MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this letter in the Wall Street Journal, urging Congress to pass the Build Now Act so that the Department of Housing and Urban Development can use Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to incentivize cities to build more housing.
Key excerpts are below:
“Mr. [Zohran] Mamdani is duly elected, and it’s his prerogative to destroy the Big Apple’s housing supply as he sees fit. But it would be stupid for the federal government to continue sending housing development grants to the city while Mr. Mamdani and Ms. [Cea] Weaver are steering the ship.
“Many federal housing programs today, however, fail to hold cities accountable for bad policies.”
. . .
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and I introduced the Build Now Act to incentivize new home construction by tying each city’s CDBG funding to their rate of homebuilding. If a city fails to build more new housing units than the median rate of home construction nationwide, it will lose 10% of its CDBG funding. HUD would then reallocate those funds to cities that exceeded the national median rate of home building. It’s a carrot and a stick.”
. . .
“The Build Now Act has received bipartisan support in the Senate, but it has yet to receive a vote in the House. President Trump has made the housing crisis a priority. Congress must make it a priority, too.
“Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried, and it will fail in New York, too. Mr. Mamdani should face financial consequences when his particular recipe of warm collectivism inevitably results in fewer homes for New Yorkers. The Build Now Act’s reduction in CDBG funding may be the push New York needs to embrace the cold, hard truth about socialism and clear the way for more housing.”
Read Kennedy’s full letter here.
Kennedy gives update on his plan to stop paying dead people: “It’s on its way to President Trump’s desk”
Jan 16 2026
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today released the following statement marking the passage of his Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives:
“I want to talk to you about the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act. Boy, that’s a mouthful. Here’s what I want to talk about: Many Louisianians read the stories about the welfare fraud in Minnesota, and frankly in other states, and it makes them nauseous. I feel the same way. That’s why I have been working for years—literally years—to target welfare fraud, especially the fraudsters who conduct fraud in the name of deceased Americans.
“In 2023 alone, for example, the federal government sent $1.3 billion . . . to dead people. . . . [T]he Social Security Administration . . . maintains a list of dead Americans known as the Death Master File. If someone dies, the state sends the name of the deceased person to the Social Security Administration, and that person’s name is listed on what’s called the Death Master File.
“We found that Social Security was not sharing this information—the names of the folks on the Death Master File—with the rest of the federal government. One branch of government wasn’t talking to another branch of government.”
. . .
“I asked [the Social Security Administration], ‘Why don’t you talk to your colleagues and other colleagues in the federal government, so we stop paying dead people?’ Social Security told me it needed Congress’s permission to share this information with, for example, the Treasury Department so it could include the list of dead Americans in its Do Not Pay system.
“I didn’t argue with them. I said, ‘I’m just going to go pass a bill.’ Well, a few years ago, I did. I passed a bill called the Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, and that bill allowed the Social Security Administration to temporarily share its Death Master File with the Department of the Treasury.”
. . .
“Well, it worked—duh. Since December of 2023, this bill has saved the federal government at least $330 million in improper payments. We’re no longer paying dead people and having their friends or relatives or whomever cash the checks.
“It was obvious that Congress needed to make this data-sharing arrangement permanent, so . . . I introduced a second bill to do just that. That’s why it took years to get this done. This week, I’m pleased to say the House passed my bill, the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act. This bill had already passed the Senate, and now that it’s passed the House, it’s on its way to President Trump’s desk so he can sign it into law.
“Now, dead people don’t need welfare. I think that’s obvious. But I’m not going to stop with just this bill. I’m going to continue to urge my colleagues in the Senate and my friends in the House to pass another reconciliation bill—which we can do without Democratic votes, just like we did the One Big Beautiful Bill—to include the subject of welfare fraud. Welfare fraud: it’s inexcusable. It’s unconscionable.
“These are taxpayer dollars, and I’m not going to stop until we get it done.”
