Sep. 19, 2017
Bill would save taxpayer money in middle of stalemate over budget deficit
HARRISBURG – State taxpayer money shouldn’t be wasted by handing out welfare payments to dead people. That’s the sentiment behind a bill introduced by state Rep. Michael Corr (R-Montgomery).
“The Commonwealth has a $2.1 billion budget deficit and it’s handing out welfare money to dead people,” Corr said. “We know dead people can’t use welfare money, so this is a pretty obvious case of fraud and wasting taxpayer dollars. If we can prevent this fraud, we can put a small dent in the state budget deficit and also use that money to help people in need.”
Approximately one year ago, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced an audit performed by his office found the Department of Human Services (DHS) provided nearly $700,000 in welfare benefits to more than 2,300 individuals who had been dead for at least 60 days.
The news release went on to note, “Not only does DHS continue to put dollars on the [welfare benefit] cards assigned to individuals who have died, it often fails to detect use of those dollars.”
“Legislators are working to find money to provide services for living Pennsylvanians while DHS is handing out welfare dollars to dead people,” Corr said.
Corr’s bill would require DHS to regularly cross-reference its list of welfare recipients with the death records maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) and the Social Security Administration.
“This is a commonsense proposal to prevent welfare fraud and allow the state to reallocate those dollars for useful purposes,” Corr said. “When people hear about welfare dollars being sent to dead people, it undermines the credibility of the public assistance system.”
Corr’s legislation –
House Bill 1614 – is currently under consideration in the House Health Committee.
Rep. Michael Corr
150th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Dan Massing
717.772.9845
dmassing@pahousegop.com
RepCorr.com /
Facebook.com/RepCorr