Making Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I join my colleague from Connecticut to address a specific provision in the Bipartisan Budget Act. Overall, while this deal is flawed, we are heartened to see both sides coming together to put in place a workable fiscal foundation for the next 2 years. But we want to make sure to clarify what we are intending to do with a particular provision in this bill. Specifically, section 203 of the act institutes new reforms to the Social Security Death Master File, which keeps an authoritative record of deaths in this country. These important reforms include a new certification process that will ensure only those properly authorized and able to maintain the information under significant safeguards can access the information on this master file on a current basis, helping prevent identity theft and other abuses. Release of the information to all others would be delayed by 3 years after an individual's death. We would like to emphasize, though, that this provision was not intended to interrupt in any way the legitimate use of the Death Master File in the interim. I will turn to my colleague to explain why we think this is so important and how we think we can avoid this situation.

Mr. MURPHY. I thank my good friend, the senior Senator from Connecticut. Our understanding is that many States require insurers to check their policies against the master list on an ongoing basis in order to ensure they have accurate information about deceased individuals whom they insure. Furthermore, State treasurers, State comptrollers, and credit bureaus all use the Death Master File for important purposes and need continued access. We certainly do not want to halt these processes or stand in the way of compliance with State law. As such, I am pleased to join you in urging the Social Security Administration and the Commerce Department to both work closely with key stakeholders during the transition period and to use the flexibility we believe they already possess to ensure uninterrupted legitimate access to the Death Master File. State governments, too, should be flexible throughout this transition as insurers under their jurisdictions seek to comply with these new Federal provisions.

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