Watch Kennedy’s message here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in The Hill arguing that members of Congress should not get paid during government shutdowns. Kennedy calls on the Senate to vote on his resolution to prevent Senators from collecting their paychecks during future shutdowns.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“The fact that politicians can use other people’s paychecks as a political football without sacrificing their own salary makes most fair-minded Americans want to stick their heads in an oven. Most Americans believe what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If federal workers aren’t getting paid, members of Congress shouldn’t get paid either.”
. . .
“I don’t judge my colleagues for objecting to this type of legislation. It’s tough missing a paycheck. But it was also tough for the American people to watch my colleagues vote 15 times in a row to keep the government closed.
“I am proud that my resolution received unanimous, bipartisan support in the Senate Rules Committee. I hope the full Senate will join us in ensuring that politicians aren’t the only ones getting paid during a government shutdown.”
Text of Kennedy’s resolution is available here.
Read more about the Rules Committee vote on Kennedy’s resolution here.
Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, today voted in favor of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Energy and Water Development Appropriations conference bill, which curbs wasteful spending, strengthens America’s energy and national security, and locks in critical investments for Louisiana’s energy and water infrastructure. In his first year leading the Energy and Water Subcommittee, Kennedy negotiated a final bill that spends less than the previous year, demonstrating that Washington can cut costs without compromising results. The U.S. Senate passed the bill by a vote of 82-15.
“President Biden left Americans with sky-high electricity bills, a drained national fuel reserve, and a mountain of red tape that strangled energy production and cut good-paying jobs. That wasn’t governing—it was failure. President Trump’s energy agenda brings common sense back to Washington and puts American energy dominance back within reach.
“The FY 2026 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill delivers real results for Louisianans and the American people by reducing waste, strengthening our nation’s energy and nuclear security, and providing real flood protection. I’m proud this bill is becoming law. The era of Biden’s anti-energy policies is over, and President Trump should sign this bill without hesitation,” said Kennedy.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, strongly backed Kennedy’s fiscally responsible legislation.
“This legislation will help strengthen America’s energy independence, supporting an all-of-the-above approach to energy research, development, and deployment efforts. The bill provides strong support for our national defense by meeting the needs of our nuclear deterrence posture during this period of growing geopolitical tensions.?At home, the bill funds critical Army Corps of Engineers water infrastructure projects, which provide for safe navigation and flood control,” said Collins.
Key Louisiana Wins in the FY 2026 Energy and Water Development Conference Bill:
- Morganza to the Gulf Project ($131.5 million)
- Advances critical flood protection features for coastal Louisiana.
- West Bank and Vicinity Project ($43.6 million)
- Supports additional operations and maintenance, including sector gate dewatering.
- Upper Barataria Basin Project ($23 million)
- Begins architect-engineer design work for levees and other key flood control features.
- Southwest Coastal Protection ($20 million)
- Supports the construction of two additional miles of rock stabilization at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge.
- Supports the construction of two additional miles of rock stabilization at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge.
- Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) ($7 million)
- Advances the design of the MRGO Ecosystem Restoration Project.
- Lower Mississippi River Basin ($5 million)
- Develops recommendations for comprehensive basin management focused on flood risk reduction, navigation, and ecosystem restoration.
- Atchafalaya Basin (Corps) ($4.77 million)
- Supports additional operation and maintenance of drainage systems, including assessing the needs for Bayou Vista in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
- St. Tammany Flood Risk Management Project ($3.25 million)
- Continues pre-construction engineering and design work to reduce flood risk.
- Pointe Celeste ($3.2 million)
- Funds water and wastewater infrastructure, including the rehabilitation of the Pointe Celeste Pumping Station to improve local flood protection.
- Houma Navigation Canal ($1.65 million)
- Continues pre-construction engineering and design work for dredging of the Houma Navigation Canal to support navigation and economic activity.
