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U.S. Chemical Safety Board Issues Update on Investigation of Fatal April 2026 Hydrogen Sulfide Release at Catalyst Refiners Facility in West Virginia
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued the following news release on Aug. 13, 2026:
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U.S. Chemical Safety Board Issues Update on Investigation of Fatal April 2026 Hydrogen Sulfide Release at Catalyst Refiners Facility in West Virginia
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today released an update on its investigation into the deadly April 22, 2026, release of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas at the Ames Goldsmith Corporation's Catalyst Refiners, Inc. (Catalyst Refiners) facility in Institute, West Virginia. Two employees were fatally injured,
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- The U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued the following news release on Aug. 13, 2026:
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U.S. Chemical Safety Board Issues Update on Investigation of Fatal April 2026 Hydrogen Sulfide Release at Catalyst Refiners Facility in West Virginia
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today released an update on its investigation into the deadly April 22, 2026, release of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas at the Ames Goldsmith Corporation's Catalyst Refiners, Inc. (Catalyst Refiners) facility in Institute, West Virginia. Two employees were fatally injured,and four others were seriously injured, after a chemical reaction occurred and produced highly toxic vapors during the transfer of chemicals into a wastewater receiving tank in connection with decommissioning activities at the facility.
The Catalyst Refiners facility conducted silver and ethylene oxide catalyst refining operations. The facility reclaimed silver from spent catalyst and manufactured silver oxide. The company's refining operations involved processing spent catalyst and recovering silver for reuse. At the time of the incident, Catalyst Refiners had ceased silver reclamation operations and was decommissioning the facility. The facility's wastewater pretreatment system remained in operation, however.
As part of the decommissioning process, employees were disposing of various chemicals that were still onsite. Two chemicals -- A-50 (a proprietary calcium chloride solution used as a coagulant) and M-2000A (a proprietary sodium trithiocarbonate solution used as a metal precipitant) -- were used to recover silver from the facility's wastewater. A third chemical, nitric acid, was used in the reclamation process. Catalyst Refiners did not have a written procedure for disposing of these chemicals through the wastewater treatment system.
On April 22, the day of the incident, employees first pumped roughly 80 gallons of A-50 and 275 gallons of M-2000A from their storage containers into a wastewater receiving tank. The employees then began pumping diluted nitric acid from a tote into the same tank.
As the nitric acid was being pumped into the wastewater tank, the employees observed a chemical reaction occurring and a fog forming over the tank. The employee who was operating the pump stopped the flow of nitric acid into the tank. The employee went outside to get some fresh air but then passed out. The employee subsequently regained consciousness.
A supervisor, who had been notified about the issue with the chemicals, approached the tank area and also lost consciousness.
Two additional employees, who were not involved in the chemical transfer, also entered the area to assist. One of these employees pulled the unconscious supervisor away from the tank area. The supervisor recovered, but the employee who had come to the supervisor's assistance, as well as the one who also had entered the area, were both overcome by the vapors emitting from tank and later died.
Emergency responders subsequently detected hydrogen sulfide at the facility. A shelter-in-place order was issued for an area within one mile of the facility. Twenty-two personnel, including four responders, were decontaminated at the site, and 18 were transported to local medical facilities for evaluation.
Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless, highly toxic gas that can cause serious injury or death. A concentration of 100 parts per million is considered immediately dangerous to life or health.
The CSB found four full-face respirators at the facility, but they were not all equipped with filters that would protect against hazardous gases such as hydrogen sulfide.
Additionally, workers at the facility told the CSB that respirator use was no longer required after the facility transitioned from production to decommissioning. Catalyst Refiners also did not provide or require employees or contractors to use personal gas monitors.
CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said, "This tragic incident underscores the need to have clear procedures and safely manage the serious chemical hazards that can arise during facility decommissioning. Although the CSB's investigation is still ongoing, we are concerned that Catalyst Refiners did not require employees to wear respirators during decommissioning and also never provided or required workers to use personal gas monitors that might have alerted them to the presence of the highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas."
Moving forward the CSB will continue to further analyze several key issues, including:
* Chemical hazards and incompatibilities
* Decommissioning hazard analysis;
* Chemical disposal procedures;
* Personal protective equipment and atmospheric monitoring; and
* Corporate governance and oversight.
The CSB's investigation remains ongoing. Complete findings, analyses, and recommendations, if appropriate, will be included in the CSB's final investigation report.
