[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 17, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3375-H3377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SOCIAL SECURITY CHILD PROTECTION ACT OF 2018

  Mr. MARCHANT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1512) to amend title II of the Social Security Act to 
provide for the reissuance of Social Security account numbers to young 
children in cases where confidentiality has been compromised, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1512

       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 Child 
     Protection Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. REISSUANCE OF SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS TO 
                   YOUNG CHILDREN IN CASES WHERE CONFIDENTIALITY 
                   HAS BEEN COMPROMISED.

       (a) In General.--Section 205(c)(2)(B) of the Social 
     Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(B)) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (iv); and
       (2) by inserting after clause (ii) the following new 
     clause:
       ``(iii) In any case in which a Social Security account 
     number has been issued to a child who has not attained the 
     age of 14 pursuant to subclause (IV) or (V) of clause (i) and 
     it is demonstrated by evidence, as determined by the 
     Commissioner of Social Security, and submitted under penalty 
     of perjury to the Commissioner by a parent or guardian of the 
     child that in the course of transmission of the social 
     security card to the child, the confidentiality of such 
     number has been compromised by reason of theft of such social 
     security card, the Commissioner shall issue a new Social 
     Security account number to such child and make note in the 
     records maintained with respect to such child of the 
     pertinent information received by the Commissioner regarding 
     the theft of the social security card.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Marchant) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. 
Davis) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MARCHANT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1512, which is 
currently under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MARCHANT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, the history of this legislation begins in my district 
in Southlake, Texas. A constituent of mine called my office very 
distraught that her mail had been stolen, and with it, her newborn 
baby's Social Security card and number. A week later, a felon with an 
extensive history of forgery, credit card abuse, and identity theft was 
apprehended, and in his possession was the Social Security card of my 
newborn constituent.
  The child's mother, rightfully so, was very concerned that her 6-
month-old child's identity had been compromised, and I requested on her 
behalf that the Social Security Administration issue the child a new 
Social Security card. We thought that would be an easy thing to do. The 
request was denied.
  My staff and my district office took it on themselves to get the law 
changed and asked me would I consider introducing a bill to do that. So 
today, we are here to try to protect a group of the most vulnerable of 
our Social Security cardholders.
  Members of this Chamber know Social Security numbers have become an 
increasingly valuable target for identity theft due to their widespread 
use throughout the financial sector.
  Madam Speaker, children like my constituent are particularly 
vulnerable to Social Security number theft because usually, before the 
age of 13, they do not work, they do not drive, they do not try to get 
credit cards, and they don't try to establish credit, which would 
extend the time a thief can use that child's identity before the theft 
is even noticed.
  Current policy does little to protect children whose Social Security 
cards and numbers have been stolen. I believe H.R. 1512 is the answer 
to this problem. This bill requires that the Social Security 
Administration issue a new Social Security number for a child age 13 
and under when a child's Social Security card has been stolen and the 
child's parent or guardian demonstrates to the Commissioner of the 
Social Security Administration under penalty of perjury that it was 
stolen while being transmitted by Social Security to the child's 
address, that is, by U.S. mail.
  This bill is a commonsense solution. We need to combat identity 
theft. I encourage all Members to vote today to protect our 
constituents, especially our most vulnerable.
  I thank my fellow Texan, Lloyd Doggett, for cosponsoring the bill and 
helping me introduce the bill. I urge my colleagues to join us in 
supporting this bipartisan bill.
  I would also like to thank, Madam Speaker, my district staff who 
worked

[[Page H3376]]

