House Committee Passes Social Security Privacy Legislation

In a press release, the House Ways and Means Committee stated "During the course of the 16 hearings conducted by the Subcommittee, numerous experts testified that the easy availability of Social Security numbers (SSNs) in the public and private sectors, combined with the number’s widespread use as an individual identifier, greatly facilitates the crime of identity theft. The bill would restrict the use of the SSN by government and business, to make it less accessible to identity thieves, while providing exceptions for legitimate and necessary uses of the number." Click here for a text of the bill.