ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SECURITY

McCrery Announces Fourth in Series of Subcommittee Hearings on Social Security Number High-Risk Issues

Congressman Jim McCrery (R-LA), Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold the fourth in a series of Subcommittee hearings on Social Security number (SSN) high-risk issues.  The hearing will examine expanding uses of the SSN card and measures to prevent SSN card fraud.  The hearing will take place on Thursday, March 16, 2006 in room B‑318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m. 

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

The SSN was created in 1936 to record earnings and benefits for the Social Security program.  The sole purpose of the SSN card was to show that an SSN had been issued to the named individual.  Originally, the SSN card had no security features other than the individual’s signature.

Within a decade, the SSN’s use grew beyond its original narrow purpose, and has continued to expand.  According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the SSN is now the single most widely-used record identifier for both the government and the private sectors.

As with the SSN, the SSN card’s uses also have expanded over the decades.  Currently, one of its most important roles is in work authorization.  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security requires employers to document the identity and employment eligibility of their new hires.  For U.S. citizens and some non-citizens, employers may accept the SSN card as proof of a person’s eligibility to work in the United States.

As the uses of the SSN and the SSN card have increased, security features have been added to the SSN card to prevent its fraudulent duplication or alteration.  For example, legislation enacted in the early 1980s required specific changes to the SSN card, and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458) requires that standards be established and implemented to safeguard SSN cards from counterfeiting, tampering, alteration, and theft.  However, the SSA does not replace all existing SSN cards when a new SSN card design is adopted, due to workload concerns and the potential burden on the public.  As a result, since 1936, the SSA has issued more than 433 million SSNs, with about 50 different versions of the SSN card--all of which are still valid.

Despite its adoption for other purposes, the SSN card by itself is not a personal identity document.  The SSN card does not contain information that would confirm that the person presenting the card is actually the person whose name and SSN appear on the card.  Several bills introduced in the 109^th Congress would mandate significant changes to the card for that purpose.  For example, one proposal would enhance the security features in the SSN card as part of a package of changes to the process of confirming the identity and work eligibility of new hires. However, ideas such as adding photographs, machine-readable electronic strips, and other features to SSN cards have raised concerns about the future purpose of the card.  Some have expressed concerns that SSN card may evolve into a form of national identification.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman McCrery stated, “Because of the expanding use of SSNs and SSN cards, they are often transformed into tools to gain illegal employment and perpetrate identity theft and other crimes.  We need a thorough examination of the appropriateness of using SSNs in certain roles.  It is equally important for us to examine the potential impact on individual’s security and privacy that could result from changes to the design of the SSN card.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The Subcommittee will examine the history of SSNs and SSN card use, the role of the SSN card in work authorization, measures to prevent SSN card fraud, and the potential effects of transforming the SSN card into an identification document. 

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note:  Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms.  From the Committee homepage, http://waysandmeans.house.gov, select “109^th Congress” from the menu entitled, “Hearing Archives” (http://waysandmeans.house.gov/Hearings.asp?congress=17).  Select the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, “Click here to provide a submission for the record.”  Once you have followed the online instructions, completing all informational forms and clicking “submit” on the final page, an email will be sent to the address which you supply confirming your interest in providing a submission for the record.  You MUST REPLY to the email and ATTACH your submission as a Word or WordPerfect document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by close of business               Thursday, March 30, 2006 .  Finally, please note thatdue to the change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package deliveries to all House Office Buildings.  For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-1721.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee. The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines. Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any supplementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any submission or supplementary item not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1.   All submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word or WordPerfect format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments.  Witnesses and submitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2.  Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing.  Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased.  All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3.  All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons, and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note:  All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.