I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1745 

To amend the Social Security Act to enhance Social Security account number 

privacy protections, to prevent fraudulent misuse of the Social Security 

account number, and to otherwise enhance protection against identity 

theft, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 20, 2005 

Mr. SHAW (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 

LEVIN, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. BRADY

of Texas, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. REYNOLDS, Ms. HART, Mr. WOLF, Ms. 

KAPTUR, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. DUNCAN, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. KOLBE, 

Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. FARR, Mr. FILNER, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. 

CUMMINGS, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. FORBES, 

Mr. MILLER of Florida, and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services and Energy and Commerce, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Social Security Act to enhance Social Security 

account number privacy protections, to prevent fraudulent misuse of the Social Security account number, and 

to otherwise enhance protection against identity theft, 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Pre4 vention Act of 2005’’. 

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

6 as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

TITLE I—PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY 

ACCOUNT NUMBER IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS 

Sec. 101. Restrictions on the sale or display to the general public of social security account numbers by governmental agencies. 

Sec. 102. Regulatory authority. 

Sec. 103. Prohibition of display of social security account numbers on checks 

issued for payment by governmental agencies. 

Sec. 104. Prohibition of the display of personal identification numbers on government employee identification cards or tags. 

Sec. 105. Prohibition of inmate access to social security account numbers. 

Sec. 106. Measures to preclude unauthorized disclosure of social security account numbers and protect the confidentiality of such numbers. 

Sec. 107. Prohibition of the sale, purchase, and display to the general public 

of the social security account number in the private sector. 

Sec. 108. Confidential treatment of credit header information. 

Sec. 109. Refusal to do business without receipt of social security account number considered unfair or deceptive Act or practice. 

TITLE II—STUDIES RELATING TO THE INTEGRITY OF APPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND SOCIAL 

SECURITY CARDS 

Sec. 201. Study relating to use of photographic identification in connection with 

applications for benefits, social security account numbers, and 

social security cards. 

Sec. 202. Study relating to modification of the social security account numbering system to show work authorization status. 

TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 301. New criminal penalties for misuse of social security account numbers. 

Sec. 302. Extension of civil monetary penalty authority. 

Sec. 303. Criminal penalties for employees of the Social Security Administration who knowingly and fraudulently issue social security cards 

or social security account numbers. 

Sec. 304. Enhanced penalties in cases of terrorism, drug trafficking, crimes of 

violence, or prior offenses. 
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1 TITLE I—PROVISIONS RELATING 

2 TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY AC3 COUNT NUMBER IN THE PUB4 LIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS 

5 SEC. 101. RESTRICTIONS ON THE SALE OR DISPLAY TO THE 

6 GENERAL PUBLIC OF SOCIAL SECURITY AC7 COUNT NUMBERS BY GOVERNMENTAL AGEN8 CIES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social 

10 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) is amended by add11 ing at the end the following new clause: 

12 ‘‘(x)(I) An executive, legislative, or judicial agency or 

13 instrumentality of the Federal Government or of a State 

14 or a political subdivision thereof or a trustee appointed 

15 in a case under title 11, United States Code (or person 

16 acting as an agent of such an agency or instrumentality 

17 or trustee) may not sell or display to the general public 

18 any social security account number if such number has 

19 been disclosed to such agency, instrumentality, trustee, or 

20 agent pursuant to the assertion by such an agency, instru21 mentality, trustee, or agent to any person that disclosure 

22 of such number is mandatory. Notwithstanding the pre23 ceding sentence, such number may be sold or displayed 

24 to the general public in accordance with the exceptions 
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1 specified in subclauses (II), (III), (IV), (V), (VI), (VII), 

2 and (VIII) (and for no other purpose). 

3 ‘‘(II) Notwithstanding subclause (I), a social security 

4 account number may be sold by an agency, instrumen5 tality, trustee, or agent referred to in subclause (I) to the 

6 extent that such sale is specifically authorized by this Act. 

7 ‘‘(III) Notwithstanding subclause (I), a social secu8 rity account number may be sold by an agency, instrumen9 tality, trustee, or agent referred to in subclause (I) to the 

10 extent that is necessary or appropriate for law enforce11 ment or national security purposes, as determined under 

12 regulations which shall be issued as provided in subpara13 graph (I) of this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(IV) Notwithstanding subclause (I), a social security 

15 account number may be sold by an agency, instrumen16 tality, trustee, or agent referred to in subclause (I) to the 

17 extent that such sale is required to comply with a tax law 

18 of the United States or of any State (or political subdivi19 sion thereof). 

20 ‘‘(V) Notwithstanding subclause (I), a social security 

21 account number may be sold by a State department of 

22 motor vehicles as authorized under subsection (b) of sec23 tion 2721 of title 18, United States Code, if such number 

24 is to be used pursuant to such sale solely for purposes 
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1 permitted under paragraph (1), (6), or (9) of such sub2 section. 

