[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11941-S11942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--S. 2924

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the 
Senate receives the message from the House on S. 2924 the Senate 
proceed to its immediate consideration and agree to the amendment of 
the House providing that language is identical to the language I send 
to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senate concurred in the amendment of the House, as follows:

       Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 2924) entitled 
     ``An Act to strengthen the enforcement of Federal statutes 
     relating to false identification, and for other purposes'', 
     do pass with the following amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Internet False 
     Identification Prevention Act of 2000''.

     SEC. 2. COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON FALSE IDENTIFICATION.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General and the Secretary of 
     the Treasury shall establish a coordinating committee to 
     ensure, through existing interagency task forces or other 
     means, that the creation and distribution of false 
     identification documents (as defined in section 1028(d)(3) of 
     title 18, United States Code, as added by section 3(2) of 
     this Act) is vigorously investigated and prosecuted.
       (b) Membership.--The coordinating committee shall consist 
     of the Director of the United States Secret Service, the 
     Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Attorney 
     General, the Commissioner of Social Security, and the 
     Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, or their 
     respective designees.
       (c) Term.--The coordinating committee shall terminate 2 
     years after the effective date of this Act.
       (d) Report.--
       (1) In general.--The Attorney General and the Secretary of 
     the Treasury, at the end of each year of the existence of the 
     committee, shall report to the Committee on the Judiciary of 
     the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives on the activities of the committee.
       (2) Contents.--The report referred in paragraph (1) shall 
     include--
       (A) the total number of indictments and informations, 
     guilty pleas, convictions, and acquittals resulting from the 
     investigation and prosecution of the creation and 
     distribution of false identification documents during the 
     preceding year;
       (B) identification of the Federal judicial districts in 
     which the indictments and informations were filed, and in 
     which the subsequent guilty pleas, convictions, and 
     acquittals occurred;
       (C) specification of the Federal statutes utilized for 
     prosecution;
       (D) a brief factual description of significant 
     investigations and prosecutions;
       (E) specification of the sentence imposed as a result of 
     each guilty plea and conviction; and
       (F) recommendations, if any, for legislative changes that 
     could facilitate more effective investigation and prosecution 
     of the creation and distribution of false identification 
     documents.

     SEC. 3. FALSE IDENTIFICATION.

       Section 1028 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)(3)(A), by inserting ``, including the 
     transfer of a document by electronic means'' after 
     ``commerce''; and
       (2) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``template, computer 
     file, computer disc,'' after ``impression,'';
       (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (C) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (8);
       (D) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as 
     paragraphs (4) through (6), respectively;
       (E) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(3) the term `false identification document' means a 
     document of a type intended or commonly accepted for the 
     purposes of identification of individuals that--
       ``(A) is not issued by or under the authority of a 
     governmental entity; and
       ``(B) appears to be issued by or under the authority of the 
     United States Government, a State, a political subdivision of 
     a State, a foreign government, a political subdivision of a 
     foreign government, or an international governmental or 
     quasi-governmental organization;''; and
       (F) by inserting after paragraph (6), as redesignated, the 
     following:
       ``(7) the term `transfer' includes selecting an 
     identification document, false identification document, or 
     document-making implement and placing or directing the 
     placement of such identification document, false 
     identification document, or document-making implement on an 
     online location where it is available to others; and''.

     SEC. 4. REPEAL.

       Section 1738 of title 18, United States Code, and the item 
     relating to that section in the table of contents for chapter 
     83 of that title, are repealed.

     SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take 
     effect 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate will today 
give final approval to legislation I introduced to curb the 
availability of false identification via the Internet.
  Let me thank my many colleagues in both the House and Senate for 
their hard work in moving this measure quickly through the legislative 
process. In particular, I appreciate the support and assistance of 
Chairman Henry Hyde of the House Judiciary Committee, as well as the 
work of Congressman Howard Coble, Congressman Howard Berman, 
Congressman John Conyers, and Congressman Bill McCollum. In addition to 
their efforts, I want to praise the strong support of Congressman Mark 
Green, who introduced a similar bill in the House. Enactment of this 
bill would not have been possible without the consistent support of the 
chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch, as well as the 
assistance of Senators Kyl, Leahy, Feinstein, and Durbin.
  The bill before the Senate today will make important improvements in 
our laws against the distribution and use of false identification. As I 
found during a lengthy investigation of the availability of false 
identification on the Internet, our current laws have done little to 
stop a growing Internet market in every imaginable type of false 
identification. Whether via e-mail or from a Web site with a name such 
as thefakeidshop.com, everything from birth certificates, to Social 
Security cards, to driver's licenses, are being sold or traded through 
the ease of cyberspace.
  Testimony before the Subcommittee on Investigations demonstrated that 
the availability of false identification documents from the Internet is 
a growing problem. Special Agent David Myers, Identification Fraud 
Coordinator of the State of Florida's Division of Alcoholic Beverages 
and Tobacco, testified that two years ago only one percent of false 
identification documents came from the Internet. Last year, he 
testified, a little less than five percent came from the Internet. Now 
he estimates that about 30 percent of the false identification 
documents he seizes comes from the Internet. He predicts that by next 
year his unit will find at least 60 to 70 percent of the false 
identification documents they seize will come from the Internet.
  S. 2924 will put a stop to this widespread distribution of false 
identification, which can be used to commit identity theft, to 
facilitate serious financial crimes, and to facilitate the underage 
purchase of alcohol and tobacco. The new law will make clear that it is 
a crime to transfer false identification documents by electronic

[[Page S11942]]

means, and that those documents can be in the form of computer files, 
discs, or templates.
  I expect strong action by law enforcement agencies to enforce both 
the existing provisions of title 18, section 1028, and the expanded 
authority provided by this legislation. The intent of S. 2924 is simple 
and clear--to stop those who use the Internet to sell, distribute, or 
make available false identification.
  I am pleased that the new law will make it a crime to place false 
identification, regardless of its format, on an on-line location. Thus, 
the posting of such tools as scanned false identification documents or 
templates of state driver's licenses on Web sites will, without doubt, 
be illegal.
  Mr. President, I am pleased that the House retained the provisions 
that will establish a coordinating committee to concentrate resources 
of federal agencies on investigating and prosecuting the creation of 
false identification. This multi-agency effort should draw on the 
resources of several agencies to investigate and prosecute those who 
engage in the production and transfer of false identification of any 
type. I urge the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury to 
involve all agencies that can assist in curbing the use of false 
identification.
  The House also approved another important portion of the Senate 
bill--the elimination of a section of law that unfortunately allowed 
criminals to manufacture, distribute, or sell counterfeit 
identification documents by using easily removable disclaimers as part 
of an attempt to shield the illegal conduct from prosecution through a 
bogus claim of ``novelty.'' No longer will it be acceptable to provide 
computer templates of government-issued identification containing an 
easily removable layer saying that it is not a government document.
  I thank my colleagues for their support of this important 
legislation.

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