[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 200 (Monday, December 1, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H4938-H4939]
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. 5345) 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. 5345
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.''.
(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 gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
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, in recent years, the theft and misuse of Social Security
numbers has become a very serious problem in our country. In 2024
alone, there were over 3,000 reported data breaches, and over half of
them included compromised Social Security numbers. For victims, the
fallout can be overwhelming.
Instead of finding clear guidance at the Social Security
Administration to deal with this stressful situation, too many folks
are bounced from one office to another. They receive conflicting
instructions and spend months trying to resolve what should be a
straightforward issue.
During a previous Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security
hearing, we heard directly from a mother about how a single point of
contact at the Social Security office would have been beneficial in
helping her deal with the fallout from her daughter's Social Security
number being compromised.
Protecting Americans from identity theft is not a partisan issue.
This bill provides a simple and commonsense fix to provide victims of
identity theft with a single point of contact at the Social Security
Administration when their number is lost or compromised.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman David Kustoff for his leadership
on this bill. Thanks to his work, victims of identity theft whose
Social Security
[[Page H4939]]
numbers have been compromised will get the help that they so need.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1700
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I certainly support H.R. 5345, the Improving Social Security's
Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act, and of course, this passed
the Ways and Means Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support.
I think having a single person to deal with at the Social Security
office is common sense, and it will enable a victim to unravel their
problems a lot sooner.
I just want to make note of the fact that, like some other Social
Security bills that are under consideration today, this bill does not
fix the crisis that this Trump administration has inflicted on Social
Security when it comes to data privacy and customer service. Thumb
drives went into our central data computers by DOGE employees, people
who had not been confirmed by any Senate or anything else, and our
Social Security information was captured--captured indeed--on thumb
drives.
Democrats are going to continue to fight to protect Americans from
having their personal Social Security information politicized or bought
and sold to the highest bidder or their Social Security benefits put at
risk. It is very, very frightening, so frightening, Mr. Speaker, that
as soon as our current Treasury Secretary was brought into office, I
wanted to know what DOGE was doing and where the information was going.
I don't think we have had any conversations of any substance regarding
the location of that data.
While this bill will have a modest but meaningful improvement to
Social Security's customer service to the victims of identity theft,
and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for this
legislation, I want them to think more deeply about what we need to do
in the atmosphere that we are in now to protect Americans' Social
Security data that was mined by DOGE.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff).
Mr. KUSTOFF. Mr. Speaker, I thank our Ways and Means chairman, Jason
Smith, not only for his strong leadership but for his support on this
important legislation.
Mr. Speaker, every year, more and more Americans are having their
identity stolen. It is a sad fact. However, actors are becoming more
sophisticated. They are using new technology to gain access to
sensitive information. Just last year, there were over 3,000 separate
data breaches that were reported, including many leaks involving stolen
Social Security numbers.
Currently, when somebody has their identity stolen, they have got to
navigate a baffling process at the Social Security Administration. The
Ways and Means Committee has heard from victims who describe the
process of regaining their identities as a bureaucratic nightmare. It
is complex. It is lengthy, and it is frustrating. Sometimes they report
being passed from representative to representative and from department
to department. Sometimes they even get conflicting advice from people
within the Social Security Administration.
As identity theft becomes more commonplace, the system at the Social
Security Administration needs to be streamlined to work better for the
victims. The Improving Social Security's Service to Victims of Identity
Theft Act addresses this problem head-on.
Specifically, this bill will establish a single point of contact at
the Social Security Administration for Americans who have had their
Social Security numbers lost or stolen. Mr. Speaker, think of it as a
one-stop shop for those trying to protect themselves from identity
theft. Having a single point of reference, one point of contact, at the
Social Security Administration will simplify the process, making it
easier and faster for victims to get relief.
This piece of legislation was passed favorably out of the Ways and
Means Committee with a strong bipartisan vote. Mr. Speaker, now it is
time to act in a bipartisan manner to support Americans whose Social
Security numbers fall into the wrong hands.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for
time, and I am prepared to close.
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and
I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank my colleague for introducing this
very important piece of legislation. I am always happy, as are other
Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee, for any initiative to
protect our data, to protect and secure it, to protect people's
privacy, and to streamline their ability to resolve their problem.
I would hope that the authors of this legislation and the chairman of
the committee would recognize that this will mean that they will have
to stop taking the appropriations away from the Social Security
Administration. We have shut down scores of offices. Many people have
been fired, and that data and AI will not resolve the issue of having a
single point of contact or a person to deal with.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. It did
pass out of committee with a strong bipartisan vote. I hope that there
is bipartisan interest in protecting our data which, like I said, has
been DOGE'd and stored somewhere in the cloud. I hope that this urgency
around protecting data will continue to be a priority of the committee.
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, identity theft has become a major issue in our country.
One of the main ways that bad actors exploit victims is through the
misuse of their Social Security number.
Unfortunately, when people contact the Social Security Administration
for help with a stolen or missing Social Security number, they are
often met with red tape, waiting for callbacks, confusion, and
conflicting information. Callers will get bounced around to multiple
SSA employees or have go through different processes just to get the
help that they need.
This bill sponsored by Representative Kustoff will make it easier for
Americans to resolve issues with stolen or missing Social Security
numbers by providing them with a single point of contact at the SSA.
I, once again, want to thank Representative Kustoff for his great
leadership on this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'', 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. 5345, 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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