The federal government has paid out more than $1 billion in checks to dead people over a decade, according to a new report by the top Republican on the Senate's investigative panel.

All told, the government has paid out funds to some 250,000 dead people, said Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on investigations.

"Washington paid for dead people’s prescriptions and wheelchairs, subsidized their farms, helped pay their rent, and even chipped in for their heating and air conditioning bills," Mr. Coburn's report said...