- Grambling Community Energy Grid Strength ($1.5 million)
- Strengthens and modernizes the energy grid infrastructure between Grambling State University and the City of Grambling, enabling shared utility support during key emergencies and natural disasters.
- South Central Coastal Flood Mitigation ($1 million)
- Advances the design of flood mitigation projects to protect Iberia, St. Martin, and St. Mary Parishes from storm surge and flooding.
- Southeast Louisiana Flood Risk Reduction ($500,000)
- Funds critical design and planning strategies to develop flood reduction measures for Jefferson Parish and the surrounding communities, strengthening long-term protection for Louisiana families and businesses.
- Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Flood Reduction Study ($500,000).
- This funding will be used to assess the feasibility of providing 200-year flood protection for the New Orleans area.
- Lake Pontchartrain Storm Surge Reduction Study ($500,000)
- Begins a comprehensive study to evaluate long-term storm surge mitigation options.
- Begins a comprehensive study to evaluate long-term storm surge mitigation options.
FY 2026 Energy and Water Development Conference Bill Highlights:
- Responsible Spending: Provides a base discretionary total of $58 billion, including $34.2 billion in defense funding and $23.8 billion in non-defense spending, while prioritizing core national energy and defense needs.
- Stronger Water Infrastructure: Delivers $10.4 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program to reduce flood risk, strengthen coastal resiliency, improve port navigation, and restore damaged ecosystems.
- National Security and Nuclear Deterrence: Provides $25.4 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration—nearly $1.3 billion (5 percent) above FY25 enacted levels—to strengthen America’s nuclear deterrent, bolster nonproliferation efforts, and support our nuclear naval fleet.
- American nuclear energy leadership: Invests $1.8 billion for the Office of Nuclear Energy—$100 million above FY25 enacted levels—plus an additional $3.1 billion for small modular and advanced nuclear reactors.
Bottom Line:
The FY 2026 Energy and Water Development Appropriations conference bill cuts waste, strengthens American energy and national security, and delivers concrete wins for Louisiana.
Text of the bill is available here.
Kennedy delivers $284.7 million for Louisiana special projects in package of three spending bills
Jan 15 2026
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, secured a total of $284.7 million for special projects in Louisiana in a package of three Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 spending bills today passed by the U.S. Senate.
“My approach on the Senate Appropriations Committee is simple: I won’t ask for a penny more than Louisiana needs, and I won’t take a penny less than Louisiana deserves. That’s what I’ve accomplished through my work on this important three-bill spending package, which spends responsibly while providing more than $284 million for much-needed projects in Louisiana,”said Kennedy.
The package combines spending from the Kennedy-chaired Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, and the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. It now moves to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature.
FY 2026 Energy and Water Development Conference Bill:
In his first year leading the Energy and Water Subcommittee, Kennedy negotiated a final bill that spends less than the previous year, proving that Washington can cut costs without compromising results.
In doing so, Kennedy secured $246.97 million for Louisiana. More details are available here.
FY 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Conference Bill:
Kennedy delivered $24.184 million for Louisiana through the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies spending bill.
From the Department of Commerce:
- Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center New Orleans ($7.5 million)
- Purchases laboratory equipment to be used in the university’s newly renovated 160,000 square-foot research lab space.
- University of Louisiana Lafayette ($5 million)
- Supports a university-based semiconductor manufacturing training and research facility, which will train about 1,500 operators, technicians, engineers, and data scientists.
- LSU National Center for Advanced Manufacturing ($2.5 million)
- Develops a virtual reality platform at LSU to train users in advanced materials analysis and microscopy, working alongside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility.
- Northwestern State University ($1.8 million)
- Equips Innovation Park at Northwestern State University with advanced technology and supplies, fostering hands-on learning, entrepreneurship, and research in fields like artificial intelligence, engineering, and media production.
From the Department of Justice:
- Tangipahoa Parish ($2.195 million)
- Purchases a new, self-sufficient Emergency Mobile Command Center.
