II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 141 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to limit the misuse of Social Security 

numbers, to establish criminal penalties for such misuse, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. GREGG, and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to limit the misuse 

of Social Security numbers, to establish criminal penalties for such misuse, and for other purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Protecting the Privacy of Social Security Numbers Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers. 


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Sec. 4. Application of prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers to public records. 

Sec. 5. Rulemaking authority of the Attorney General. 

Sec. 6. Treatment of Social Security numbers on government documents. 

Sec. 7. Limits on personal disclosure of a Social Security number for consumer 

transactions. 

Sec. 8. Extension of civil monetary penalties for misuse of a Social Security 

number. 

Sec. 9. Criminal penalties for the misuse of a Social Security number. 

Sec. 10. Civil actions and civil penalties. 

Sec. 11. Federal injunctive authority. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The inappropriate display, sale, or purchase 

4 of Social Security numbers has contributed to a 

5 growing range of illegal activities, including fraud, 

6 identity theft, and, in some cases, stalking and other 

7 violent crimes. 

8 (2) While financial institutions, health care pro9 viders, and other entities have often used Social Se10 curity numbers to confirm the identity of an indi11 vidual, the general display to the public, sale, or pur12 chase of these numbers has been used to commit 

13 crimes, and also can result in serious invasions of in14 dividual privacy. 

15 (3) The Federal Government requires virtually 

16 every individual in the United States to obtain and 

17 maintain a Social Security number in order to pay 

18 taxes, to qualify for Social Security benefits, or to 

19 seek employment. An unintended consequence of 

20 these requirements is that Social Security numbers 


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1 have become one of the tools that can be used to fa2 cilitate crime, fraud, and invasions of the privacy of 

3 the individuals to whom the numbers are assigned. 

4 Because the Federal Government created and main5 tains this system, and because the Federal Govern6 ment does not permit individuals to exempt them7 selves from those requirements, it is appropriate for 

8 the Federal Government to take steps to stem the 

9 abuse of Social Security numbers. 

10 (4) The display, sale, or purchase of Social Se11 curity numbers in no way facilitates uninhibited, ro12 bust, and wide-open public debate, and restrictions 

13 on such display, sale, or purchase would not affect 

14 public debate. 

15 (5) No one should seek to profit from the dis16 play, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers in 

17 circumstances that create a substantial risk of phys18 ical, emotional, or financial harm to the individuals 

19 to whom those numbers are assigned. 

20 (6) Consequently, this Act provides each indi21 vidual that has been assigned a Social Security num22 ber some degree of protection from the display, sale, 

23 and purchase of that number in any circumstance 

24 that might facilitate unlawful conduct. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY, SALE, OR PUR2 CHASE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS. 

3 (a) PROHIBITION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, 

5 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

6 section 1028A the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 1028B. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase 

8 of Social Security numbers 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) DISPLAY.—The term ‘display’ means to in11 tentionally communicate or otherwise make available 

12 (on the Internet or in any other manner) to the gen13 eral public an individual’s Social Security number. 

14 ‘‘(2) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any 

15 individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, co16 operative, association, or any other entity. 

17 ‘‘(3) PURCHASE.—The term ‘purchase’ means 

18 providing directly or indirectly, anything of value in 

19 exchange for a Social Security number. 

20 ‘‘(4) SALE.—The term ‘sale’ means obtaining, 

21 directly or indirectly, anything of value in exchange 

22 for a Social Security number. 

23 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

24 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

25 Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

26 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 


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1 Samoa, and any territory or possession of the 

2 United States. 

3 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON DISPLAY.—Except as provided 

4 in section 1028C, no person may display any individual’s 

5 Social Security number to the general public without the 

6 affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 

7 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON SALE OR PURCHASE.—Except 

8 as otherwise provided in this section, no person may sell 

9 or purchase any individual’s Social Security number with10 out the affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 

11 ‘‘(d) PREREQUISITES FOR CONSENT.—In order for 

12 consent to exist under subsection (b) or (c), the person 

13 displaying or seeking to display, selling or attempting to 

14 sell, or purchasing or attempting to purchase, an individ15 ual’s Social Security number shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) inform the individual of the general pur17 pose for which the number will be used, the types of 

18 persons to whom the number may be available, and 

19 the scope of transactions permitted by the consent; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(2) obtain the affirmatively expressed consent 

22 (electronically or in writing) of the individual. 

