[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 144 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5255-H5257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IMPROVING SOCIAL SECURITY'S SERVICE TO VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT ACT
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 3784) to amend title VII of the Social Security Act
to provide for a single point of contact at the Social Security
Administration for individuals who are victims of identity theft, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3784
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 ``Improving Social Security's
Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act''.
SEC. 2. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS.
(a) In General.--Title VII of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 714. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR IDENTITY THEFT
VICTIMS.
``(a) In General.--The Commissioner of Social Security
shall establish and implement procedures to ensure that any
individual whose social security account number has been
misused (such as to fraudulently obtain benefits under title
II, VIII, or XVI of this Act, or in a manner that affects an
individual's records at the Social Security Administration,
or in a manner that prompts the individual to request a new
social security account number) or whose social security card
has been lost in the course of transmission to the individual
has a single point of contact at the Social Security
Administration throughout the resolution of the individual's
case. The single point of contact shall track the
individual's case to completion and coordinate with other
units to resolve issues as quickly as possible.
``(b) Single Point of Contact.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a), the
single point of contact shall consist of a team or subset of
specially trained employees who--
``(A) have the ability to coordinate with other units to
resolve the issues involved in the individual's case, and
``(B) shall be accountable for the case until its
resolution.
``(2) Team or subset.--The employees included within the
team or subset described in paragraph (1) may change as
required to meet the needs of the Social Security
Administration, provided that procedures have been
established to--
``(A) ensure continuity of records and case history, and
``(B) notify the individual when appropriate.''.
[[Page H5256]]
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On September 17, 2024, on Page H5256, in the first column, the
following appeared: The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Connecticut.
The online version has been corrected to read: The Chair
recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
========================= END NOTE =========================
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3784, the Improving
Social Security's Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act.
In 2022 alone, there were over a thousand data breaches which exposed
the private data, such as names, dates of birth, and Social Security
numbers of millions of Americans, putting their identities and
financial well-being at risk.
We all know someone who has been a been a victim of identity theft,
and we have seen how difficult and time consuming it is for those
individuals to take back control of their credit and financial well-
being.
The longer it takes to resolve an issue like the loss or theft of a
Social Security number, the longer fraudsters have to compromise or
exploit an individual's identity.
This Congress, the Ways and Means Committee held a hearing that
underlined exactly why this bill is needed. We heard from Margaret, a
new mother, who testified about her 9-month-old daughter's Social
Security number being compromised and the stress associated with such a
situation. She testified that having a single point of contact at the
Social Security Administration to talk to about her case would have
made a world of difference. That is exactly what this bill does.
H.R. 3784 will streamline the process of addressing concerns with
lost or stolen Social Security numbers by reducing the burdens on
victims and ensuring a more efficient resolution of their issues.
I thank my colleagues, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Drew
Ferguson and Ranking Member John Larson for their bipartisan work on
this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I also extend my congratulations to Mr. Ferguson, and I thank Mr.
Smith for his comments on this very important piece of legislation. I
think the public is always glad to see bipartisanship at work, and
there is nobody who exemplifies that more than the chairman of the
subcommittee, Mr. Ferguson himself.
Americans are increasingly vulnerable to identity theft, as we all
know. In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission received over a million
reports of identity theft.
Addressing identity theft can be complex and time consuming.
Currently, a victim could run into incredible red tape when you try to
go through the current system and get a resolution to what, obviously,
is a very disturbing incident that has just happened to you.
We must do everything we can to improve the process for victims. That
is why we initiated this legislation that will allow that one-stop
provision and allow the individuals to make sure that they have a point
of contact and work this way through instead of working their way
through an entanglement of bureaucracy.
We must also ensure that the SSA has the necessary funding, however,
and the resources to carry out its mission. There have been years of
underfunding. The American public should understand this.
Social Security manages over 70 million people. What other Federal
agency do you know of that administers that bureaucracy for under 1
percent?
That is a shameful cut. We need to make sure that Social Security is
funded appropriately and make sure they have all of the latest
technology to deal with the more than 70 million people now that are
receiving Social Security.
Again, I think the Nation is astounded. I come from the insurance
capital of the world. On average, they administer their insurance
programs for around 20 percent.
I think we ought to take a hard look, and I think everybody has to
take a look into their heart. If we expect to provide people with the
kind of service they should get from the number one antipoverty program
for the elderly and the number one antipoverty program for children,
then we have to make sure that that is appropriately funded.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1530
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson), the chairman of
the Subcommittee on Social Security.
Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his support, and
I thank Mr. Larson for his engagement on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3784, a bill I
introduced called the Improving Social Security's Service to Victims of
Identity Theft Act.
In 2021, roughly 1.5 million children were the victims of identity
fraud. That is 1 in nearly 50 children. The numbers are staggering.
Now, I as chairman, along with Ranking Member Larson, held a
subcommittee hearing to discuss ways the Social Security Administration
could responsibly do more to protect America's Social Security numbers
from identity theft.
The hearing also highlighted the government's failure to help
individuals whose Social Security numbers had been compromised.
During the hearing, we heard from Mrs. Hayward, who testified her
family had been forced to navigate the Social Security Administration's
bureaucratic maze to protect her daughter's financial future.
Mr. Speaker, she told the subcommittee that after giving birth to her
third child, she promptly submitted the proper paperwork for a new
birth certificate and a Social Security card. While the birth
certificate arrived without issue, the Social Security card did not.
By the time her daughter was 7 weeks old, and having not received the
card, she grew concerned and contacted the Social Security
Administration about the fact that the website said that it had been
sent and received when, in fact, it had not.
She initially assumed the card might have been misplaced, but after
thoroughly checking her mail and contacting the Social Security
Administration, she learned that the card had been issued but not
received. The Social Security Administration advised patience, but
concerns about identity theft were dismissed.
When she requested information about whether the card had been
received or issued, she was simply told she could apply for a
replacement card, but not a new number, nor could she get the old
number directly.
Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Hayward eventually went to the Social Security
office. She stated that other employees provided inconsistent
information, dismissed the need for a new number, and even suggested
that a remedy was contacting the post office to locate the missing
card. It was only after she sought help from her U.S. Senator that they
were able to request a new card. When a replacement card finally
arrived, the original card was still unaccounted for and potentially
compromised.
The process to monitor and protect her daughter's identity was really
much too cumbersome and stressful, and having to re-explain the
situation to multiple Social Security Administration employees about
navigating this complex system and the issues that she had faced is
simply unacceptable.
Preventing identity theft must be a top priority, yet Mrs. Hayward's
family and countless others across the Nation have faced serious
bureaucratic obstacles that extend the time that fraudsters have to
misuse the personal information of their victims.
[[Page H5257]]
This underscores the need for a system that proactively prevents
identity theft and provides clear, consistent support for American
families.
Mr. Speaker, my bill addresses this by streamlining the process to a
single point of contact at the Social Security Administration so that
they can get their issues resolved more efficiently. I am proud to
offer this bill along with my colleague, Mr. Larson, and ask that
Members support this bill.
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of
my time.
Mr. Speaker, let me compliment the chairman, Mr. Ferguson, and thank
him for his incredible work in this area. I also thank Commissioner
O'Malley, who doesn't get the credit I believe he richly deserves,
especially dealing with less resources and a larger and growing
problem. Imagine, if you will, for I think most viewers don't know,
that 10,000 baby boomers a day become eligible for Social Security, and
it is growing rapidly.
I am glad that Republicans support this bill to improve customer
service for victims of identity theft, but they must also support
giving SSA the resources it needs to implement it. I think that is
pretty clear and straightforward.
Mr. Speaker, I also believe that, as was pointed out by Mr. Smith and
also by Mr. Ferguson, the unfortunate experience people go through is a
crime, identity theft, and even more of a crime when you can't get
service.
Yet, what is really criminal about Social Security is that Congress
has not taken on the responsibility of enhancing a program that was
last improved when Richard Nixon was President of the United States--53
years. Every single district, every single individual, everyone who is
retiring is stuck at the same benefit level they were in 1971.
There are 5 million Americans who get below-poverty-level checks
because Congress hasn't acted. For over 40 percent of Social Security
recipients, which is 28 million people, all they have is Social
Security. The only body that can resolve that problem for them is the
United States Congress.
We took a baby step here as it relates to making sure about identity
theft. We need to take a major step and vote for enhancements for
people who richly deserve them. They are counting on us. It is the
Nation's insurance program, and we have not done our job as a Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Mr. Speaker, a Social Security number is the gateway to taking
control of an American's identity and finances. Congress owes it to the
American people to do everything that we can to ensure their identities
are protected and that the process for taking back control of their
identity when their Social Security number is compromised is
streamlined and easy. We especially owe it to the almost 1 million
children who were victims of identity fraud in 2022 through no fault of
their own.
H.R. 3784 is a long-overdue step forward in streamlining the Social
Security Administration's process and alleviating the burden on
victims.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3784, 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.
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