- Ruston, La., Police Department ($1.5 million)
- Funds equipment and technology to increase public safety response, better recover stolen property, and solve more crimes.
- Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office ($1.395 million)
- Equips the office with a CAT Scanner for virtual autopsies, walk-in coolers, an emergency generator, and a forklift.
- University of Louisiana Monroe ($825,000)
- Analyzes counterfeit medications and active ingredients, safeguarding public health and supporting law enforcement efforts in Northeast Louisiana.
- West Monroe, La., Police Department ($794,000)
- Equips police with 48 in-car radios, 52 handheld radios, five mobile surveillance camera trailers, six license plate reader cameras, and digital forensic tools.
- Louisiana Bureau of Investigation ($675,000)
- Provides a mobile forensic van, four forensic workstations, 20 field forensic laptops, forensic software, and two agent SUVs for the Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Against Children Task Force.
FY 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Conference Bill:
Kennedy achieved $13.592 million in wins for Louisiana in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies spending bill.
- City of Kenner ($7 million)
- Replaces the City of Kenner’s aging wastewater pumps, control panels, piping, and valves.
- City of Monroe ($4 million)
- Replaces pumps, valves, and electrical instrumentation/controls at several lift stations owned by the City of Monroe.
- Calcasieu Parish ($1.5 million)
- Assists the City of Lake Charles in installing and upgrading waterlines and replacing outdated meters.
- St. Bernard Parish ($1.092 million)
- Improves drainage in Arabi, La., mitigating the impacts of potential flash flooding.
Full text of the three-bill spending package is available here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and eight colleagues from states bordering the Gulf of America in urging Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Neil Jacobs to ensure that illegally-harvested red snapper from Mexican fishing operations are not sold in American markets.
Red snapper form a crucial part of Louisiana’s nearly $2 billion seafood economy, as well as the economies of other Gulf states. Unauthorized Mexican fishing operations, often linked to cartels, have increasingly profited from the sale of red snapper illegally caught in the Gulf of America, hurting Louisiana’s fishermen and wildlife.
“We write to express concern regarding the continued illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing for red snapper by Mexican vessels operating in U.S. waters in the Gulf of America,” the senators began their letter to Jacobs.
“The Coast Guard has demonstrated sustained and effective operational enforcement through repeated interdictions and seizures; however, the continued presence of Mexican lanchas in U.S. waters suggests that enforcement at sea alone is insufficient . . . We urge [NOAA] to use its import-restriction authorities, and other applicable authorities, to address this problem in a targeted and proportionate manner that supports law-abiding U.S. fisheries,” they continued.
“Despite fewer vessel interdictions in 2025 than the previous year, the volume of illegally harvested red snapper seized by the Coast Guard rose 28 percent, reaching 15,859 pounds . . . Furthermore, a recent DHS Office of Inspector General report found that the Coast Guard interdicts only one in every five detected foreign fishing vessels, leaving nearly 80 percent of illegal incursions unchallenged and free to enter domestic commerce through opaque supply chains,” the lawmakers explained.
“The Gulf of America red snapper fishery is a highly regulated domestic fishery that is shared between recreational and commercial harvesters. Allocation of the fishery between domestic stakeholders is a topic of intense policy discussion and high-level decision making, reflecting the immense value of the fishery to our nation. Mexican IUU-caught fish steals that value from both sets of American stakeholders,” the members wrote.
“Reports from the Department of the Treasury indicate that these lanchas are not operating as isolated or subsistence fishing ventures, but as organized operations increasingly linked to the Gulf Cartel, one of Mexico’s most dangerous criminal organizations. The continued ability to sell illegally harvested red snapper into the U.S. market is a powerful financing source for the Cartel and undermines both U.S. fisheries management and national security,” they added.
“We would appreciate NOAA Fisheries’ action in more aggressively applying its existing authorities to ensure that illegally harvested red snapper is not sold in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your response,” the senators concluded.
Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) joined Kennedy and Cassidy in authoring the letter.
View the full letter here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in introducing the Stop Fraud by Strengthening Oversight and More Accountability for Lying and Illegal Activity (Stop Fraud by SOMALIA) Act, which would strengthen federal oversight of child care assistance programs and punish fraudsters.
“Americans are the most generous people in the world. That’s why I was so disgusted when I saw scammers, mostly members of Minnesota’s Somali community, take advantage of the American people’s kindness and rob them blind under the guise of ‘child care.’ I’m proud to support the Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act, which will crack down on these vile crimes and tackle fraud head-on,” said Kennedy.
The Minnesota scandal has exposed a deep-rooted, morally bankrupt fraud empire, and it is clear more must be done to rid our nation of these heinous criminals. I applaud President Trump for his efforts to end this corruption, and I’m proud to take it a step further with the Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act, which would ensure these consequences are enshrined into law before any more funds are misused or sent overseas to fund American-hating terrorist networks like we saw in now-disgraced Governor Walz’s state,” said Cornyn.
“Families deserve to know what their taxpayer dollars are being used for. What we’ve seen in Minnesota, where federal dollars meant to support children are being fraudulently used, is outrageous and those at fault must be held responsible. The Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act delivers accountability by permanently barring bad actors who steal public funds from receiving federal support and by strengthening oversight to ensure these programs serve children, not criminals. I’ll keep fighting to protect hardworking families and safeguard taxpayer dollars,” said Scott
“Taxpayer-funded, Somalian-run ‘child care centers’ in Minnesota are one of the biggest scandals in American taxpayer history. Governor Tim Walz is 100% responsible for this disaster. He welcomed Somalian illegals to Minnesota, handed them billions in taxpayer dollars, and then refused to ask basic questions about where the money was going. It’s beyond embarrassing and should NEVER be allowed to happen in this country. Congress needs to pass the SOMALIA Act to ensure this is the last time taxpayers have to foot the bill for illegal operations like we have seen in Minnesota,” said Tuberville.
The Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act would:
- Permanently bar child care providers found to have committed fraud from participating in all federally funded child care assistance programs.
- Require repayment of fraudulently obtained funds and authorize recoupment and disqualification from future assistance.
- Require states to deny funding to permanently debarred providers and reimburse the federal government for misspent funds.
- Mandate referral to the Department of Justice for federal criminal investigation when providers are found to have committed fraud.
The bill also adds immigration consequences for non-citizen child care providers who commit fraud or engage in terrorism-related activity by:
- Making permanently debarred providers inadmissible and deportable.
- Barring them from asylum, adjustment of status, and other immigration benefits.
- Requiring mandatory detention and authorizing expedited removal in certain cases.
- Expanding terrorism-related inadmissibility if fraudulently-obtained child care funds were used to support terrorist organizations, including al-Shabaab.
Background:
- In December 2025 and January 2026, Kennedy took to the U.S. Senate floor to expose “industrial-scale” welfare fraud in Minnesota and call for a reconciliation bill to combat the theft of taxpayer money.
- Kennedy urged the prosecution of any officials or politicians in Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s administration who enabled fraud, and demanded that Republican leadership “get the pigs out of the creek” through a reconciliation bill that “lead[s] with welfare reform.”
Full text of the Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act is available here.
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) called on Congress to pass the Build Now Act to address the cost of housing in America in a speech on the U.S. Senate floor.
Key excerpts of the speech are below:
“Well, what causes prices, specifically the cost of housing, to go up? Well, it’s when demand for housing is greater than the supply of housing. Duh. It’s not complicated.”
. . .
“So, what can we do about that? Short of us getting in the middle of the business of our cities and telling them what zoning laws should look like, here’s what we can do: We could use a carrot and a stick.