23 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section shall be 

24 construed to prohibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase 

25 of a Social Security number— 


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1 ‘‘(1) required, authorized, or excepted under 

2 any Federal law; 

3 ‘‘(2) for a public health purpose, including the 

4 protection of the health or safety of an individual in 

5 an emergency situation; 

6 ‘‘(3) for a national security purpose; 

7 ‘‘(4) for a law enforcement purpose, including 

8 the investigation of fraud and the enforcement of a 

9 child support obligation; 

10 ‘‘(5) if the display, sale, or purchase of the 

11 number is for a use occurring as a result of an inter12 action between businesses, governments, or business 

13 and government (regardless of which entity initiates 

14 the interaction), including, but not limited to— 

15 ‘‘(A) the prevention of fraud (including 

16 fraud in protecting an employee’s right to em17 ployment benefits); 

18 ‘‘(B) the facilitation of credit checks or the 

19 facilitation of background checks of employees, 

20 prospective employees, or volunteers; 

21 ‘‘(C) the retrieval of other information 

22 from other businesses, commercial enterprises, 

23 government entities, or private nonprofit orga24 nizations; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) when the transmission of the number 

2 is incidental to, and in the course of, the sale, 

3 lease, franchising, or merger of all, or a portion 

4 of, a business; 

5 ‘‘(6) if the transfer of such a number is part of 

6 a data matching program involving a Federal, State, 

7 or local agency; or 

8 ‘‘(7) if such number is required to be submitted 

9 as part of the process for applying for any type of 

10 Federal, State, or local government benefit or pro11 gram; 

12 except that, nothing in this subsection shall be construed 

13 as permitting a professional or commercial user to display 

14 or sell a Social Security number to the general public. 

15 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall pro16 hibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase of Social Secu17 rity numbers as permitted under title V of the Gramm18 Leach-Bliley Act, or for the purpose of affiliate sharing 

19 as permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, except 

20 that no entity regulated under such Acts may make Social 

21 Security numbers available to the general public, as may 

22 be determined by the appropriate regulators under such 

23 Acts. For purposes of this subsection, the general public 

24 shall not include affiliates or unaffiliated third-party busiVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:05 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S141.IS S141

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1 ness entities as may be defined by the appropriate regu2 lators.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

4 analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States 

5 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

6 to section 1028 the following: 

‘‘1028B. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers.’’. 

7 (b) STUDY; REPORT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

9 conduct a study and prepare a report on all of the 

10 uses of Social Security numbers permitted, required, 

11 authorized, or excepted under any Federal law. The 

12 report shall include a detailed description of the uses 

13 allowed as of the date of enactment of this Act, the 

14 impact of such uses on privacy and data security, 

15 and shall evaluate whether such uses should be con16 tinued or discontinued by appropriate legislative ac17 tion. 

18 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 

20 shall report to Congress findings under this sub21 section. The report shall include such recommenda22 tions for legislation based on criteria the Attorney 

23 General determines to be appropriate. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days 

3 after the date on which the final regulations promulgated 

4 under section 5 are published in the Federal Register. 

5 SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY, 

6 SALE, OR PURCHASE OF SOCIAL SECURITY 

7 NUMBERS TO PUBLIC RECORDS. 

8 (a) PUBLIC RECORDS EXCEPTION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, 

10 United States Code (as amended by section 3(a)(1)), 

11 is amended by inserting after section 1028B the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘§ 1028C. Display, sale, or purchase of public records 

14 containing Social Security numbers 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘public 

16 record’ means any governmental record that is made avail17 able to the general public. 

18 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub19 sections (c), (d), and (e), section 1028B shall not apply 

20 to a public record. 

