[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7135 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7135
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify
the obligation of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation to reclaim
any overpayment of special financial assistance payment under the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, including amounts paid on behalf of a
deceased participant or beneficiary, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 30, 2024
Ms. Foxx introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to clarify
the obligation of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation to reclaim
any overpayment of special financial assistance payment under the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, including amounts paid on behalf of a
deceased participant or beneficiary, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ghost Handouts and Overpayments Stop
Today Act'' or the ``GHOST Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has the
authority and responsibility to recover taxpayer funded
benefits disbursed by the corporation in error, including any
amount disbursed to fund benefits for participants or
beneficiaries who are deceased as of the date of the
disbursement.
(2) The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is obligated
to ensure, through strong accounting processes and controls and
using the resources available (and should follow procedures
recommended by the Office of the Inspector General and verify
census data for multiemployer plans that will receive or have
received special financial assistance), that taxpayer money is
not wasted.
(3) The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is obligated
to audit, investigate, and resolve any discrepancies in census
data for all special financial assistance plans, including
through matching data for participants and beneficiaries to
data that resides in the Social Security Administration's Death
Master File.
(4) Multiemployer plans are obligated to remit to the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and the corporation is
obligated to take all steps necessary to ensure full recovery
of, the amount of any special financial assistance payment made
to a multiemployer plan as a result of an error and the amount
of any special financial assistance payment attributable to any
deceased participants or beneficiaries, and the associated
earnings thereon.
SEC. 3. RECOVERY OF OVERPAYMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 4262 of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1104) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(o) Recovery.--
``(1) In general.--If the corporation makes a determination
that an overpayment of special financial assistance, including
an overpayment of special financial assistance described in
paragraph (2)(A), was made under this section, the applicable
multiemployer plan (or a successor plan) shall pay, not later
than 30 days after the date of such determination, to the
corporation an amount equal to the total amount of overpayment
of special financial assistance to the applicable multiemployer
plan, adjusted by the corporation for interest (using the
interest rate used in determining the amount of special
financial assistance under subsection (e)(2)) for the period
beginning on the date on which the special financial assistance
was provided to such plan and ending on the date that such plan
makes the payment required under this paragraph.
``(2) Recovery in case of deceased participant or
beneficiary.--
``(A) Determination.--Not later than 45 days after
the later of the date on which an audit conducted under
subparagraph (B) is complete or the date on which the
hearing described in subparagraph (C) occurs, the
corporation shall make a determination of the total
amount of special financial assistance paid to the
applicable multiemployer plan on behalf of participants
or beneficiaries determined to be deceased, which shall
be deemed an overpayment of special financial
assistance.
``(B) Audit.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than 6 months
after the date of enactment of this subsection
or, in the case of an eligible multiemployer
plan to which special financial assistance is
provided under this section after the date of
enactment of this subsection, 6 months after
the date on which such assistance is provided,
the corporation shall audit the census data
maintained by an eligible multiemployer plan to
which such assistance was provided to
determine--
``(I) whether any of such
assistance was provided on behalf of a
participant or beneficiary who was
deceased as of the date such assistance
was provided; and
``(II) the total amount of special
financial assistance paid to such plan
on behalf of participants or
beneficiaries described in subclause
(I).
``(ii) Process.--In conducting an audit
under clause (i), the corporation shall--
``(I) follow a process recommended
by the Office of the Inspector General
of the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation, including the
recommendations in the white paper
issued by such Office entitled
`Detecting Fraud and Improper Payments
Involving Deceased Participants' and
dated March 9, 2018; and
``(II) match census data with the
information on records of death
maintained by the Social Security
Administration under section 205(r) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
405(r)).
``(iii) Review.--The Office of the
Inspector General of the Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation shall review an audit
conducted under clause (i) prior to such audit
being provided to an eligible multiemployer
plan under paragraph (C).
``(C) Hearing.--
``(i) Notice.--Not later than 10 days after
the completion of an audit under subparagraph
(B), the corporation shall provide to the
eligible multiemployer plan (or a successor
plan) the following information:
``(I) A list of participants or
beneficiaries on behalf of whom
assistance was provided as described in
subparagraph (B)(i)(I).
``(II) The total amount of
financial assistance paid as described
in subparagraph (B)(i)(II).
``(ii) Hearing.--The corporation shall
provide an eligible employer plan with the
opportunity for a hearing--
``(I) which shall, unless
extenuating circumstances (as
determined by the corporation) exist,
occur not later than 60 days after the
information described in clause (i) is
provided to the plan; and
``(II) at which such plan may
demonstrate that a participant or
beneficiary is alive.
``(3) Transfer to general fund.--Any amount paid under
paragraph (1), or any other payment that represents a voluntary
return of a special financial assistance payment, shall be
transferred to the general fund of the Treasury.
``(p) Payments From Applicable Multiemployer Plans.--The
corporation shall accept any payment (including a payment required
under subsection (o)(1)) made to such corporation by an eligible
multiemployer plan.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to overpayments of special financial assistance
under section 4262 of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (29
U.S.C. 1104) occurring before, on, or after the date of enactment of
this Act.
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