“Every year, we send between $2 billion and $3 billion to cities across America. . . . And the local governments, they love what we call community development block grant money—CDBG funds. You say CDBG to a person in local government, they’ll start salivating. They love this money like the devil loves sin. Why is that? Because it’s free money, and they have a lot of discretion. They, meaning our friends in local government, have a lot of discretion on how they spend it.”
. . .
“So, I came up with this idea, convinced Senator Elizabeth Warren to join me, and we drafted, and indeed passed, I’ll talk about that in a second, a bill called the Build Now Act. And it’s really very simple. It says, we’re not going to tell local governments how to increase housing starts. We’re just going to tell them if they do increase housing starts, we’re going to reward them with more CDBG money. If they don’t increase housing starts, we’re going to take some of their money away. Carrot, stick.”
. . .
“Mr. President, if you’re listening, please endorse this bill. To my friends in the House, please bring this bill up and vote for it. It will work. We’ve been jawboning and talking about, oh, you know, the cost of living. . . . This bill will lower the cost of housing in America, and it will do it under basic principles of free enterprise.”
Watch Kennedy’s speech here.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Ron Wyden’s (D-Ore.)’s Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which would save hard-earned taxpayer money by curbing erroneous payments to individuals who have passed away. The bill now moves to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature.
“The fact that the federal government is sending checks to dead people—often to be cashed by fraudsters—makes me want to reach for the barf bucket. That’s why I wrote this bill to permanently stop this outrageous fraud from happening, and I’m thrilled to see Congress officially on board with this commonsense fix,” said Kennedy.
In 2020, Kennedy passed a bipartisan law, the Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which put in place key provisions to stop erroneous government payments to deceased individuals for three years. Kennedy’s reform was expected to save at least $330 million from 2024 to 2026.
The new Kennedy-Peters-Wyden bill, which the U.S. Senate unanimously passed in September 2025,would make this temporary fix permanent.
“This bill will help save millions of taxpayer dollars by ensuring that the Social Security Administration can permanently share important data with the Treasury’s Do Not Pay system, preventing wrongful payments to deceased individuals. I have long supported this legislation because I believe it is a vital step in safeguarding taxpayer dollars and ensuring the integrity of our payment systems,” said Peters.
“This bipartisan bill fixes our federal government’s payment systems so that millions of taxpayer dollars are saved every year. As Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, I am committed to ensuring that Americans’ hard earned benefits are protected. That’s why I’m supporting this bill to ensure Americans’ personal data and earned benefits from Social Security are protected,” said Wyden.
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) led the U.S. House of Representatives companion bill to the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act.
“This legislation will immediately save American taxpayers billions of dollars. It’s a simple fix to address government waste. As a fiscal conservative, I’m eager to see this bill, which reduces wasteful spending without expanding the size of the government, signed into law. I appreciate Senator Kennedy for his diligent work to get this joint effort to President Trump’s desk," said Higgins.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) also support the bill.
“Nothing is more wasteful than the federal government sending money to deceased people, and the American taxpayer will no longer foot the bill for the federal government’s mistakes. Republicans have prioritized eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, and this legislation builds upon the important reforms we delivered through the Working Families Tax Cuts,” said Johnson.
"It’s pretty simple: the government shouldn’t be sending taxpayer dollars to people who have passed away. Thanks to Sen. Kennedy’s Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, the Treasury will put an end to this egregious use of federal dollars. This is another way Republicans are delivering on our promise to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington. I’m thankful to my good friend from Louisiana for his leadership on this issue and am happy to see this critical legislation pass the House and head to the President’s desk,” said Scalise.
Kennedy’s original 2020 law saved taxpayer money by directing the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) to temporarily share its Death Master File—a record of deceased individuals—with the Treasury Department to avoid erroneous payments.
Kennedy’s new Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act would permanently allow the SSA to share the Death Master File with the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay system. This change would rein in the government’s ability to make improper payments to deceased people in the future.