21 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC RECORDS ON THE INTERNET OR IN AN

22 ELECTRONIC MEDIUM.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1028B shall apply 

24 to any public record first posted onto the Internet 

25 or provided in an electronic medium by, or on behalf 


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1 of a government entity after the date of enactment 

2 of this section, except as limited by the Attorney 

3 General in accordance with paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR GOVERNMENT ENTITIES

5 ALREADY PLACING PUBLIC RECORDS ON THE INTER6 NET OR IN ELECTRONIC FORM.—Not later than 60 

7 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 

8 Attorney General shall issue regulations regarding 

9 the applicability of section 1028B to any record of 

10 a category of public records first posted onto the 

11 Internet or provided in an electronic medium by, or 

12 on behalf of a government entity prior to the date 

13 of enactment of this section. The regulations will de14 termine which individual records within categories of 

15 records of these government entities, if any, may 

16 continue to be posted on the Internet or in electronic 

17 form after the effective date of this section. In pro18 mulgating these regulations, the Attorney General 

19 may include in the regulations a set of procedures 

20 for implementing the regulations and shall consider 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) The cost and availability of tech23 nology available to a governmental entity to re24 dact Social Security numbers from public 


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1 records first provided in electronic form after 

2 the effective date of this section. 

3 ‘‘(B) The cost or burden to the general 

4 public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non5 profit organizations, and to Federal, State, and 

6 local governments of complying with section 

7 1028B with respect to such records. 

8 ‘‘(C) The benefit to the general public, 

9 businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit 

10 organizations, and to Federal, State, and local 

11 governments if the Attorney General were to 

12 determine that section 1028B should apply to 

13 such records. 

14 Nothing in the regulation shall permit a public enti15 ty to post a category of public records on the Inter16 net or in electronic form after the effective date of 

17 this section if such category had not been placed on 

18 the Internet or in electronic form prior to such effec19 tive date. 

20 ‘‘(d) HARVESTED SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.— 

21 Section 1028B shall apply to any public record of a gov22 ernment entity which contains Social Security numbers ex23 tracted from other public records for the purpose of dis24 playing or selling such numbers to the general public. 


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1 ‘‘(e) ATTORNEY GENERAL RULEMAKING ON PAPER

2 RECORDS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this section, the At5 torney General shall determine the feasibility and 

6 advisability of applying section 1028B to the records 

7 listed in paragraph (2) when they appear on paper 

8 or on another nonelectronic medium. If the Attorney 

9 General deems it appropriate, the Attorney General 

10 may issue regulations applying section 1028B to 

11 such records. 

12 ‘‘(2) LIST OF PAPER AND OTHER NONELEC13 TRONIC RECORDS.—The records listed in this para14 graph are as follows: 

15 ‘‘(A) Professional or occupational licenses. 

16 ‘‘(B) Marriage licenses. 

17 ‘‘(C) Birth certificates. 

18 ‘‘(D) Death certificates. 

19 ‘‘(E) Other short public documents that 

20 display a Social Security number in a routine 

21 and consistent manner on the face of the docu22 ment. 

23 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL RE24 VIEW.—In determining whether section 1028B 


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1 should apply to the records listed in paragraph (2), 

2 the Attorney General shall consider the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) The cost or burden to the general 

4 public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non5 profit organizations, and to Federal, State, and 

6 local governments of complying with section 

7 1028B. 

8 ‘‘(B) The benefit to the general public, 

9 businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit 

10 organizations, and to Federal, State, and local 

11 governments if the Attorney General were to 

12 determine that section 1028B should apply to 

13 such records.’’. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

15 analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States 

16 Code (as amended by section 3(a)(2)), is amended 

17 by inserting after the item relating to section 1028B 

18 the following: 

‘‘1028C. Display, sale, or purchase of public records containing Social Security 

numbers.’’. 

19 (b) STUDY AND REPORT ON SOCIAL SECURITY NUM20 BERS IN PUBLIC RECORDS.— 

21 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 

22 United States shall conduct a study and prepare a 

23 report on Social Security numbers in public records. 

24 In developing the report, the Comptroller General 


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1 shall consult with the Administrative Office of the 

2 United States Courts, State and local governments 

3 that store, maintain, or disseminate public records, 

4 and other stakeholders, including members of the 

5 private sector who routinely use public records that 

6 contain Social Security numbers. 