The CSB is an independent, nonregulatory federal agency charged with investigating incidents and hazards that result, or may result, in the catastrophic release of extremely hazardous substances. The agency's core mission activities include conducting incident investigations to identify root cause of releases; formulating preventive or mitigative recommendations based on investigation findings and advocating for their implementation; issuing reports containing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations arising from incident investigations; and conducting studies on chemical hazards.
The agency's board members are appointed by the President subject to Senate confirmation. The Board does not issue citations or fines but makes safety recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.
Please visit our website, www.csb.gov. For more information, contact Director of External Affairs Hillary Cohen at Hillary.Cohen@csb.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.csb.gov/us-chemical-safety-board-issues-update-on-investigation-of-fatal-april-2026-hydrogen-sulfide-release-at-catalyst-refiners-facility-in-west-virginia/
Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities Portfolio Reached $2.99 Trillion in July
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- Ginnie Mae issued the following news release:
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Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities Portfolio Reached $2.99 Trillion in July
Ginnie Mae's mortgage-backed securities (MBS) portfolio outstanding grew to $2.99 trillion as of July 2026. In addition, Ginnie Mae issued $53.1 billion in total MBS, resulting in net portfolio growth of $20.5 billion. Ginnie Mae facilitated the pooling and securitization of 408,854 first-time homebuyer loans year to date.
Key highlights from the July issuance include:
* $51.3 billion in Ginnie Mae II MBS.
* $1.8 billion in Ginnie Mae I
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 -- Ginnie Mae issued the following news release:
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Ginnie Mae Mortgage-Backed Securities Portfolio Reached $2.99 Trillion in July
Ginnie Mae's mortgage-backed securities (MBS) portfolio outstanding grew to $2.99 trillion as of July 2026. In addition, Ginnie Mae issued $53.1 billion in total MBS, resulting in net portfolio growth of $20.5 billion. Ginnie Mae facilitated the pooling and securitization of 408,854 first-time homebuyer loans year to date.
Key highlights from the July issuance include:
* $51.3 billion in Ginnie Mae II MBS.
* $1.8 billion in Ginnie Mae IMBS, including $1.7 billion for multifamily housing loans.
* The pooling and securitization of loans for more than 154,000 American households, including more than 69,000 first-time homebuyers.
For detailed information on monthly MBS issuance, unpaid principal balance, Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC) issuance, and a broader analysis of global market trends, visit Ginnie Mae Disclosure (https://www.ginniemae.gov/data_and_reports/reporting/Pages/monthly_issuance_reports.aspx).
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About Ginnie Mae
Ginnie Mae is a wholly government-owned corporation that attracts global capital into the housing finance system to support homeownership for veterans and millions of homeowners throughout the country. Ginnie Mae MBS programs directly support housing finance programs administered by the Federal Housing Administration, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Public and Indian Housing, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service. Ginnie Mae is the only MBS to carry the explicit full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Additional information about Ginnie Mae is available at www.ginniemae.gov and on X, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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Original text here: https://www.ginniemae.gov/newsroom/press-release/ginnie-mae-mortgage-backed-securities-portfolio-reached-299-trillion-july
Smithsonian Institution: Sensory Overload Makes It Harder for Female Treefrogs To Select a Mate
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (TNSjou) -- The Smithsonian Institution issued the following news release:
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Sensory Overload Makes It Harder for Female Treefrogs To Select a Mate
When Faced With Too Many Mating Calls, Female Treefrogs Take Longer To Decide or Abandon the Search Altogether
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When shopping for a new appliance, choosing a movie to watch or even ordering a cup of coffee, people often experience "choice overload." New research from the Smithsonian suggests that female Cope's gray treefrogs face a similar challenge when selecting a mate. In a study published today in iScience, researchers
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (TNSjou) -- The Smithsonian Institution issued the following news release:
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Sensory Overload Makes It Harder for Female Treefrogs To Select a Mate
When Faced With Too Many Mating Calls, Female Treefrogs Take Longer To Decide or Abandon the Search Altogether
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When shopping for a new appliance, choosing a movie to watch or even ordering a cup of coffee, people often experience "choice overload." New research from the Smithsonian suggests that female Cope's gray treefrogs face a similar challenge when selecting a mate. In a study published today in iScience, researchersfrom the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the University of Tennessee found that when female treefrogs are confronted with too many males calls at once, they become less likely to successfully choose a mate. The findings reveal how cognitive limits may influence mating behavior not only in treefrogs, but also across the animal kingdom.
