[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 2 (Thursday, January 7, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E62]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     A SECURE SOCIAL SECURITY CARD

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                           HON. BILL McCOLLUM

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 1999

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation that 
will make the Social Security card more tamper-resistant and less 
susceptible to fraudulent use. Eliminating Social Security document 
fraud is a vital first step in controlling our borders and stopping 
illegal immigration. It is simply unacceptable that the one document 
that is most commonly used to prove eligibility for employment--the 
Social Security card--is nothing more than a paper document that is 
easily counterfeited. As it stands, an illegal alien wanting a Social 
Security card can go to a street corner and purchase a fake for as 
little as $30.
  Improving the Social Security card is of the utmost importance for 
two fundamental reason: (1) it reduces the incentive for illegal aliens 
to come to the U.S. by making it more difficult for them to get a job, 
and (2) it makes it easier for employers to comply with existing law by 
making employment authorization documents more reliable. It is that 
simple.
  Mr. Speaker, the only way to control the crisis of illegal 
immigration is to eliminate the lure of employment. The 1986 
Immigration Reform and Control Act created employer sanctions, making 
it illegal to knowingly hire an illegal alien. That law requires 
everyone seeking employment in the U.S. to produce evidence of 
eligibility to work. The most commonly used form of verification is the 
combination of a driver's license with the Social Security card. These 
reforms were well intentioned but a decade later, it is clear that 
fraudulent documents have weakened the impact.
  One of the primary reasons that employer sanctions are not working 
today is the rampant fraud in the documents used to prove eligibility 
to work, including the Social Security card. As long as the Social 
Security card can be easily counterfeited, employer sanctions will not 
work. The fact that illegal aliens can easily counterfeit authorization 
documents undermines this important law and the lure of easy jobs 
continues to pull illegal aliens into this country.
  My legislation would require a simple upgrading of the Social 
Security card. This would replace today's card with one that offers the 
best possible security against counterfeiting, forgery, alteration and 
fraudulent use. This proposal would require the Commissioner of the 
Social Security Administration to make such improvements to the Social 
Security account number card as are necessary to make it as secure 
against counterfeiting as the 100 dollar bill and as protected against 
fraudulent use as the United States passport. I chose these performance 
standards because of the many counterfeit-resistance features that are 
built into these two documents, including the type of paper, 
watermarks, background pattern of inks and security threads.
  Mr. Speaker, with this legislation, the Commissioner of Social 
Security would be required to offer more than a bare assertion 
concerning the card's security. This legislation directs the 
Comptroller General to perform an annual audit regarding the progress 
and status of developing a secured social security account number card, 
the incidence of counterfeit production and fraudulent use of social 
security account number cards, and the steps being taken to detect and 
prevent such counterfeiting and fraud.
  The legislation also provides that, beginning on January 1, 2008, any 
Social Security card that is used for employer sanctions purposes, 
i.e., to show that an individual is eligible to work in the U.S., must 
be one of the new, secured Social Security cards. By a date certain we 
need an improved Social Security card to be the only Social Security 
card acceptable for employer sanctions. Other documents, such as the 
passport, would still be acceptable. This would make the older, easy to 
counterfeit cards, worthless to illegal aliens.
  Immigrants bring growth, creativity and opportunity to America. They 
are the cornerstone of much of our great nation's cultural heritage. 
Immigration should once again be seen as a noble experience that 
enriches America--both economically and culturally--rather than one 
demeaned by criminality and deceit. To accomplish this, we must make 
employer sanctions work and cut off the magnet of jobs. Adopting 
measures, such as a secure Social Security card, to reduce document 
fraud is the first pivotal step that must be taken.
  If we do nothing and continue to allow the use of the Social Security 
card without making it tamper-resistant, fraud will remain rampant, 
employer sanctions will not work, and the country will continue to be 
overrun by illegal aliens. This is a modest proposal to ensure that the 
SSA uses the latest inking and anti-counterfeiting mechanisms now used 
on paper issued in the form of the $100 bill and the U.S. passport--
both of which boast extremely low rates of fraud. These would be 
specific, clearly outlined performance standards. In 9 years or so, 
only such an upgraded card would qualify as a Social Security card for 
the purposes of confirming employment eligibility. These modest steps 
are the least we can do to stop the unrivaled wave of illegal 
immigration hitting our nation.

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