7 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen9 eral of the United States shall submit to Congress 

10 a report on the study conducted under paragraph 

11 (1). The report shall include a detailed description 

12 of the activities and results of the study and rec13 ommendations for such legislative action as the 

14 Comptroller General considers appropriate. The re15 port, at a minimum, shall include— 

16 (A) a review of the uses of Social Security 

17 numbers in non-federal public records; 

18 (B) a review of the manner in which public 

19 records are stored (with separate reviews for 

20 both paper records and electronic records); 

21 (C) a review of the advantages or utility of 

22 public records that contain Social Security 

23 numbers, including the utility for law enforce24 ment, and for the promotion of homeland secu25 rity; 


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1 (D) a review of the disadvantages or draw2 backs of public records that contain Social Se3 curity numbers, including criminal activity, 

4 compromised personal privacy, or threats to 

5 homeland security; 

6 (E) the costs and benefits for State and 

7 local governments of removing Social Security 

8 numbers from public records, including a review 

9 of current technologies and procedures for re10 moving Social Security numbers from public 

11 records; and 

12 (F) an assessment of the benefits and 

13 costs to businesses, their customers, and the 

14 general public of prohibiting the display of So15 cial Security numbers on public records (with 

16 separate assessments for both paper records 

17 and electronic records). 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The prohibition with respect 

19 to electronic versions of new classes of public records 

20 under section 1028C(b) of title 18, United States Code 

21 (as added by subsection (a)(1)) shall not take effect until 

22 the date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of 

23 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY GEN2 ERAL. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

4 (b), the Attorney General may prescribe such rules and 

5 regulations as the Attorney General deems necessary to 

6 carry out the provisions of section 1028B(e)(5) of title 18, 

7 United States Code (as added by section 3(a)(1)). 

8 (b) DISPLAY, SALE, OR PURCHASE RULEMAKING

9 WITH RESPECT TO INTERACTIONS BETWEEN BUSI10 NESSES, GOVERNMENTS, OR BUSINESS AND GOVERN11 MENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen14 eral, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social 

15 Security, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Com16 mission, and such other heads of Federal agencies as 

17 the Attorney General determines appropriate, shall 

18 conduct such rulemaking procedures in accordance 

19 with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United 

20 States Code, as are necessary to promulgate regula21 tions to implement and clarify the uses occurring as 

22 a result of an interaction between businesses, gov23 ernments, or business and government (regardless of 

24 which entity initiates the interaction) permitted 

25 under section 1028B(e)(5) of title 18, United States 

26 Code (as added by section 3(a)(1)). 


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1 (2) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In promul2 gating the regulations required under paragraph (1), 

3 the Attorney General shall, at a minimum, consider 

4 the following: 

5 (A) The benefit to a particular business, to 

6 customers of the business, and to the general 

7 public of the display, sale, or purchase of an in8 dividual’s Social Security number. 

9 (B) The costs that businesses, customers 

10 of businesses, and the general public may incur 

11 as a result of prohibitions on the display, sale, 

12 or purchase of Social Security numbers. 

13 (C) The risk that a particular business 

14 practice will promote the use of a Social Secu15 rity number to commit fraud, deception, or 

16 crime. 

17 (D) The presence of adequate safeguards, 

18 procedures, and technologies to prevent— 

19 (i) misuse of Social Security numbers 

20 by employees within a business; and 

21 (ii) misappropriation of Social Secu22 rity numbers by the general public, while 

23 permitting internal business uses of such 

24 numbers. 


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1 (E) The presence of procedures to prevent 

2 identity thieves, stalkers, and other individuals 

3 with ill intent from posing as legitimate busi4 nesses to obtain Social Security numbers. 

5 (F) The impact of such uses on privacy. 

6 SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ON 

7 GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS. 

8 (a) PROHIBITION OF USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY AC9 COUNT NUMBERS ON CHECKS ISSUED FOR PAYMENT BY

10 GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the 

12 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(x) No Federal, State, or local agency may display 

15 the Social Security account number of any individual, or 

16 any derivative of such number, on any check issued for 

17 any payment by the Federal, State, or local agency.’’. 

18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

19 by this subsection shall apply with respect to viola20 tions of section 205(c)(2)(C)(x) of the Social Secu21 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(x)), as added by 

22 paragraph (1), occurring after the date that is 3 

23 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (b) PROHIBITION OF INMATE ACCESS TO SOCIAL SE25 CURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the 

2 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) (as 

3 amended by subsection (b)) is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(xi) No Federal, State, or local agency may employ, 

6 or enter into a contract for the use or employment of, pris7 oners in any capacity that would allow such prisoners ac8 cess to the Social Security account numbers of other indi9 viduals. For purposes of this clause, the term ‘prisoner’ 

10 means an individual confined in a jail, prison, or other 

11 penal institution or correctional facility pursuant to such 

12 individual’s conviction of a criminal offense.’’. 