During the breeding season across Eastern North America, Cope's gray treefrogs gather in large choruses with males calling simultaneously to attract females. The resulting wall of sound can make it difficult for females to identify a suitable mate. Previous research has focused on "energetic masking," in which overlapping calls make individual males difficult to hear. But few studies have explored choice overload, where frogs are confronted with too many calls at once. To separate the effects of these two phenomena, researchers played recorded mating calls through speakers in a laboratory and measured female responses when confronted with increasing numbers of potential mates, varying levels of background noise, or both.
"We were really interested in disentangling why female treefrogs have trouble finding a mate, whether it's because they have trouble hearing males against a noisy backdrop, or if the females simply become overwhelmed by the number of options," said Claire Hemingway, a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee and the lead author on the paper. "In human terms, is it like entering a crowded bar and not being able to hear anyone talk, or is it like using a dating app and not being able to choose among the many options?"
The researchers presented females with one target mating call and varying numbers of competing calls. As the number of options increased, the frogs' ability to make decisions declined. When presented with only two calls, females pursued their mate 97% of the time. When the number of calls increased to eight, the proportion dropped to 82%. Even when females did make a choice, they were less likely to select the target call, and it took significantly longer for them to decide. With two calls, females selected the target 76% of the time and reached it in an average of 114 seconds. With eight calls, target selection fell to just 25%, and decision times increased to 183 seconds.
"We were shocked by how straightforward the results were," said Jessie Tanner, an assistant professor at the University of Tennesee and the paper's senior author. "With or without noise, when we presented more calls to the females at once, their performance declined in several ways, making the effect of choice overload clear."
The findings demonstrate that treefrogs, like humans, are susceptible to choice overload and suggest that cognitive constraints may play a larger role in sexual selection among animals than previously recognized. By highlighting the limits of how animals process information in complex environments, the research opens new avenues for understanding how cognition affects mate choice and evolution across species.
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About the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, STRI is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution. Our mission is to understand tropical biodiversity and its importance to human welfare, to train students to conduct research in the tropics and to promote conservation by increasing public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems. Watch our video, and visit our website, Facebook and Instagram for updates.
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View journal here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.117086
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Original text here: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/sensory-overload-makes-it-harder-female-treefrogs-select-mate
Postal Service to Issue Commemorative Stamp for U.S. Coast Guard Academy Milestone
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 -- The U.S. Postal Service posted the following news release:
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Postal Service to Issue Commemorative Stamp for U.S. Coast Guard Academy Milestone
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What:
The U.S. Postal Service will release a new commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. This special issue continues the long-standing postal tradition of honoring the nation's premier military service institutions.
The first-day-of-issue unveiling ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Forever stamp is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 -- The U.S. Postal Service posted the following news release:
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Postal Service to Issue Commemorative Stamp for U.S. Coast Guard Academy Milestone
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What:
The U.S. Postal Service will release a new commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. This special issue continues the long-standing postal tradition of honoring the nation's premier military service institutions.
The first-day-of-issue unveiling ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Forever stamp is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared withthe hashtag #USCoastGuardStamp.
Who:
Marc McCrery, USPS customer experience vice president and dedicating official.
When:
Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, at 10 a.m. Eastern
Where:
Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival
Custom House Pier at Waterfront Park
1 Waterfront Park St.
New London, CT 06320
RSVP:
Attendees are encouraged to register at: https://www.usps.com/uscoastguardstamp/
Background:
The stamp art features photographs of the USCGC Eagle, the Coast Guard Academy's primary training vessel since 1946, and USCGC Bertholf, a Legend-class national security cutter whose missions include maritime drug interdiction and securing the maritime border. Antonio Alcala, an art director for USPS, designed this stamp with photographs courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Postal Products
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through The Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Additional information on stamps, first-day-of-issue ceremonies and stamp-inspired products can be found at stampsforever.com.
The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to more than 170 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is currently pursuing a transformation plan aimed at restoring long-term financial sustainability, improving service, and maintaining the organization as one of America's most valued and trusted brands.
The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
For USPS media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Threads, and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube Channel. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com.
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Original text here: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/0813ma-postal-service-to-issue-commemorative-stamp-for-us-coast-guard-academy-milestone.htm
Emilie Marcus Appointed as Executive Officer of the National Academy of Medicine
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
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Emilie Marcus Appointed as Executive Officer of the National Academy of Medicine
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#The National Academy of Medicine today announced that Emilie Marcus, PhD, has been appointed as the Leonard D. Schaeffer Executive Officer effective August 24, 2026.
