I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2455 

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to prohibit the sale, purchase, 

and display to the general public of the Social Security account number. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2007 

Mr. CARTER (for himself, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, and Ms. 

GRANGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to prohibit 

the sale, purchase, and display to the general public 

of the Social Security account number. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Security Num5 ber Non-Proliferation Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF THE SALE, PURCHASE, AND DIS2 PLAY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF THE SO3 CIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBER. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Social Security Act 

5 is amended by inserting after section 208 (42 U.S.C. 408) 

6 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘PROHIBITION OF THE SALE, PURCHASE, AND DISPLAY

8 TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY

9 ACCOUNT NUMBER

10 ‘‘SEC. 208A. (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

11 section: 

12 ‘‘(1) PERSON.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara14 graph (B), the term ‘person’ means any indi15 vidual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, 

16 cooperative, association, or any other entity. 

17 ‘‘(B) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.—Such 

18 term does not include a governmental entity. 

19 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con20 strued to authorize, in connection with a gov21 ernmental entity, an act or practice otherwise 

22 prohibited under this section or section 

23 205(c)(2)(C). 

24 ‘‘(2) SELLING AND PURCHASING.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara26 graph (B)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) SELL.—The term ‘sell’ in connec2 tion with a social security account number 

3 means to obtain, directly or indirectly, any4 thing of value in exchange for such num5 ber. 

6 ‘‘(ii) PURCHASE.—The term ‘pur7 chase’ in connection with a social security 

8 account number means to provide, directly 

9 or indirectly, anything of value in exchange 

10 for such number. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The terms ‘sell’ and 

12 ‘purchase’ in connection with a social security 

13 account number do not include the submission 

14 of such number as part of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the process for applying for any 

16 type of Government benefits or programs 

17 (such as grants or loans or welfare or 

18 other public assistance programs), 

19 ‘‘(ii) the administration of, or provi20 sion of benefits under, an employee benefit 

21 plan, or 

22 ‘‘(iii) the sale, lease, merger, transfer, 

23 or exchange of a trade or business. 

24 ‘‘(3) DISPLAY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘display to 

2 the general public’ means, in connection with a 

3 social security account number, to intentionally 

4 place such number in a viewable manner on an 

5 Internet site that is available to the general 

6 public or to make such number available in any 

7 other manner intended to provide access to such 

8 number by the general public. 

9 ‘‘(B) INTERNET TRANSMISSIONS.—In any 

10 case in which a person requires, as a condition 

11 of doing business with such person, transmittal 

12 to such person of an individual’s social security 

13 account number by means of the Internet with14 out reasonable provisions to ensure that such 

15 number is encrypted or otherwise secured from 

16 disclosure, any such transmittal of such number 

17 as so required shall be treated as a ‘display to 

18 the general public’ of such number by such per19 son. 

20 ‘‘(4) SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBER.— 

21 The term ‘social security account number’ has the 

22 meaning given such term in section 208(c), except 

23 that such term includes any derivative of such num24 ber. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any ex25 pression, contained in or on any item sold or disVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:10 May 29, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455

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1 played to the general public, shall not be treated as 

2 a social security account number solely because such 

3 expression sets forth not more than the last 4 digits 

4 of such number, if the remainder of such number 

5 cannot be determined based solely on such expres6 sion or any other matter presented in or on such 

7 item. 

8 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF SALE, PURCHASE, AND DIS9 PLAY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.—(1) Except as provided 

10 in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to— 

11 ‘‘(A) sell or purchase a social security account 

12 number or display to the general public a social se13 curity account number, or 

14 ‘‘(B) obtain or use any individual’s social secu15 rity account number for the purpose of locating or 

16 identifying such individual with the intent to phys17 ically injure or harm such individual or using the 

18 identity of such individual for any illegal purpose. 

19 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), and subject to 

20 paragraph (3), a social security account number may be 

21 sold or purchased by any person to the extent provided 

22 in this subsection (and for no other purpose) as follows: 

23 ‘‘(A) to the extent necessary for law enforce24 ment, including (but not limited to) the enforcement 


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1 of a child support obligation, as determined under 

2 regulations issued as provided in subsection (j); 

3 ‘‘(B) to the extent necessary for national secu4 rity purposes, as determined under regulations 

5 issued as provided in subsection (j); 

6 ‘‘(C) to the extent necessary for public health 

7 purposes; 

8 ‘‘(D) to the extent necessary in emergency situ9 ations to protect the health or safety of 1 or more 

10 individuals; 

11 ‘‘(E) to the extent that the sale or purchase is 

12 required to comply with a tax law of the United 

13 States or of any State (or political subdivision there14 of); 

15 ‘‘(F) to the extent that the sale or purchase is 

16 to or by a consumer reporting agency (as defined in 

17 section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

18 U.S.C. 1681a(f))) for use or disclosure solely for 

19 permissible purposes described in section 604(a) of 

20 such Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)); and 

21 ‘‘(G) to the extent necessary for research (other 

22 than market research) conducted by an agency or in23 strumentality of the United States or of a State or 

24 political subdivision thereof (or an agent of such an 

25 agency or instrumentality) for the purpose of adVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:10 May 29, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455

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1 vancing the public good, on the condition that the 

2 researcher provides adequate assurances that— 

3 ‘‘(i) the social security account numbers 

4 will not be used to harass, target, or publicly 

5 reveal information concerning any identifiable 

6 individuals; 

7 ‘‘(ii) information about identifiable individ8 uals obtained from the research will not be used 

9 to make decisions that directly affect the rights, 

10 benefits, or privileges of specific individuals; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(iii) the researcher has in place appro13 priate safeguards to protect the privacy and 

14 confidentiality of any information about identi15 fiable individuals, including procedures to en16 sure that the social security account numbers 

17 will be encrypted or otherwise appropriately se18 cured from unauthorized disclosure. 

