thedrifter
07-25-07, 01:08 PM
Congress pushes to ban SSNs from ID cards
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 25, 2007 12:19:38 EDT
A Texas lawmaker wants to push the Defense Department to remove Social Security numbers from military ID cards, proposing to give them one year to find an alternative.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, introduced a bill Monday ordering a Pentagon study of using distinct military ID numbers instead of Social Security numbers on all military IDs.
The study would have to be done one year from when the bill, HR 3128, becomes law.
Gohmert is one of a growing number of lawmakers who are concerned that having Social Security numbers on ID cards makes service members more likely to be victims of identity theft.
“Although dog tags are essential for identification purposes of our service members, the inclusion of Social Security numbers on these tags leaves men and women susceptible to having sensitive, personal information stolen,” Gohmert said in a statement. “To reduce the chances of identity theft and fraud, this bill directs the secretary of defense to conduct a study on the feasibility of using military identification numbers instead of Social Security numbers. We want to ensure that the personal information of our military members is protected while they fight to protect this great nation.”
Gohmert is not the first lawmaker to push for a study. Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., tried without success to get the military to drop Social Security numbers from ID cards when McHugh was chairman of the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee. McHugh also demanded that the Pentagon study alternatives.
Pentagon officials have said they want to drop Social Security numbers from the cards, but it’s not as simple as it sounds because so much of the military’s payroll and personnel systems use the number as a primary means of identification. That the number has become a key identifier for more than just tracking Social Security earnings is one of the chief reasons there is a push to stop its wide use.
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, trying to protect against identity theft, passed a bill barring the federal government from putting Social Security numbers on ID cards. The Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2007, passed by voice vote, would ban Social Security numbers from not only appearing on the face of a card, but also from being placed on the card’s magnetic strip.
Pentagon plans for a new ID card would still have the number on the magnetic strip, at least until a new system is found.
Ellie
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 25, 2007 12:19:38 EDT
A Texas lawmaker wants to push the Defense Department to remove Social Security numbers from military ID cards, proposing to give them one year to find an alternative.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, introduced a bill Monday ordering a Pentagon study of using distinct military ID numbers instead of Social Security numbers on all military IDs.
The study would have to be done one year from when the bill, HR 3128, becomes law.
Gohmert is one of a growing number of lawmakers who are concerned that having Social Security numbers on ID cards makes service members more likely to be victims of identity theft.
“Although dog tags are essential for identification purposes of our service members, the inclusion of Social Security numbers on these tags leaves men and women susceptible to having sensitive, personal information stolen,” Gohmert said in a statement. “To reduce the chances of identity theft and fraud, this bill directs the secretary of defense to conduct a study on the feasibility of using military identification numbers instead of Social Security numbers. We want to ensure that the personal information of our military members is protected while they fight to protect this great nation.”
Gohmert is not the first lawmaker to push for a study. Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., tried without success to get the military to drop Social Security numbers from ID cards when McHugh was chairman of the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee. McHugh also demanded that the Pentagon study alternatives.
Pentagon officials have said they want to drop Social Security numbers from the cards, but it’s not as simple as it sounds because so much of the military’s payroll and personnel systems use the number as a primary means of identification. That the number has become a key identifier for more than just tracking Social Security earnings is one of the chief reasons there is a push to stop its wide use.
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, trying to protect against identity theft, passed a bill barring the federal government from putting Social Security numbers on ID cards. The Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2007, passed by voice vote, would ban Social Security numbers from not only appearing on the face of a card, but also from being placed on the card’s magnetic strip.
Pentagon plans for a new ID card would still have the number on the magnetic strip, at least until a new system is found.
Ellie