixed in federal records, private records based on them are not always synchronized to those updates.

Congressman Cohen has requested additional NVSS funding to support states and territories as they implement and improve electronic death registration systems (EDRS), which provides more accurate, timely, and secure data for use in monitoring our nation's health and reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in federal benefits programs.

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