13 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

14 by this subsection shall apply with respect to em15 ployment of prisoners, or entry into contract with 

16 prisoners, after the date that is 1 year after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 7. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SOCIAL 

19 SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER TRANS20 ACTIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title XI of the Social 

22 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by add23 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1150A. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SO2 CIAL SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER 

3 TRANSACTIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A commercial entity may not re5 quire an individual to provide the individual’s Social Secu6 rity number when purchasing a commercial good or service 

7 or deny an individual the good or service for refusing to 

8 provide that number except— 

9 ‘‘(1) for any purpose relating to— 

10 ‘‘(A) obtaining a consumer report for any 

11 purpose permitted under the Fair Credit Re12 porting Act; 

13 ‘‘(B) a background check of the individual 

14 conducted by a landlord, lessor, employer, vol15 untary service agency, or other entity as deter16 mined by the Attorney General; 

17 ‘‘(C) law enforcement; or 

18 ‘‘(D) a Federal, State, or local law require19 ment; or 

20 ‘‘(2) if the Social Security number is necessary 

21 to verify the identity of the consumer to effect, ad22 minister, or enforce the specific transaction re23 quested or authorized by the consumer, or to prevent 

24 fraud. 


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1 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.— 

2 A violation of this section shall be deemed to be a violation 

3 of section 1129(a)(3)(F). 

4 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A vio5 lation of this section shall be deemed to be a violation of 

6 section 208(a)(8). 

7 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON CLASS ACTIONS.—No class ac8 tion alleging a violation of this section shall be maintained 

9 under this section by an individual or any private party 

10 in Federal or State court. 

11 ‘‘(e) STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 ‘‘(A) CIVIL ACTIONS.—In any case in 

14 which the attorney general of a State has rea15 son to believe that an interest of the residents 

16 of that State has been or is threatened or ad17 versely affected by the engagement of any per18 son in a practice that is prohibited under this 

19 section, the State, as parens patriae, may bring 

20 a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 

21 State in a district court of the United States of 

22 appropriate jurisdiction to— 

23 ‘‘(i) enjoin that practice; 

24 ‘‘(ii) enforce compliance with such 

25 section; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) obtain damages, restitution, or 

2 other compensation on behalf of residents 

3 of the State; or 

4 ‘‘(iv) obtain such other relief as the 

5 court may consider appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an 

8 action under subparagraph (A), the attor9 ney general of the State involved shall pro10 vide to the Attorney General— 

11 ‘‘(I) written notice of the action; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) a copy of the complaint for 

14 the action. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXEMPTION.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

17 shall not apply with respect to the fil18 ing of an action by an attorney gen19 eral of a State under this subsection, 

20 if the State attorney general deter21 mines that it is not feasible to provide 

22 the notice described in such subpara23 graph before the filing of the action. 

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1 clause (I), the attorney general of a 

2 State shall provide notice and a copy 

3 of the complaint to the Attorney Gen4 eral at the same time as the State at5 torney general files the action. 

6 ‘‘(2) INTERVENTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 

8 under paragraph (1)(B), the Attorney General 

9 shall have the right to intervene in the action 

10 that is the subject of the notice. 

11 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 

12 Attorney General intervenes in the action under 

13 paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall have 

14 the right to be heard with respect to any matter 

15 that arises in that action. 

16 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bring17 ing any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in 

18 this section shall be construed to prevent an attor19 ney general of a State from exercising the powers 

20 conferred on such attorney general by the laws of 

21 that State to— 

22 ‘‘(A) conduct investigations; 

23 ‘‘(B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 

2 the production of documentary and other evi3 dence. 

4 ‘‘(4) ACTIONS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF

5 THE UNITED STATES.—In any case in which an ac6 tion is instituted by or on behalf of the Attorney 

7 General for violation of a practice that is prohibited 

8 under this section, no State may, during the pend9 ency of that action, institute an action under para10 graph (1) against any defendant named in the com11 plaint in that action for violation of that practice. 