Emilie Marcus
Marcus will serve as the NAM's chief operating executive, working closely with NAM president Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, and the Academy's governing Council to advance strategic priorities, oversee programs and operations, strengthen partnerships
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
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Emilie Marcus Appointed as Executive Officer of the National Academy of Medicine
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#The National Academy of Medicine today announced that Emilie Marcus, PhD, has been appointed as the Leonard D. Schaeffer Executive Officer effective August 24, 2026.
Emilie Marcus
Marcus will serve as the NAM's chief operating executive, working closely with NAM president Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, and the Academy's governing Council to advance strategic priorities, oversee programs and operations, strengthen partnershipsand resource development, support member engagement and governance, and ensure that the NAM continues to deliver trusted, evidence-based leadership on the nation's most pressing health challenges.
Marcus joins the Academy from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she served as Senior Associate Dean for Strategy. Before joining UCLA, she spent two decades at Cell Press, where she served as Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of Cell. Throughout her career, Marcus has been recognized for advancing excellence in scientific communication, championing research integrity and reproducibility, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and helping organizations navigate periods of scientific and technological transformation. She holds a PhD in biology from Yale University and completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Diego, and the Salk Institute.
"Dr. Marcus brings a distinctive combination of scientific insight, strategic vision, and organizational leadership," said Bertagnolli. "At a time when the NAM is focused on strengthening the biomedical and health ecosystem, translating research into action, and leading multidisciplinary partnerships to improve health for all, Dr. Marcus is the type of leader we need. I am delighted to welcome her to the Academy."
"I have long admired the work of the National Academy of Medicine and its uniquely effective approach to evidence synthesis, consensus building, and collective action," said Marcus. "I am honored to join this storied institution and excited to support NAM members and staff across the National Academies in achieving our shared goals."
Marcus will succeed J. Michael McGinnis, MD, who has served as the NAM's Leonard D. Schaeffer Executive Officer since 2015. McGinnis will continue in his role as Senior Scholar and Executive Director of the NAM Leadership Consortium, which focuses on advancing the application of evidence, data, and innovation to improve health and health care.
"Dr. McGinnis has done so much to strengthen the Academy in the past decade," Bertagnolli said. "He championed NAM's vision of a nationwide learning health system by developing its collaboration framework and establishing partnerships across the US health sector that drive progress in biomedical research and health care delivery. His leadership has had a profound influence on health policy and practice, and I am grateful that he will continue to oversee the NAM's Leadership Consortium."
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) was established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences to provide independent, evidence-based advice on health, medicine, and biomedical science.
Contact:
Dana Korsen, Director of Media Relations
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; email news@nas.edu
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Original text here: https://nam.edu/news-and-insights/emilie-marcus-executive-officer/
EPA Issues New Checklist to Help States Proactively Strengthen Drinking Water Systems
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Issues New Checklist to Help States Proactively Strengthen Drinking Water Systems
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WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an important guidance document for state partners that are working to ensure public water systems are meeting drinking water standards. This action advances the Trump EPA's Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative by encouraging proactive steps to strengthen drinking water systems while supporting the role of states as co-regulators
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Issues New Checklist to Help States Proactively Strengthen Drinking Water Systems
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WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an important guidance document for state partners that are working to ensure public water systems are meeting drinking water standards. This action advances the Trump EPA's Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative by encouraging proactive steps to strengthen drinking water systems while supporting the role of states as co-regulatorsunder the Safe Drinking Water Act.
"Public Water Systems provide essential clean and safe drinking water that their residents, schools, hospitals, businesses, commercial centers, and industry rely on," said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer. "EPA must work seamlessly with state co-regulators to ensure drinking water is meeting federal standards, and today we are helping our states assess water systems and protect drinking water with this new checklist. EPA's easy-to-use guidance underscores the Trump Administration's efforts to communicate in plain English while developing tools that are straight-forward, effective, and efficient."
"Communities across the US deserve access to safe, reliable, and high-quality drinking water. With that commitment in mind, ASDWA supports the release of the Systemic Issues Checklist - developed in partnership with states and EPA - as a practical resource that will help drinking water primacy agencies and public water systems identify and address challenges before they become risks to service reliability or public health," said Anthony DeRosa Executive Director of Association of State Drinking Water Administrators. "State primacy agencies have long recognized the value of proactive system management, and this guidance provides an effective framework to bolster sanitary survey programs, strengthen system resilience, and promote continuous improvement across drinking water utilities of all sizes. We appreciate EPA's continued partnership with states in advancing our shared mission of ensuring that every community has access to safe, reliable drinking water while strengthening the long-term resilience of our nation's water systems."
