[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 200 (Monday, December 1, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H4939-H4940]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1710
              SOCIAL SECURITY CHILD PROTECTION ACT OF 2025

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 5348) 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. 5348

       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 2025''.

     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:

[[Page H4940]]

       ``(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 a social security 
     card to the child, the confidentiality of such number has 
     been compromised by reason of loss or 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 loss or 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 
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 submit 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, a lost or stolen Social Security number can cause a 
lifetime of harm to American children. Every year, more than a million 
children become victims of identity fraud.
  Current Social Security Administration policy makes it extremely 
difficult for families to get a new Social Security number for a child, 
even when families know the original number was compromised through no 
fault of their own.
  Previously, the Ways and Means Committee heard direct testimony from 
a mother who had to battle with the Social Security Administration when 
her 1-month-old child's Social Security number was compromised, and she 
was denied a new number.
  This bill, the Social Security Child Protection Act of 2025, 
sponsored by Representative Smucker, will help families when their 
child's Social Security number is lost or stolen. It requires the SSA 
to issue a new number to children under the age of 14 when the child's 
card has been compromised versus sitting around and waiting for a 
malicious act to take place.
  This is a straightforward solution that will help protect children 
and families from fraud.
  I urge my colleagues to support this so we can continue to stand 
together to better safeguard the identities of American kids.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I certainly think that H.R. 5348, the Social Security Child 
Protection Act of 2025, which passed the Ways and Means Committee with 
overwhelming bipartisan support, deserves to be supported by this body.
  As has been indicated, this legislation would direct the SSA to issue 
a new Social Security number to a child under 14 if it was stolen in 
the course of being mailed.
  The current policy brings nothing but misery upon a child and a new 
family, and I think that this is a commonsense effort to mend this 
grievous bureaucratic conundrum that parents have to face.
  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 Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker).
  Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for the opportunity 
to bring this up in committee and then for moving it out of committee. 
I thank the leader for bringing it to the floor for a vote.
  This is about helping kids. I know when we talk about Social 
Security, we don't often think about kids. But remember, every child 
receives a Social Security number that follows them around for the rest 
of their life. Every year, there are kids whose Social Security numbers 
are lost or stolen in the mail and exposed to fraudsters.
  Because children don't open bank accounts, they don't apply for lines 
of credit, and they don't seek employment, it can take them years to 
discover that their identity was stolen or to realize the effects of a 
stolen identity.
  Under current policy, even if the child is aware that the Social 
Security number was stolen, a child must become victimized by actual 
fraud before the Social Security Administration will give them a new 
number.
  That is ridiculous. If my bank issued a credit card and I didn't 
receive it in the mail, they wouldn't send me another copy of the same 
card. They would cancel the old one and send me a new card. Why would 
we treat our children any differently? We shouldn't.
  That is why, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to vote for the Social 
Security Child Protection Act. This bill would simply require that the 
Social Security Administration issue a new, different Social Security 
number to a child under the age of 14 if the card has been lost or 
stolen while being issued to the child in the mail.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a simple fix to protect our children and make the 
process of interacting with the Social Security Administration easier. 
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time for closing.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense bill, and it will strengthen 
customer service for children whose Social Security card has been lost 
or stolen in the mail.
  While Mr. Smucker described this as a very simple, commonsense bill, 
I think the importance of this is it demonstrates that on a bipartisan 
basis we can solve problems. You always start with the little things 
and work yourself forward.
  If providing greater customer service through the Social Security 
Administration is a goal that has strong bipartisan support, I think 
that that really gives us a runway to do bigger things.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  A mother testifying before the Ways and Means Committee told us how 
it took ``hours of effort over months'' to protect her daughter from 
identity theft and that ``the threat will never completely go away 
unless she is assigned a new Social Security number.''
  This mother had to battle with the SSA after her infant daughter's 
Social Security number was compromised. Unfortunately, the story is all 
too common for millions of Americans who have had their Social Security 
numbers stolen or misused each year.
  By taking swift action today, we can prevent a lifetime of financial 
harm to American children across the country.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge 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. 5348, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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