12 ‘‘(5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

14 paragraph (1) may be brought in the district 

15 court of the United States that meets applicable 

16 requirements relating to venue under section 

17 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 

19 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 

20 served in any district in which the defendant— 

21 ‘‘(i) is an inhabitant; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) may be found. 

23 ‘‘(f) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply on or 

24 after the date that is 6 years after the effective date of 

25 this section.’’. 


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1 (b) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than the 

2 date that is 6 years and 6 months after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation 

4 with the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, shall 

5 issue a report evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency 

6 of section 1150A of the Social Security Act (as added by 

7 subsection (a)) and shall make recommendations to Con8 gress as to any legislative action determined to be nec9 essary or advisable with respect to such section, including 

10 a recommendation regarding whether to reauthorize such 

11 section. 

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

13 subsection (a) shall apply to requests to provide a Social 

14 Security number occurring after the date that is 1 year 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 8. EXTENSION OF CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES FOR 

17 MISUSE OF A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 

18 (a) TREATMENT OF WITHHOLDING OF MATERIAL

19 FACTS.— 

20 (1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The first sentence of 

21 section 1129(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)(1)) is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘who’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘who—’’; 


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•S 141 IS

1 (B) by striking ‘‘makes’’ and all that fol2 lows through ‘‘shall be subject to’’ and inserting 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) makes, or causes to be made, a statement 

5 or representation of a material fact, for use in deter6 mining any initial or continuing right to or the 

7 amount of monthly insurance benefits under title II 

8 or benefits or payments under title VIII or XVI, 

9 that the person knows or should know is false or 

10 misleading; 

11 ‘‘(B) makes such a statement or representation 

12 for such use with knowing disregard for the truth; 

13 or 

14 ‘‘(C) omits from a statement or representation 

15 for such use, or otherwise withholds disclosure of, a 

16 fact which the individual knows or should know is 

17 material to the determination of any initial or con18 tinuing right to or the amount of monthly insurance 

19 benefits under title II or benefits or payments under 

20 title VIII or XVI and the individual knows, or 

21 should know, that the statement or representation 

22 with such omission is false or misleading or that the 

23 withholding of such disclosure is misleading, shall be 

24 subject to’’; 


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•S 141 IS

1 (C) by inserting ‘‘or each receipt of such 

2 benefits while withholding disclosure of such 

3 fact’’ after ‘‘each such statement or representa4 tion’’; 

5 (D) by inserting ‘‘or because of such with6 holding of disclosure of a material fact’’ after 

7 ‘‘because of such statement or representation’’; 

8 and 

9 (E) by inserting ‘‘or such a withholding of 

10 disclosure’’ after ‘‘such a statement or rep11 resentation’’. 

12 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR IMPOS13 ING PENALTIES.—The first sentence of section 

14 1129A(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 1320a–8a(a)) is amended— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘who’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘who—’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘makes’’ and all that fol19 lows through ‘‘shall be subject to’’ and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) makes, or causes to be made, a statement 

22 or representation of a material fact, for use in deter23 mining any initial or continuing right to or the 

24 amount of monthly insurance benefits under title II 

25 or benefits or payments under title VIII or XVI, 


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•S 141 IS

1 that the person knows or should know is false or 

2 misleading; 

3 ‘‘(2) makes such a statement or representation 

4 for such use with knowing disregard for the truth; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(3) omits from a statement or representation 

7 for such use, or otherwise withholds disclosure of, a 

8 fact which the individual knows or should know is 

9 material to the determination of any initial or con10 tinuing right to or the amount of monthly insurance 

11 benefits under title II or benefits or payments under 

12 title VIII or XVI and the individual knows, or 

13 should know, that the statement or representation 

14 with such omission is false or misleading or that the 

15 withholding of such disclosure is misleading, shall be 

16 subject to’’. 