3 ‘‘(VI) Notwithstanding subclause (I), a social security 

4 account number may be sold or otherwise made available 

5 by an agency, instrumentality, trustee, or agent referred 

6 to in subclause (I) to a consumer reporting agency (as 

7 defined in section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act 

8 (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f))) for use or disclosure solely for per9 missible purposes described in section 604(a) of such Act 

10 (15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)). 

11 ‘‘(VII) Notwithstanding subclause (I), a social secu12 rity account number may be sold by an agency, instrumen13 tality, trustee, or agent referred to in subclause (I) to the 

14 extent necessary for research (other than market research) 

15 conducted by any agency or instrumentality referred to in 

16 subclause (I) (or an agent of such an agency or instrumen17 tality) for the purpose of advancing the public good, on 

18 the condition that the researcher provides adequate assur19 ances that the social security account numbers will not 

20 be used to harass, target, or publicly reveal information 

21 concerning any identifiable individuals, that information 

22 about identifiable individuals obtained from the research 

23 will not be used to make decisions that directly affect the 

24 rights, benefits, or privileges of specific individuals, and 

25 that the researcher has in place appropriate safeguards 
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1 to protect the privacy and confidentiality of any informa2 tion about identifiable individuals, including procedures to 

3 ensure that the social security account numbers will be 

4 encrypted or otherwise appropriately secured from unau5 thorized disclosure. In the case of social security account 

6 numbers which constitute personally identifiable medical 

7 information, the Commissioner of Social Security, with re8 spect to medical research referred to in the preceding sen9 tence, and the Attorney General of the United States, with 

10 respect to any medical research not referred to in the pre11 ceding sentence but which is treated in regulations of the 

12 Attorney General issued pursuant to subclause (VIII), 

13 shall maintain ongoing consultation with the Office for 

14 Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human 

15 Services to ensure that the sale or purchase of such social 

16 security account numbers is permitted only in compliance 

17 with existing Federal rules and regulations prescribed by 

18 the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to 

19 section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac20 countability Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 2033). 

21 ‘‘(VIII) Notwithstanding subclause (I), a social secu22 rity account number may be sold or displayed to the gen23 eral public by an agency, instrumentality, trustee, or agent 

24 referred to in subclause (I) under such other cir-
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1 cumstances as may be specified in regulations issued as 

2 provided in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(IX) This clause does not apply with respect to a 

4 social security account number of a deceased individual. 

5 ‘‘(X) For purposes of this clause, the term ‘sell’ 

6 means, in connection with a social security account num7 ber, to accept an item of material value in exchange for 

8 such number. Such term does not include the submission 

9 of such number as part of the administration of, or provi10 sion of benefits under, an employee benefit plan. 

11 ‘‘(XI) For purposes of this clause, the term ‘display 

12 to the general public’ shall have the meaning provided 

13 such term in section 208A(a)(3)(A). In any case in which 

14 an agency, instrumentality, trustee, or agent referred to 

15 in subclause (I) requires transmittal to such agency, in16 strumentality, trustee, or agent of an individual’s social 

17 security account number by means of the Internet without 

18 reasonable provisions to ensure that such number is 

19 encrypted or otherwise appropriately secured from disclo20 sure, any such transmittal of such number as so required 

21 shall be treated, for purposes of this clause, as a ‘display 

22 to the general public’ of such number by such agency, in23 strumentality, trustee, or agent for purposes of this clause. 

24 ‘‘(XII) For purposes of this clause, the term social 

25 security account number includes any derivative of such 
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1 number. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any ex2 pression, contained in or on any item sold or displayed 

3 to the general public, shall not be treated as a social secu4 rity account number solely because such expression sets 

5 forth not more than the last 4 digits of such number if 

6 the remainder of such number cannot be determined based 

7 solely on such expression or any other matter presented 

8 in such material. 

9 ‘‘(XIII) Nothing in this clause shall be construed to 

10 supersede, alter, or affect any restriction or limitation on 

11 the sale or display to the general public of social security 

12 account numbers, provided in any Federal statute, regula13 tion, order, or interpretation, if the restriction or limita14 tion is greater than that provided under this clause, as 

15 determined under applicable regulations issued by the 

16 Commissioner of Social Security or by the Attorney Gen17 eral of the United States or another agency or instrumen18 tality of the United States as provided in subparagraph 

19 (I) of this paragraph.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE AND RELATED RULES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Initial final regulations pre22 scribed to carry out the provisions of section 

23 205(c)(2)(C)(x) of the Social Security Act (added by 

24 this section) shall be issued not later than the last 

25 date of the 18th calendar month following the date 
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1 of the enactment of this Act. Such provisions shall 

2 take effect, with respect to matters governed by such 

3 regulations issued by the Commissioner of Social Se4 curity, or (pursuant to section 205(c)(2)(I) of such 

5 Act (added by section 102)) by the Attorney General 

6 of the United States or any other agency or instru7 mentality of the United States, 1 year after the date 

8 of the issuance of such regulations by the Commis9 sioner, the Attorney General, or such other agency 

10 or instrumentality, respectively. Such amendment 

11 shall apply in the case of displays to the general 

12 public, as defined in section 208A(a)(3) of such Act 

13 (added by section 107), to such displays originally 

14 occurring after such 1-year period. Such provisions 

15 shall not apply with respect to any display of a 

16 record (containing a social security account number 

17 (or any derivative thereof)) generated prior to the 

18 close of such 1-year period. 