19 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a social security 

20 account number assigned to an individual may be sold, 

21 purchased, or displayed to the general public by any per22 son— 

23 ‘‘(A) to the extent consistent with such individ24 ual’s voluntary and affirmative written consent to 


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1 the sale, purchase, or display of the social security 

2 account number, but only if— 

3 ‘‘(i) the terms of the consent and the right 

4 to refuse consent are presented to the individual 

5 in a clear, conspicuous, and understandable 

6 manner, 

7 ‘‘(ii) the individual is placed under no obli8 gation to provide consent to any such sale, pur9 chase, or display, and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the terms of the consent authorize 

11 the individual to limit the sale, purchase, or dis12 play to purposes directly associated with the 

13 transaction with respect to which the consent is 

14 sought, and 

15 ‘‘(B) under such circumstances as may be 

16 deemed appropriate in regulations issued as provided 

17 under subsection (j). 

18 ‘‘(4) In the case of social security account numbers 

19 which constitute personally identifiable medical informa20 tion, the Commissioner of Social Security, with respect to 

21 medical research which is referred to in paragraph (3)(A) 

22 or which is treated in regulations of the Commissioner 

23 issued pursuant to paragraph (3)(B), shall maintain ongo24 ing consultation with the Office for Civil Rights of the De25 partment of Health and Human Services to ensure that 


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1 the sale or purchase of such social security account num2 bers is permitted only in compliance with existing Federal 

3 rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of 

4 Health and Human Services pursuant to section 264(c) 

5 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability 

6 Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 2033). 

7 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION OF UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE

8 TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES OR INSTRUMENTALITIES.— 

9 (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to communicate 

10 by any means to any agency or instrumentality of the 

11 United States or of any State or political subdivision 

12 thereof the social security account number of any indi13 vidual other than such person without the written permis14 sion of such individual, unless the number was requested 

15 by the agency or instrumentality. In the case of an indi16 vidual who is legally incompetent, permission provided by 

17 the individual’s legal representatives shall be deemed to 

18 be permission provided by such individual. 

19 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the extent nec20 essary— 

21 ‘‘(A) for law enforcement, including (but not 

22 limited to) the enforcement of a child support obliga23 tion, or 

24 ‘‘(B) for national security purposes, 


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1 as determined under regulations issued as provided under 

2 subsection (j). 

3 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAYS ON CARDS OR

4 TAGS REQUIRED FOR ACCESS TO GOODS, SERVICES, OR

5 BENEFITS.—No person may display a social security ac6 count number on any card or tag issued to any other per7 son for the purpose of providing such other person access 

8 to any goods, services, or benefits or include on such card 

9 or tag a magnetic strip, bar code, or other means of com10 munication which conveys such number. 

11 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAYS ON EMPLOYEE

12 IDENTIFICATION CARDS OR TAGS.—No person that is an 

13 employer, and no other person offering benefits in connec14 tion with an employee benefit plan maintained by such em15 ployer or acting as an agent of such employer, may display 

16 a social security account number on any card or tag that 

17 is commonly provided to employees of such employer (or 

18 to their family members) for purposes of identification or 

19 include on such card or tag a magnetic strip, bar code, 

20 or other means of communication which conveys such 

21 number. 

22 ‘‘(f) MEASURES TO PRECLUDE UNAUTHORIZED DIS23 CLOSURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND

24 PROTECT THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF SUCH NUMBERS.— 

25 Subject to the preceding provisions of this section, any 


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1 person having in such person’s records the social security 

2 account number of any individual other than such person 

3 shall, to the extent that such records are maintained for 

4 the conduct of such person’s trade or business— 

5 ‘‘(1) ensure that no officer or employee thereof 

6 has access to such number for any purpose other 

7 than as necessary for the conduct of such person’s 

8 trade or business, 

9 ‘‘(2) restrict, in accordance with regulations of 

10 the Commissioner, access to social security account 

11 numbers obtained thereby to officers and employees 

12 thereof whose duties or responsibilities require ac13 cess for the conduct of such person’s trade or busi14 ness, and 

15 ‘‘(3) provide such safeguards as may be speci16 fied, in regulations of the Commissioner, to be nec17 essary or appropriate to preclude unauthorized ac18 cess to the social security account number and to 

19 otherwise protect the confidentiality of such number. 

20 ‘‘(g) DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.—This section does 

21 not apply with respect to the social security account num22 ber of a deceased individual. 