17 (b) APPLICATION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES TO

18 ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS.—Section 1129(a) 

19 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)), as 

20 amended by subsection (a)(1), is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para22 graph (4); 

23 (2) by redesignating the last sentence of para24 graph (1) as paragraph (2) and inserting such para25 graph after paragraph (1); and 


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•S 141 IS

1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re2 designated) the following: 

3 ‘‘(3) Any person (including an organization, agency, 

4 or other entity) who— 

5 ‘‘(A) uses a Social Security account number 

6 that such person knows or should know has been as7 signed by the Commissioner of Social Security (in an 

8 exercise of authority under section 205(c)(2) to es9 tablish and maintain records) on the basis of false 

10 information furnished to the Commissioner by any 

11 person; 

12 ‘‘(B) falsely represents a number to be the So13 cial Security account number assigned by the Com14 missioner of Social Security to any individual, when 

15 such person knows or should know that such number 

16 is not the Social Security account number assigned 

17 by the Commissioner to such individual; 

18 ‘‘(C) knowingly alters a Social Security card 

19 issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, or 

20 possesses such a card with intent to alter it; 

21 ‘‘(D) knowingly displays, sells, or purchases a 

22 card that is, or purports to be, a card issued by the 

23 Commissioner of Social Security, or possesses such 

24 a card with intent to display, purchase, or sell it; 


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1 ‘‘(E) counterfeits a Social Security card, or pos2 sesses a counterfeit Social Security card with intent 

3 to display, sell, or purchase it; 

4 ‘‘(F) discloses, uses, compels the disclosure of, 

5 or knowingly displays, sells, or purchases the Social 

6 Security account number of any person in violation 

7 of the laws of the United States; 

8 ‘‘(G) with intent to deceive the Commissioner of 

9 Social Security as to such person’s true identity (or 

10 the true identity of any other person) furnishes or 

11 causes to be furnished false information to the Com12 missioner with respect to any information required 

13 by the Commissioner in connection with the estab14 lishment and maintenance of the records provided 

15 for in section 205(c)(2); 

16 ‘‘(H) offers, for a fee, to acquire for any indi17 vidual, or to assist in acquiring for any individual, 

18 an additional Social Security account number or a 

19 number which purports to be a Social Security ac20 count number; or 

21 ‘‘(I) being an officer or employee of a Federal, 

22 State, or local agency in possession of any individ23 ual’s Social Security account number, willfully acts 

24 or fails to act so as to cause a violation by such 

25 agency of clause (vi)(II) or (x) of section 


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1 205(c)(2)(C), shall be subject to, in addition to any 

2 other penalties that may be prescribed by law, a civil 

3 money penalty of not more than $5,000 for each vio4 lation. Such person shall also be subject to an as5 sessment, in lieu of damages sustained by the 

6 United States resulting from such violation, of not 

7 more than twice the amount of any benefits or pay8 ments paid as a result of such violation.’’. 

9 (c) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF RECOVERED

10 AMOUNTS.—Section 1129(e)(2)(B) of the Social Security 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(e)(2)(B)) is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘In the case of amounts recovered arising out of a deter13 mination relating to title VIII or XVI,’’ and inserting ‘‘In 

14 the case of any other amounts recovered under this sec15 tion,’’. 

16 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) Section 1129(b)(3)(A) of the Social Secu18 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(b)(3)(A)) is amended 

19 by striking ‘‘charging fraud or false statements’’. 

20 (2) Section 1129(c)(1) of the Social Security 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(c)(1)) is amended by strik22 ing ‘‘and representations’’ and inserting ‘‘, represen23 tations, or actions’’. 

24 (3) Section 1129(e)(1)(A) of the Social Security 

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(e)(1)(A)) is amended by 


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•S 141 IS

1 striking ‘‘statement or representation referred to in 

2 subsection (a) was made’’ and inserting ‘‘violation 

3 occurred’’. 

4 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

7 shall apply with respect to violations of sections 

8 1129 and 1129A of the Social Security Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 1320–8 and 1320a–8a), as amended by this 

10 section, committed after the date of enactment of 

11 this Act. 

12 (2) VIOLATIONS BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS IN

13 POSSESSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.—Sec14 tion 1129(a)(3)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)(3)(I)), as added by subsection 

16 (b), shall apply with respect to violations of that sec17 tion occurring on or after the effective date de18 scribed in section 3(c). 

19 (f) REPEAL.—Section 201 of the Social Security Pro20 tection Act of 2004 is repealed. 

