The Treasury Department recovered more than $31 million in Social Security payments made to dead people due to a five-month pilot program approved by Congress.

The pilot program has given the Treasury temporary access to the Social Security Administration’s “Full Death Master File” for three years as part of a 2021 appropriations bill. The database contains more than 142 million records of those who died and dates back to 1899, according to the Treasury. 

“These results are just the tip of the iceberg,” Treasury Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk said in a statement. “Congress granting permanent access to the Full Death Master File will significantly reduce fraud, improve program integrity, and better safeguard taxpayer dollars.”

The three-year access period runs from December 2023 through 2026. The Treasury predicts that it will recover more than $215 million. 

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Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump has picked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head the new Department of Government Efficiency, which seeks to investigate and cut back government spending waste and fraud.

The Washington Examiner reached out to the Trump transition team and asked if they intended to make the Treasury’s access to the SSA’s Full Death Master File permanent.