[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 64 (Thursday, May 1, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PROPOSAL SEEKS TO CURTAIL IDENTITY THEFT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 1, 2003

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, for the fourth consecutive session of 
Congress, I am introducing the Personal Information Privacy Act (PIPA), 
which would help restore individuals' control over the use of their 
Social Security numbers and personal information.
  Over the years, the Social Security number (SSN) has unfortunately 
become a de facto national identifier. SSNs are required to receive a 
driver's license from every state, and many companies require consumers 
to provide their SSN as a condition of doing business. This means that 
should one's SSN fall into the wrong hands, it can be used to steal 
one's identity, run up thousands of dollars of false charges in your 
name, and wreak havoc on your credit history.
  The issue of identity theft has grown to be the largest single 
complaint received by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and curbing 
the rampant use of the SSN--``the key to identity theft''--is paramount 
in reducing identity theft and restoring citizens' ability to protect 
their personal information.
  Under this legislation, PIPA, businesses would be prohibited from 
refusing to sell goods or services to individuals that do not want to 
provide their SSN. Furthermore, without written consent, one's SSN 
could not be used for commercial purposes or used as an identifier. 
Neither could information on products or services bought by an 
individual and where they were purchased--known as transaction 
histories--be sold to third parties.
  Lastly, individuals would be permitted to seek redress for violations 
of this measure in civil courts, with the statute of limitations 
beginning to toll three years after the offense was discovered. PIPA 
would also establish penalties for the use of Social Security numbers 
without a consumer's consent of up to $25,000 for a single offense, and 
up to $500,000 for repeated violations.
  Any victim of identity theft could tell you the difficulty of 
restoring one's credit and good name. Identity theft is on the rise, 
and topped the FTC's consumer fraud list for the third year in a row. 
Unless action is taken to curb the widespread use of SSNs as 
identifiers or as a condition of doing business, this crime will 
continue to harm increasing numbers of our citizens.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation, and give 
Americans the ability to better safeguard themselves from identity 
theft.

                          ____________________