EPA has developed this guidance document to help state agencies identify, track, and address systemic issues. Systemic issues are problems that could eventually lead to a disruption of water services if a failure were to occur. These challenges could include demand in source water nearing capacity, malfunctioning treatment equipment, or frequent water main breaks. Often systemic issues like these can be identified during routine public water system assessments and resolved before drinking water is jeopardized.
EPA encourages state agencies to track and resolve issues identified during these routine assessments - known as sanitary surveys - to ensure that issues and concerns do not become systemic or meaningfully endanger public health. The agency's voluntary guidance provides a series of useful checklists that state agencies may use to identify and document systemic issues at public water systems. The checklists are designed to supplement a state agency's existing sanitary survey program so as not to create new processes or additional burden. Additionally, this document provides recommendations for long-term resolution of systemic issues.
Releasing this resource is yet another example of the Trump EPA working to ensure that all Americans can rely on clean and safe drinking water. It complements the agency's robust technical assistance effort - Real Water TA. Real Water TA focuses on hands on assistance for communities and water systems working to address water infrastructure challenges or funding needs. EPA also supports state and local efforts to upgrade and maintain water infrastructure with funding opportunities. This year, EPA announced over $6.5 billion in funding for states through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), a financial assistance program run by states to help water systems achieve the health protection objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA also has approximately $11 billion in flexible financing available through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program to support water infrastructure projects across the country, including in small and rural communities where WIFIA can finance up to 80 percent of project costs. The Systemic Issues Checklist is available on the EPA's sanitary survey page as well as on the EPA's SDWA capacity development state resources webpage.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-issues-new-checklist-help-states-proactively-strengthen-drinking-water-systems
Audit Report: SSA Has Opportunities to Potentially Recover an Estimated $106 Million in Overpayments to Deceased Beneficiaries
WOODLAWN, Maryland, Aug. 13 (TNSbrep) -- The Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General issued the following news release:
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Audit Report: SSA Has Opportunities to Potentially Recover an Estimated $106 Million in Overpayments to Deceased Beneficiaries
A new audit report from the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that SSA did not follow its own policies for recovering overpayments from nearly half of a sample of deceased beneficiaries reviewed, potentially leaving over $100 million in taxpayer dollars unrecovered.
The report,
... Show Full Article
WOODLAWN, Maryland, Aug. 13 (TNSbrep) -- The Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General issued the following news release:
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Audit Report: SSA Has Opportunities to Potentially Recover an Estimated $106 Million in Overpayments to Deceased Beneficiaries
A new audit report from the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that SSA did not follow its own policies for recovering overpayments from nearly half of a sample of deceased beneficiaries reviewed, potentially leaving over $100 million in taxpayer dollars unrecovered.
The report,Recovery Efforts for Deceased Beneficiaries' Overpayments (032406), examined whether SSA employees followed policy for recovering Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) overpayments made to beneficiaries who later died with outstanding balances.
Key Findings
OIG identified 17,979 adult beneficiaries who died between December 2022 and December 2024 with approximately $240 million in outstanding overpayments. From a random sample of 125 beneficiaries, auditors found SSA followed policy in 66 (53 percent) but did not follow policy in 59 (47 percent). Specifically, SSA did not:
* Attempt recovery from 40 deceased beneficiaries' estates.
* Process pending actions to attempt recovery of 15 deceased beneficiaries' overpayments from individuals who were contingently liable for repayment.
* Withhold lump-sum death payments from the eligible survivors of four beneficiaries to offset overpayments.
OIG referred the sampled cases to SSA for corrective action.
Based on these results, OIG estimates SSA could pursue recovery of approximately $106 million owed by 8,486 deceased beneficiaries by consistently applying its required order of overpayment recovery actions--which include withholding underpayments, withholding lump-sum death payments, withholding the benefits of contingently liable individuals, and pursuing recovery from the deceased beneficiaries' estates.
OIG recommended SSA implement controls to ensure employees consistently follow policy for recovering overpayments from deceased beneficiaries' estates, contingently liable individuals, and lump-sum death payments. SSA agreed to implement OIG's recommendation.
Read the full report here (https://oig.ssa.gov/assets/uploads/032406.pdf).
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Original text here: https://oig.ssa.gov/news-releases/2026-08-12-audit-report-ssa-has-opportunities-to-potentially-recover-an-estimated-106-million-in-overpayments-to-deceased-beneficiaries/