This bill would also allow the Treasury’s Do Not Pay system to compare death information from the SSA with personal information from other federal entities, and to share this information with any paying or administering agency authorized to use the Do Not Pay system.
Sens. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) also cosponsored the Senate bill.
“As stewards of our fellow taxpayers, we owe it to them to be sure their hard-earned dollars are well spent and NOT WASTED. Great to see the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act, which permanently codifies coordination between the Department of Treasury and Social Security Administration to eliminate payments to dead people, has now passed both the House and the Senate and is headed to the President’s desk. A step in the right direction for ending waste, fraud and abuse running rampant in Washington,” said Moody.
“Our government has a responsibility to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. I am glad that this bipartisan bill to update existing safeguards and better prevent unintentional payments to deceased people has passed the House, and I encourage President Trump to sign it into law immediately,” said Hassan.
“As Americans struggle to afford the cost of living, Congress should be doing everything in its power to save taxpayer dollars and protect government resources from fraud and abuse. I’m thrilled to see this legislation pass through the House of Representatives – the last step needed in order to send this to the President’s desk for his signature. I will continue working in a bipartisan manner to improve efficiency and ensure that our government is working for the American people,” said Warner.
Background:
Kennedy has long championed the cause of saving billions of dollars in taxpayer money by ending improper payments to deceased Americans:
- In December 2024, Kennedy urged his colleagues from the U.S. Senate floor to save taxpayer dollars by supporting the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased Americans Act.
- In 2021, Kennedy wrote this op-ed sounding the alarm on the government’s sending more than $1 billion to deceased Americans.
- Kennedy’s Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act became law in December 2020, with its three-year exchange period running from December 27, 2023, to December 27, 2025.
- In 2019, Kennedy questioned U.S. Government Accountability Office Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro about improper payments sent to deceased Americans.
Full bill text is available here.
Kennedy details how Energy and Water Development appropriations bill saves money, improves defense
Jan 13 2026
Watch Kennedy’s comments here.
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) explained how the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Energy and Water Development conference appropriations bill will cut spending by 2.8% while still providing increased funding for defense and Corps of Engineers programs in a speech on the U.S. Senate floor.
Key excerpts of the speech are below.
“I just wanted to quickly highlight what we’re going to be voting on here in the next couple of days. The bill is $58 billion. That’s less than the current budget.
“I’m very proud of that. I said at the very beginning of this process that I was not going to approve a budget that did anything but spend less. We have done that. Nominally, it is a $27 million reduction. Non-nominally, which means, if you factor in inflation, it is a 2.8% reduction over the current Energy and Water bill. So, in the new fiscal year, fiscal year 2026, we will be spending 2.8% less than we are spending on the Energy and Water bill right now. I'm very proud of that.”
. . .
“We increased spending dramatically for defense. In fact, we’re spending $912 million extra on defense in the Energy and Water bill over the current budget, a 2.7% increase—even though overall the bill is 2.8% less.
“Well, obviously, we had to cut something. We did. We’re cutting non-defense spending, the non-defense portion of the bill, by 3.8%. We took a meat axe to the Green New Deal provisions in the current Energy and Water budget. Not everybody is happy about it. I get it, but we have already spent a lot, a lot of money on the Green New Deal, too much in my judgment. So, we reduced it in the new Energy and Water bill.”
. . .
“So, to sum up, the Energy and Water bill, vis-a-vis the current budget, cuts spending by 2.8%. We increased defense spending by 2.7%. We paid for that increase overall and accommodated the decrease in overall spending by cutting non-defense green energy 3.8%. We’ve increased spending for the Corps of Engineers dramatically by $1.7 billion. That's a 19% increase. And we have doubled the amount of money for the strategic petroleum reserve. And I’ll be happy, when the time comes, when we take up the bill, to answer questions.”
The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed the conference Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. The Senate is expected to vote on final passage of the bill later this week.
Watch Kennedy’s speech here.
