FC: Rep. Ron Paul statement on SSNs, privacy, identity theft

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

The House Ways and Means's subcommittee on Social Security held a hearing 
on Tuesday about privacy and preventing the misuse of Social Security 
numbers. See chairman Clay Shaw (R-FL)'s opening statement, planning "to 
quickly bring to the House floor comprehensive legislation to keep Social 
Security numbers private and protect citizens from identity theft." It's here:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/socsec/107cong/5-22-01/5-22shaw.htm

Other testimony, from Ron Plesser representing credit bureaus and Marc 
Rotenberg of EPIC:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/socsec/107cong/5-22-01/5-22ples.htm
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/socsec/107cong/5-22-01/5-22rote.htm

You can see the complete list of prepared testimony at:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/socsec/107cong/ss-4wit.htm

-Declan

*********

From: "Singleton, Norman" <Norman.Singleton () mail house gov>
Subject: Statement on SSNs
Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 14:57:18 -0400

Friends, I thought you might be interested in the following statement 
Congressman Paul submitted for the subcommittee on Social Security hearing 
on the abuse of the Social Security number on May 22:

<http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2001/cr052201.htm>http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2001/cr052201.htm 


May 22, 2001

     Hearing before the House Ways and Means Social Security
     Subcommittee

     Protecting Privacy and Preventing Misuse of Social Security Numbers



     I wish to thank the subcommittee on Social Security of the Ways and 
Means
     Committee for holding this hearing on the misuse of the Social Security
     number. The transformation of the Social Security number into a de facto
     uniform identifier is a subject of increasing concern to the American 
people.
     This is, in large part, because the use of the Social Security number 
as a
     standard identifier facilitates the crime of identity theft. Today, 
all an
     unscrupulous person needs to do is obtain someone's Social Security 
number
     in order to access that person's bank accounts, credit cards, and other
     financial assets. Many Americans have lost their life savings and 
have had
     their credit destroyed as a result of identity theft.

     The responsibility for the misuse of the Social Security number and the
     corresponding vulnerability of the American people to identity crimes 
lies
     squarely with the Congress. Since the creation of the Social Security 
number,
     Congress has authorized over 40 uses of the Social Security number. 
Thanks
     to Congress, today no American can get a job, open a bank account, get a
     professional license, or even get a drivers' license without 
presenting their
     Social Security number. So widespread has the use of the Social Security
     number become that a member of my staff had to produce a Social Security
     number in order to get a fishing license!

     Because it was Congress which transformed the Social Security number 
into
     a national identifier, Congress has a moral responsibility to address 
this
     problem. In order to protect the American people from 
government-mandated
     uniform identifiers which facilitate identity crimes, I have 
introduced the
     Identity Theft Prevention Act (HR 220). The major provision of the 
Identity
     Theft Prevention Act halts the practice of using the Social Security 
number as
     an identifier by requiring the Social Security Administration to 
issue all
     Americans new Social Security numbers within five years after the 
enactment
     of the bill. These new numbers will be the sole legal property of the 
recipient
     and the Social Security Administration shall be forbidden to divulge the
     numbers for any purposes not related to the Social Security program. 
Social
     Security numbers issued before implementation of this bill shall no 
longer be
     considered valid federal identifiers. Of course, the Social Security
     Administration shall be able to use an individual's original Social 
Security
     number to ensure efficient transition of the Social Security system.

     This act also forbids the federal government from creating national 
ID cards
     or establishing any identifiers for the purpose of investigating, 
monitoring,
     overseeing, or regulating private transactions between American 
citizens, as
     well as repealing those sections of the Health Insurance Portability and
     Accountability Act of 1996 that require the Department of Health and 
Human
     Services to establish a uniform standard health identifier. By 
putting an end to
     government-mandated uniform IDs, the Identity Theft Prevention Act will
     prevent millions of Americans from having their liberty, property and 
privacy
     violated by private-and-public sector criminals.

     In addition to forbidding the federal government from creating national
     identifiers, this legislation forbids the federal government from 
blackmailing
     states into adopting uniform standard identifiers by withholding 
federal funds.
     One of the most onerous practices of Congress is the use of federal 
funds
     illegitimately taken from the American people to bribe states into 
obeying
     federal dictates.

     Many of our colleagues will claim that the federal government needs 
these
     powers to protect against fraud or some other criminal activities. 
However,
     monitoring the transactions of every American in order to catch those 
few
     who are involved in some sort of illegal activity turns one of the great
     bulwarks of our liberty, the presumption of innocence, on its head. 
The federal
     government has no right to treat all Americans as criminals by spying 
on their
     relationship with their doctors, employers, or bankers. In fact, 
criminal law
     enforcement is reserved to the state and local governments by the
     Constitution's Tenth Amendment.

     Other members of Congress will claim that the federal government 
needs the
     power to monitor Americans in order to allow the government to operate
     more efficiently. I would remind my colleagues that in a 
constitutional republic
     the people are never asked to sacrifice their liberties to make the 
job of
     government officials a little bit easier. We are here to protect the 
freedom of
     the American people, not to make privacy invasion more efficient.

     Mr. Chairman, while I do not question the sincerity of those members who
     suggest that Congress can ensure citizens' rights are protected through
     legislation restricting access to personal information, the only 
effective privacy
     protection is to forbid the federal government from mandating national
     identifiers. Legislative "privacy protections" are inadequate to 
protect the
     liberty of Americans for several reasons. First, it is simply common 
sense that
     repealing those federal laws that promote identity theft is a more 
effective in
     protecting the public than expanding the power of the federal police 
force.
     Federal punishment of identity thieves provides old comfort to those 
who have
     suffered financial losses and the destruction of their good 
reputation as a
     result of identity theft.

     Federal laws are not only ineffective in stopping private criminals, 
they have
     not even stopped unscrupulous government officials from accessing 
personal
     information. Did laws purporting to restrict the use of personal 
information
     stop the well-publicized violation of privacy by IRS officials or the 
FBI abuses
     by the Clinton and Nixon administrations? !

     The primary reason why any action short of the repeal of laws 
authorizing
     privacy violation is insufficient is because the federal government 
lacks
     constitutional authority to force citizens to adopt a universal 
identifier for
     health care, employment, or any other reason. Any federal action that
     oversteps constitutional limitations violates liberty because it 
ratifies the
     principle that the federal government, not the Constitution, is the 
ultimate judge
     of its own jurisdiction over the people. The only effective 
protection of the
     rights of citizens is for Congress to follow Thomas Jefferson's 
advice and
     "bind (the federal government) down with the chains of the 
Constitution."

     Mr. Chairman, those members who are unpersuaded by the moral and
     constitutional reasons for embracing the Identity Theft Prevention 
Act should
     consider the overwhelming opposition of the American people toward 
national
     identifiers. The overwhelming public opposition to the various
     "Know-Your-Customer" schemes, the attempt to turn drivers' licenses into
     National ID cards, HHS's misnamed "medical privacy" proposal, as well as
     the numerous complaints over the ever-growing uses of the Social 
Security
     number show that American people want Congress to stop invading their
     privacy. Congress risks provoking a voter backlash if we fail to halt 
the
     growth of the surveillance state.

     In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I once again thank you and the other 
members
     of the subcommittee for holding a hearing on this important issue. I 
hope this
     hearing would lead to serious Congressional action to end to the federal
     government's unconstitutional use of national identifiers which 
facilitate
     identity theft by passing Hr 220, the Identify Theft Prevention Act.




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