21 SEC. 9. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR THE MISUSE OF A SO22 CIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 

23 (a) PROHIBITION OF WRONGFUL USE AS PERSONAL

24 IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—No person may obtain any 

25 individual’s Social Security number for purposes of locatVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:05 Jan 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S141.IS S141

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1 ing or identifying an individual with the intent to phys2 ically injure, harm, or use the identity of the individual 

3 for any illegal purpose. 

4 (b) CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.—Section 208(a) of the 

5 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘or’’ after 

7 the semicolon; and 

8 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(9) except as provided in subsections (e) and 

11 (f) of section 1028B of title 18, United States Code, 

12 knowingly and willfully displays, sells, or purchases 

13 (as those terms are defined in section 1028B(a) of 

14 title 18, United States Code) any individual’s Social 

15 Security account number without having met the 

16 prerequisites for consent under section 1028B(d) of 

17 title 18, United States Code; or 

18 ‘‘(10) obtains any individual’s Social Security 

19 number for the purpose of locating or identifying the 

20 individual with the intent to injure or to harm that 

21 individual, or to use the identity of that individual 

22 for an illegal purpose;’’. 

23 SEC. 10. CIVIL ACTIONS AND CIVIL PENALTIES. 

24 (a) CIVIL ACTION IN STATE COURTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual aggrieved by 

2 an act of any person in violation of this Act or any 

3 amendments made by this Act may, if otherwise per4 mitted by the laws or rules of the court of a State, 

5 bring in an appropriate court of that State— 

6 (A) an action to enjoin such violation; 

7 (B) an action to recover for actual mone8 tary loss from such a violation, or to receive up 

9 to $500 in damages for each such violation, 

10 whichever is greater; or 

11 (C) both such actions. 

12 It shall be an affirmative defense in any action 

13 brought under this paragraph that the defendant 

14 has established and implemented, with due care, rea15 sonable practices and procedures to effectively pre16 vent violations of the regulations prescribed under 

17 this Act. If the court finds that the defendant will18 fully or knowingly violated the regulations prescribed 

19 under this subsection, the court may, in its discre20 tion, increase the amount of the award to an amount 

21 equal to not more than 3 times the amount available 

22 under subparagraph (B). 

23 (2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action may 

24 be commenced under this subsection not later than 

25 the earlier of— 


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•S 141 IS

1 (A) 5 years after the date on which the al2 leged violation occurred; or 

3 (B) 3 years after the date on which the al4 leged violation was or should have been reason5 ably discovered by the aggrieved individual. 

6 (3) NONEXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—The remedy pro7 vided under this subsection shall be in addition to 

8 any other remedies available to the individual. 

9 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who the Attor11 ney General determines has violated any section of 

12 this Act or of any amendments made by this Act 

13 shall be subject, in addition to any other penalties 

14 that may be prescribed by law— 

15 (A) to a civil penalty of not more than 

16 $5,000 for each such violation; and 

17 (B) to a civil penalty of not more than 

18 $50,000, if the violations have occurred with 

19 such frequency as to constitute a general busi20 ness practice. 

21 (2) DETERMINATION OF VIOLATIONS.—Any 

22 willful violation committed contemporaneously with 

23 respect to the Social Security numbers of 2 or more 

24 individuals by means of mail, telecommunication, or 


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1 otherwise, shall be treated as a separate violation 

2 with respect to each such individual. 

3 (3) ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES.—The provi4 sions of section 1128A of the Social Security Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a), other than subsections (a), 

6 (b), (f), (h), (i), (j), (m), and (n) and the first sen7 tence of subsection (c) of such section, and the pro8 visions of subsections (d) and (e) of section 205 of 

9 such Act (42 U.S.C. 405) shall apply to a civil pen10 alty action under this subsection in the same man11 ner as such provisions apply to a penalty or pro12 ceeding under section 1128A(a) of such Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 1320a–7a(a)), except that, for purposes of 

14 this paragraph, any reference in section 1128A of 

15 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a) to the Secretary 

16 shall be deemed to be a reference to the Attorney 

17 General. 

18 SEC. 11. FEDERAL INJUNCTIVE AUTHORITY. 

19 In addition to any other enforcement authority con20 ferred under this Act or the amendments made by this 

21 Act, the Federal Government shall have injunctive author22 ity with respect to any violation by a public entity of any 

23 provision of this Act or of any amendments made by this 

24 Act. 

Æ 


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