23 ‘‘(h) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person who violates 

24 this section shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction 


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1 thereof shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, 

2 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

3 ‘‘(i) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROTECTIONS.— 

4 Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede, 

5 alter, or affect any restriction or limitation on the sale, 

6 purchase, display to the general public, or other disclosure 

7 of social security account numbers, provided in any Fed8 eral statute, regulation, order, or interpretation, if the re9 striction or limitation is greater than that provided under 

10 this section, as determined under applicable regulations 

11 issued by the Commissioner of Social Security or by an12 other agency or instrumentality of the United States as 

13 provided in subsection (j). 

14 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—(1) In issuing regulations to 

15 carry out the provisions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

16 subsection (b)(2), subsection (b)(3)(B), and subsection 

17 (c)(2), the Commissioner of Social Security shall consult 

18 with the Attorney General of the United States, the Sec19 retary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of 

20 Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Treasury, the 

21 Federal Trade Commission, the Federal banking agencies 

22 (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

23 Act), the National Credit Union Administration, the Secu24 rities and Exchange Commission, State attorneys general, 

25 and such representatives of the State insurance commisVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:10 May 29, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455

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1 sioners as may be designated by the National Association 

2 of Insurance Commissioners. Any agency or instrumen3 tality of the United States may exercise the authority of 

4 the Commissioner to issue such regulations, with respect 

5 to matters otherwise subject to regulation by such agency 

6 or instrumentality, to the extent determined appropriate 

7 in regulations of the Commissioner. 

8 ‘‘(2) In issuing the regulations described in para9 graph (1) pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (A) 

10 or (B) of (b)(2) or subsection (c)(2) (relating to law en11 forcement and national security), the Commissioner may 

12 authorize the sale or purchase of social security account 

13 numbers only if the Commissioner determines that— 

14 ‘‘(A) such sale or purchase would serve a com15 pelling public interest that cannot reasonably be 

16 served through alternative measures, and 

17 ‘‘(B) such sale or purchase will not pose an un18 reasonable risk of identity theft, or bodily, emo19 tional, or financial harm to an individual (taking 

20 into account any restrictions and conditions that the 

21 Commissioner imposes on the sale, purchase, or dis22 closure). 

23 ‘‘(3) In issuing the regulations described in para24 graph (1) pursuant to the provisions of subsection 

25 (b)(3)(B), the Commissioner may authorize the sale, purVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:10 May 29, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455

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1 chase, or display to the general public of social security 

2 account numbers only after considering, among other rel3 evant factors— 

4 ‘‘(A) the associated cost or burden to the gen5 eral public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non6 profit organizations, and Federal, State, and local 

7 governments; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the associated benefit to the general pub9 lic, businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit as10 sociations, and Federal, State, and local govern11 ments. 

12 ‘‘(4) If, after considering the factors in paragraph 

13 (3), the Commissioner authorizes, in regulations referred 

14 to in paragraph (3), the sale, purchase, or display to the 

15 general public of social security account numbers, the 

16 Commissioner shall impose restrictions and conditions on 

17 the sale, purchase, or display to the general public to the 

18 extent necessary— 

19 ‘‘(A) to provide reasonable assurances that so20 cial security account numbers will not be used to 

21 commit or facilitate fraud, deceptions, or crime, and 

22 ‘‘(B) to prevent an unreasonable risk of identity 

23 theft or bodily, emotional, or financial harm to any 

24 individual, considering the nature, likelihood, and se25 verity of the anticipated harm that could result from 


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1 the sale, purchase, or display to the general public 

2 of social security account numbers, together with the 

3 nature, likelihood, and extent of any benefits that 

4 could be realized. 

5 ‘‘(5) In the issuance of regulations described in para6 graph (1), notice shall be provided as described in para7 graphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 553(b) of title 5, United 

8 States Code, and opportunity to participate in the rule 

9 making shall be provided in accordance with section 

10 553(c) of such title. 

11 ‘‘(6) Each agency and instrumentality exercising au12 thority to issue regulations under this subsection shall 

13 consult and coordinate with the other such agencies and 

14 instrumentalities for the purposes of assuring, to the ex15 tent possible, that the regulations prescribed by each such 

16 agency or instrumentality are consistent and comparable, 

17 as appropriate, with the regulations prescribed by the 

18 other such agencies and instrumentalities. The Commis19 sioner shall undertake to facilitate such consultation and 

20 coordination.’’. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Initial final regulations pre22 scribed to carry out the provisions of section 208A of the 

23 Social Security Act (added by this section) shall be issued 

24 not later than the last date of the 18th calendar month 

25 following the date of the enactment of this Act. Such proVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:10 May 29, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2455.IH H2455

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1 visions shall take effect 1 year after the date of the 

2 issuance of such regulations. Section 208A(b) of such Act 

3 shall apply in the case of displays to the general public 

4 (as defined in section 208A(a)(3) of such Act) to such dis5 plays to the general public originally occurring after such 

6 1-year period. Such provisions shall not apply with respect 

7 to any such display to the general public of a record (con8 taining a social security account number (or any derivative 

9 thereof)) generated prior to the close of such 1-year pe10 riod. 

Æ 


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