on this problem so hard in the beginning and the committee staff who 
helped me shepherd this through to its chairman, Mr. Johnson, of the 
Social Security Subcommittee.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 1512, the Social Security 
Child Protection Act, which was introduced jointly by Representatives  
Kenny Marchant and Lloyd Doggett, both of Texas. I note that my 
colleague, Mr. Johnson, is also in the House. This means that Texas is 
serious about children and protecting them. This bipartisan legislation 
would protect children in cases where their Social Security card is 
stolen from the mail.
  Most parents apply for a Social Security number for their child soon 
after the baby is born. They can do this easily and securely right in 
the hospital. The Social Security Administration then assigns a number 
to the child and mails the card to the child's family.
  Unfortunately, sometimes these letters do not reach their intended 
destination. They can be stolen from the mail. In fact, the Social 
Security numbers of children are highly valued by identity thieves. 
Fraudsters can wreak havoc, creating an extensive record of bad debt 
and fraud associated with a child's number.
  Currently, Social Security will issue a new number to anyone, child 
or adult, who can show that their number has been misused and that they 
have been harmed. However, in the case of a child, sometimes years go 
by before the family learns that a child's number has been used for 
fraud.
  Under the bill, the Social Security Administration would issue a 
child a new Social Security number if their card is stolen from the 
mail. The family would no longer have to prove that harm has occurred 
before the child can be issued a new number.
  Madam Speaker, this is a commonsense measure, and I want to commend 
Mr. Marchant for thinking it up, thinking of it and responding to a 
need that was expressed to him by one of his constituents. It is a 
great measure. I am pleased to support it, and I urge all of my 
colleagues to support it.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARCHANT. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Plano, Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson), who is the chairman of the Social 
Security Subcommittee.
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I thank my fellow Texans, 
Mr. Marchant and Mr. Doggett, for introducing this commonsense bill.
  Children who have had their Social Security cards stolen from the 
mail before it even gets to them deserve a new Social Security number. 
This helps these youngest victims of identity theft start out with a 
clean slate. It is the right thing to do, and I encourage my colleagues 
to support this commonsense legislation.

  As the chairman of the Social Security Subcommittee, I have been 
committed to doing all I can to protect Americans from identity theft. 
This bill helps us get there. But, Madam Speaker, while this bill will 
help child victims of identity theft, the fact is that it still doesn't 
fix the real problem.
  The real problem is that we use Social Security numbers to both 
identify and authenticate people. It just doesn't make sense, but we 
have been doing this for decades, and I think it is time to put a stop 
to it.
  When Social Security created Social Security numbers back in 1936, 
they were designed for a limited purpose: to track earnings and 
administer Social Security benefits for hardworking Americans. Back 
then, there wasn't much thought about keeping your number secret. But 
as we all know, that has changed since these numbers are used for 
everything from getting credit to enrolling kids in school.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 1512, the Social Security Child Protection Act, 
is a step in the right direction, and I urge all Members to support it.
  I also want to take this opportunity to begin a serious conversation 
about the future of Social Security numbers and how we use them. I 
invite Members to join me. The American people deserve no less.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
  Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, the Social Security number really is a 
key to identity theft, and thieves have had a field day with these 
Social Security numbers and the identity theft and the invasion of 
privacy that occurs.
  A full 10 years ago, I authored a measure here in the House to remove 
this information from the Medicare card. The next session, finally in 
2010, we were able to pass that through the House with the help of 
Representative Johnson. It was a bipartisan initiative.
  Then the Senate didn't pass it.
  When Republicans took over control of the House, Mr. Johnson 
appropriately took the lead on that legislation, and he worked at it 
for a while, and, finally, in 2015, he got it passed to remove the 
Social Security number from the Medicare card.
  As Representative Johnson knows, finally, now, 10 years from when we 
started in June of this year, it looks like seniors will begin getting 
their Medicare cards without the Social Security number on it, to 
protect their privacy and to avoid the exploitation that has occurred.
  To his credit, Mr. Marchant has identified another group of very 
vulnerable individuals: children. Carnegie Mellon did a study that 
reported that nearly 10 percent of America's children have had their 
identity already stolen, and the Social Security number is a factor in 
that. That is significantly higher than it is for adults, some 51 times 
higher, according to the Carnegie Mellon study.
  Children are particularly vulnerable in this regard because they 
don't have a driver's license. They are really kind of a blank canvas. 
They don't work, and they don't establish credit. This allows theft and 
fraud to go undetected for many years in some cases.
  By the time that they are young adults, they could unknowingly be 
buried in debt and face delays in very important steps in their 
education, in their work, in getting their first job, in getting that 
driver's license or applying for a student loan.
  I salute Mr. Marchant for seeing that this is a problem. I am pleased 
to join him and my colleague, Mr. Davis, from Chicago in supporting 
this measure.
  Children and their parents or their guardians acting on their behalf 
deserve a streamlined process that will allow for a child to be issued 
a new Social Security number long before any misuse occurs.

                              {time}  1630

  No child should have to wait for the inevitable harm to come along 
and have their identity stolen before action occurs. Building on the 
success that we have had with seniors, and I hope in a much more prompt 
fashion than we were able to do it for seniors, we now, through Mr. 
Marchant's efforts, are working to ensure, once again on a bipartisan 
basis, that we provide the same kind of protection for infants and 
children from baseless identity thieves.
  Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of the legislation.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I have no further 
speakers, and I will close.
  I am pleased to note that H.R. 1512 and other bills before us today 
take important steps to decrease identity theft. I know that identity 
theft is one of the top issues that the Chicago Taxpayer Advocate 
addresses. Helping prevent identity fraud and helping taxpayers deal 
with identity theft are important improvements.
  Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this bill, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. MARCHANT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I would like to say thank you to my colleagues on the committee who 
have worked on this bill, and especially Congressman Doggett, who has 
helped every step of the way.
  H.R. 1512 is a very commonsense solution that is supported by the 
Association of Mature American Citizens and the AARP.
  Madam Speaker, I include in the Record their letters of support.


