Opening Statement of The Honorable Michael R. McNulty,

June 21, 2007

Our hearing today will focus on the role that the Social Security number plays in the crime of identity theft, and options to enhance the privacy and security of the Social Security number so that it is not as useful a tool for identity thieves.

Stealing or obtaining Social Security numbers through illegitimate means is a key part of identity fraud. Our subcommittee is deeply concerned about identity theft and how to better protect the Social Security number. In fact, this is the sixteenth hearing on this topic we have held in the past seven years.

Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States. Research by the Federal Trade Commission suggests that almost five percent of the adult population of the U.S. – some ten million people – were victims of some kind of identity theft in just a single 12-month period. Through its Web site and toll-free hotline, the FTC receives between fifteen and twenty-thousand contacts each week from those who have been victimized by identity thieves, as well as people seeking information about how to protect themselves from identity theft.

Identity theft ruins individuals’ good names and destroys their credit ratings. Identity thieves have stolen the homes of elderly retirees, and have caused innocent persons to be arrested when crimes are committed under a falsified identity. It has even ruined the future credit ratings of young children.

The FTC reports that individuals spend five billion dollars a year attempting to recover their good names and credit histories. Annual surveys find that businesses lose more than 50 billion dollars per year to identity theft-related fraud.

Victims also can spend years cleaning up the damage done by such thieves. In fact, we have learned that a victim who testified before this subcommittee in the previous Congress, Nicole Robinson, still has not been able to correct her credit record. Even though she testified before Congress, and our staff intervened with the credit bureaus, she continues to experience problems resulting from the theft of her identity – seven years after her identity was first stolen.

The Social Security Administration and its Inspector General have worked diligently to increase the integrity and security of the Social Security number, and the procedures used in issuing it. But SSA has essentially no control over how the Social Security number is used by other governmental agencies or the private sector.

Today, we will hear about the problem of identity theft from government agencies who have studied it, and representatives of those who suffer from it. We will hear from businesses and government agencies that use the Social Security number. And we will hear suggestions on how to better protect the SSN by limiting its use by government and the private sector.

I am committed to moving forward with legislation aimed at making it more difficult for thieves and other wrongdoers to obtain a Social Security number and use it to commit identity theft or other crimes. I welcome the testimony we will receive today that will help us better understand the nature of the problem and the potential solutions.