[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 28, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S2357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALLARD:
  S. 699. A bill to prevent the fraudulent use of social security 
account numbers by allowing the sharing of social security data among 
agencies of the United States for identity theft prevention and 
immigration enforcement purposes, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I will be introducing a piece of 
legislation today which is a bill to cut at the heart of a rampant 
problem in this country; that is, identity theft.
  Last month, a bipartisan group of Senators and I met with Secretary 
Chertoff on this very issue. Secretary Chertoff explained that under 
current law, Government agencies are prevented from sharing information 
with one another that, if shared, could expose cases of identity theft. 
My bill tears down the wall that prevents the sharing of existing 
information among Government agencies. It permits the Commissioner of 
Social Security to secure information with the Secretary of Homeland 
Security where such information is likely to assist in discovering 
identity theft, Social Security number misuse, or violations of 
immigration law.
  Specifically, it requires the Commissioner to inform the Secretary of 
Homeland Security upon discovery of a Social Security account number 
being used with multiple names or where an individual has more than one 
person reporting earnings for him or her during a single tax year. It 
seems logical that we would already be doing this, but we are not. In 
the meantime, identity theft is plaguing innocent victims all across 
the country. We were reminded of the pervasiveness of this problem by 
the recent ICE raids of six Swift and Company meat-packing plants 
across the country last December. In total, agents apprehended 1,282 
illegal alien workers on administrative immigration violations. Of 
these, 65 have also been charged with criminal violations related to 
identity theft or other violations.
  Unfortunately, for the victims of identity theft, by the time the 
identity theft is discovered, the damage has already been done. Ranked 
fifth in the Nation for identity theft, citizens of Colorado are no 
strangers to identity theft. For instance, an 84-year-old Grand 
Junction woman was deemed ineligible for Federal housing assistance 
because her Social Security number was being used at a variety of jobs 
in Denver, making her income too high to qualify. A 10-year-old child 
in Douglas County had his identity stolen, and his Social Security 
number was being used at 17 different jobs. Others get stuck with big 
tax bills for wages they never earned.
  Clearly, identity theft is an issue that affects people of all ages 
and walks of life. Yet when the Social Security Administration has 
reason to believe that a Social Security number is being used 
fraudulently, they are prevented from sharing it with the Department of 
Homeland Security. Withholding this information effectively enables 
thieves to continue to perpetrate the crime of identity theft against 
innocent victims. By simply sharing this information, cases of identity 
theft could be discovered much sooner. Victims of identity theft 
deserve to have this existing information acted on, and my bill allows 
for this to happen. I urge colleagues to support this commonsense 
legislation.
  Later on, when we are on S. 4, called Improving America's Security 
Act, which deals with implementation of more of the 9/11 Commission 
recommendations, I plan on offering an amendment that has similar 
language to this bill. This is an issue which is extremely important to 
victims. It is something we should address. I will give the Senate 
plenty of opportunity to deal with this issue.
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