[[Page H3377]]


                                             Association of Mature


                                            American Citizens,

                                   Washington, DC, March 17, 2017.
     Hon. Kenny Marchant,
     24th District, Texas,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Lloyd Doggett,
     35th District, Texas,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Marchant and Congressman Doggett: On 
     behalf of the 1.3 million members of AMAC, the Association of 
     Mature American Citizens, I am writing in strong support of 
     H.R. 1512, the Social Security Child Protection Act. This 
     important piece of legislation offers more protection for 
     children under 14 who have been victims of Social Security 
     card theft. This bill is as timely as it is simple in 
     protecting the identities of our nation's children.
       The Social Security Child Protection Act is a real-life 
     solution to a real-time problem. As the Federal Trade 
     Commission (FTC) recently reported, identity theft rose by 
     50% from 2014 to 2015. As millions of identities are 
     compromised each year due to Social Security card theft, 
     children are becoming a more attractive target to identity 
     thieves. H.R. 1512 does more to stem Social Security card 
     theft by making it easier for parents to request new Social 
     Security numbers for their children when their Social 
     Security card has been stolen, in transit, from the Social 
     Security Administration (SSA).
       Under current policy, parents of children under 14 are able 
     to request a new Social Security number only when they can 
     demonstrate harm has occurred as a direct result of Social 
     Security card theft. However, demonstrating a level of harm 
     requisite with current policy is difficult for most parents 
     because children do not typically participate in activities 
     where harm from Social Security card theft would be made 
     apparent (getting a driver's license, buying a home, opening 
     a line of credit, etc.). H.R. 1512 would make it easier for 
     parents to get a new Social Security number for their 
     children because they would only need to show their child's 
     Social Security card was stolen in transit from the SSA--not 
     that their child suffered harm.
       As an organization committed to representing the interests 
     of mature Americans and seniors, AMAC is dedicated to 
     ensuring senior citizens' interests are protected. We thank 
     Congressman Marchant and Congressman Doggett for their 
     commonsense and practical solution to protect children from 
     identity theft. AMAC is pleased to offer our organization's 
     full support to the Social Security Child Protection Act.
           Sincerely,
                                                        Dan Weber,
     President and Founder of AMAC.
                                  ____



                                                         AARP,

                                   Washington, DC, April 11, 2018.
     Hon. Kevin Brady,
     Chairman, House of Representatives,
     Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Richard E. Neal,
     Ranking Member, House of Representatives,
     Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Brady: On behalf of AARP's 38 million 
     members, I am writing in support of H.R. 1512, the Social 
     Security Child Protection Act of 2017. The bill directs the 
     Social Security Administration (SSA) to issue a new Social 
     Security number to a child under the age of 14 if the 
     confidentiality of the child's previous number has been 
     compromised due to the theft of the documentation. AARP is 
     strongly committed to protecting the confidentiality of 
     Social Security numbers for American citizens of all ages.
       An individual's Social Security number is critical 
     financial information and integral to everyone's personal 
     identity. Many parents apply for Social Security numbers for 
     their children soon after birth. Social Security numbers for 
     all family members are used for a wide variety of purposes, 
     including employment and taxes. For these reasons, Social 
     Security numbers must be afforded the highest level of 
     privacy protection to guard against financial fraud or 
     identity theft.
       AARP has a long-standing public policy position to protect 
     the integrity of Social Security numbers that specifically 
     states that ``companies, government agencies, and individuals 
     should not be allowed to post or publicly display Social 
     Security numbers, print them on cards, transmit them over the 
     internet or by facsimile, or send them by mail without safety 
     measures.'' We appreciate your support to protect personal 
     Social Security information and make this change in the law.
       We look forward to continuing to work with you to promote 
     the integrity of the Social Security program, and to protect 
     the identities of American workers and their families. If you 
     have any questions, please feel free to call me.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Joyce A. Rogers,
                        Senior Vice President, Government Affairs.

  Mr. MARCHANT. Again, I encourage all Members to vote ``yes'' to make 
sure that children who have their Social Security cards stolen are 
protected.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Marchant) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1512, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________