A bill introduced by U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) that would help prevent and protect federal government retirees from fraud has passed the Senate.

The “Representative Payee Fraud Prevention Act of 2015” would give U.S. Attorneys the statutory authority to prosecute retiree representatives who misuse funds from the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). “Because of an increase in embezzlement of government benefits by dishonest representatives of retirees, legislative solutions are needed to help prevent the misuse of these retirement funds that the government pays.”

This bill classifies the crime of misusing federal retirement funds as a ‘felony’ which will deter deceitful caretaker behavior and provide the same protections that Social Security and Veterans payees currently receive.

Heitkamp, Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee which oversees federal workforce issues, introduced the bill with Subcommittee Chairman James Lankford (R-OK) of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management. The Subcommittee jurisdiction includes the federal workforce and federal employee issues. FERS and CSRS are the primary retirement funds of federal workers and they’re managed by the Office of Personnel Management.