United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-02-16 monographic deposited born digital 25 p. GA 1.13:HEHS-99-28 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-28 P0b002ee18038f864 f:he99028 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-28 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-28 HEHS-99-28 Social security number Social security taxes Right of privacy Credit bureaus State-administered programs Personal income taxes Licenses Computer matching FHwA Commercial Driver's License Information System Food Stamp Program Medicaid Program Supplemental Security Income Program HHS Child Support Enforcement Program SSI Letter Report HEHS Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed how the social security number (SSN) is used, focusing on: (1) federal laws and regulations requiring or restricting SSN use; (2) how extensively the private and public sectors use SSNs for purposes not required by federal law; and (3) what businesses and governments believe the impact would be if federal laws limiting the use of SSNs were passed.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) no single law regulates the overall use of SSNs; (2) the Social Security Act, which created the social security programs for which the SSN was developed, did not require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to devise SSNs; (3) however, once SSA created and began using SSNs to help administer its programs, Congress recognized the universal nature of the SSN and subsequently enacted laws requiring SSN uses for some purposes not related to social security; (4) federal laws now require that SSNs be used in the administration of some programs, including the federal personal income tax program, the Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, Food Stamp, and Child Support Enforcement programs, and state commercial driver licensing programs; (5) some of these laws impose restrictions on SSN use relating to the programs or activities involved; (6) no federal law, however, imposes broad restrictions on businesses' and state and local governments' use of SSNs when that use is unrelated to a specific federal requirement; (7) businesses and governments are not limited to using SSNs only for purposes required by federal law; (8) officials of all the organizations GAO reviewed--businesses that sell personal information, those that offer financial and health care services, and state personal income tax and driver licensing agencies--routinely choose to use SSNs as a management tool to conduct their business or program activities; (9) these uses can affect large numbers of people; (10) credit bureau and state personal income tax officials, for example, said they use the SSN as a primary record identifier for internal activities, such as maintaining individual consumer credit histories and identifying income tax filers; (11) officials of the other organizations GAO contacted said they use SSNs to match records with those of other organizations to carry out the data exchanges necessary to conduct their business; (12) data exchanges are conducted for such purposes as obtaining information to assess credit risk, locate assets, and ensure compliance with program rules and regulations; (13) both private business and government officials said their organizations could be adversely affected if the federal government passed laws that limited their use of SSNs; (14) credit bureau officials and state tax administrators said federal restrictions could impede their ability to conduct routine and internal activities; and (15) however, given the public's concern about the disclosure of SSNs, some officials said their organizations have taken steps to limit disclosure. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-28/html/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-28.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-28/pdf/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-28.pdf GAO/HEHS-99-28 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-99-28 Letter Report GAO/HEHS-99-28; Social Security: Government and Commercial Use of the Social Security Number Is Widespread; Social security number Social security taxes Right of privacy Credit bureaus State-administered programs Personal income taxes Licenses Computer matching FHwA Commercial Driver's License Information System Food Stamp Program Medicaid Program Supplemental Security Income Program HHS Child Support Enforcement Program SSI