[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 130 (Tuesday, October 17, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H9990-H9991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER CONFIDENTIALITY ACT OF 1999

  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3218) to amend title 31, United States Code, to prohibit the 
appearance of Social Security account numbers on or through unopened 
mailings of checks or other drafts issued on public money in the 
Treasury.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3218

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Social Security Number 
     Confidentiality Act of 1999''.

[[Page H9991]]

     SEC. 2. OPEN DISCLOSURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS ON 
                   THE FACE OF GOVERNMENT CHECK MAILINGS 
                   PROHIBITED.

       Section 3327 of title 31 of the United States Code 
     (relating to general authority to issue checks and other 
     drafts) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``The Secretary''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall take such actions 
     as are necessary to ensure that Social Security account 
     numbers (including derivatives of such numbers) are not 
     visible on or through unopened mailings of checks or other 
     drafts described in subsection (a) of this section.''.

     SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITIONAL RULE.

       (a) In General.--The amendments made by this Act shall 
     apply with respect to all mailings of checks or other drafts 
     issued on or after the date which is 3 years after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act.
       (b) Phase-in of Amendments.--Effective on the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
     commence procedures to gradually implement the amendments 
     made by this Act in advance of the effective date described 
     in subsection (a). Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for each 
     of the next two years, the Secretary shall transmit to each 
     House of the Congress a report describing the manner and 
     extent to which the requirements of the preceding sentence 
     have been carried out.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Ose) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose).
  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).
  Mr. CALVERT. Madam Speaker, I rise as the author of H.R. 3218, the 
Social Security Number Confidentiality Act of 1999.
  First, though, I would like to thank the leadership for bringing the 
problem of personal privacy into the national arena, especially the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, who presently has a 
more comprehensive bill before the House, for his long-time advocacy of 
personal information privacy.
  H.R. 3218 is only a small step toward protecting all Americans from 
identity theft, and I look forward to working with the gentleman from 
Florida (Chairman Shaw) next year.
  H.R. 3218 stops the Federal Government from making identity theft any 
easier for con artists. How? My bill prohibits the appearance of Social 
Security account numbers on or through unopened mailings of checks or 
other drafts issued by the Treasury Department.
  This problem was brought to my attention by senior citizens in my 
district who revealed that their Social Security numbers appeared in 
the windowed part of their Social Security checks, making them easy 
targets to scam artists. Just remember the credit card scam that 
victimized military officers whose names, addresses, and Social 
Security numbers were printed in the Congressional Record.
  Congress has since halted this practice. Is it not time that we take 
steps to ensure the safety and privacy for our senior citizens?
  Just last month, the Treasury Department confirmed that Social 
Security numbers would no longer be visible through the windows of 
benefits checks, such as Social Security checks.
  However, the need for this legislation still exists. Any future 
administration could, for the sake of time or efficiency, return to the 
practice of using Social Security numbers for positive identification. 
The banking industry's concern over efficiency has been addressed in my 
bill by leaving Social Security numbers on the benefit checks, just not 
in a place where it can be seen in a windowed envelope.
  H.R. 3218 ensures that seniors are never again put at risk of having 
their Social Security numbers displayed in plain view where they are 
available for criminals and fraud. It will protect the privacy and 
confidentiality of our Social Security numbers.
  Again, I would like to thank the leadership and the gentleman from 
Florida (Chairman Shaw) for bringing this bill to the floor for 
consideration.
  Mr. TURNER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan legislation, H.R. 
3218, the Social Security Number Confidentiality Act, which amends the 
law to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to make necessary changes 
to ensure that Social Security numbers are not visible through the 
unopened mailings of government checks or other drafts.
  I appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) for bringing 
this legislation forward, and I also commend the Department of the 
Treasury which also noted that this change needed to be made.
  In fact, in August of this year, the Treasury Department announced 
that Social Security numbers would no longer be visible through the 
envelope window of checks mailed to Social Security recipients.
  This past September, the Treasury Department began using the check 
numbers rather than the Social Security numbers to identify and to 
retrieve payments that are ineligible for delivery. This was a welcome 
and a necessary change.
  I commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) and the 
Department of the Treasury both for noting that this important change 
needed to be made on the mailings of our Nation's Social Security 
checks.
  It is interesting to note that there are a number of House Members 
who also have privacy bills that are pending who are anxious to have 
this House act on their legislation. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Kleczka) has H.R. 1450; the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) has H.R. 
4857; the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hooley) has H.R. 4311; the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) has H.R. 4611. All of these 
bills are worthy of consideration by this Congress.
  Unfortunately, time seems to be running out on these important 
measures that are designed, as the bill of the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Calvert) is designed, to protect the privacy of 
American citizens.
  Again, clearly, our citizens do not deserve to have their Social 
Security numbers displayed to the public on the envelopes in which they 
receive their Social Security checks.
  Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to join in adopting this 
resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I also urge adoption of this bill. Having no 
other requests for time, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3218.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________