19 (2) SUNSET OF EXCEPTION.—The last sentence 

20 of subclause (XII) of section 205(c)(2)(C)(x) of the 

21 Social Security Act (added by this section) shall 

22 cease to be effective with respect to sales, purchases, 

23 or displays to the general public occurring after 6 

24 years after the 18th calendar month referred to in 

25 paragraph (1). 
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1 SEC. 102. REGULATORY AUTHORITY. 

2 Section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following new subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(I)(i) The Attorney General of the United States 

6 shall prescribe regulations to carry out the provisions of 

7 subclauses (III) and (VIII) of subparagraph (C)(x) of this 

8 paragraph, subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 

9 208A(b)(2), section 208A(b)(3)(B), and section 

10 208A(c)(2). In issuing such regulations, the Attorney Gen11 eral shall consult with the Commissioner of Social Secu12 rity, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 

13 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of the 

14 Treasury, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal 

15 banking agencies (as defined in section 3 of the Federal 

16 Deposit Insurance Act), the National Credit Union Ad17 ministration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, 

18 State attorneys general, and such representatives of the 

19 State insurance commissioners as may be designated by 

20 the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. 

21 Any agency or instrumentality of the United States may 

22 exercise the authority of the Attorney General under this 

23 subparagraph, with respect to matters otherwise subject 

24 to regulation by such agency or instrumentality, to the ex25 tent determined appropriate in regulations of the Attorney 

26 General. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) In issuing the regulations described in clause (i) 

2 pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (C)(x)(III), 

3 paragraph (A) or (B) of section 208A(b)(2), or section 

4 208A(c)(2) (relating to law enforcement and national se5 curity), the Attorney General may authorize the sale or 

6 purchase of Social Security account numbers only if the 

7 Attorney General determines that— 

8 ‘‘(I) such sale or purchase would serve a com9 pelling public interest that cannot reasonably be 

10 served through alternative measures, and 

11 ‘‘(II) such sale or purchase will not pose an un12 reasonable risk of identity theft, or bodily, emo13 tional, or financial harm to an individual (taking 

14 into account any restrictions and conditions that the 

15 Attorney General imposes on the sale, purchase, or 

16 disclosure). 

17 ‘‘(iii) In issuing the regulations described in clause 

18 (i) pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph 

19 (C)(x)(VIII) of this paragraph or section 208A(b)(3)(B), 

20 the Attorney General may authorize the sale, purchase, 

21 or display to the general public of social security account 

22 numbers only after considering, among other relevant fac23 tors— 

24 ‘‘(I) the associated cost or burden to the gen25 eral public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non- 
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1 profit organizations, and Federal, State, and local 

2 governments; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the associated benefit to the general pub4 lic, businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit as5 sociations, and Federal, State, and local govern6 ments. 

7 ‘‘(iv) If, after considering the factors in clause (iii), 

8 the Attorney General authorizes, in regulations referred 

9 to in clause (iii), the sale, purchase, or display to the gen10 eral public of social security account numbers, the Attor11 ney General shall impose restrictions and conditions on 

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

13 extent necessary— 

14 ‘‘(I) to provide reasonable assurances that so15 cial security account numbers will not be used to 

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

17 ‘‘(II) to prevent an unreasonable risk of identity 

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

19 individual, considering the nature, likelihood, and se20 verity of the anticipated harm that could result from 

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

22 of social security account numbers, together with the 

23 nature, likelihood, and extent of any benefits that 

24 could be realized. 
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1 ‘‘(v) In the issuance of regulations pursuant to this 

2 subparagraph, notice shall be provided as described in 

3 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 553(b) of title 5, 

4 United States Code, and opportunity to participate in the 

5 rule making shall be provided in accordance with section 

6 553(c) of such title. 

7 ‘‘(vi) Each agency and instrumentality exercising au8 thority to issue regulations under this subparagraph shall 

9 consult and coordinate with the other such agencies and 

10 instrumentalities for the purposes of assuring, to the ex11 tent possible, that the regulations prescribed by each such 

12 agency or instrumentality are consistent and comparable, 

13 as appropriate, with the regulations prescribed by the 

14 other such agencies and instrumentalities. The Attorney 

15 General shall undertake to facilitate such consultation and 

16 coordination. 

17 ‘‘(vii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the terms 

18 ‘sell’, ‘purchase’, and ‘display to the general public’ shall 

19 have the meanings provided such terms under subpara20 graph (C)(x) of this paragraph or under section 208A(a), 

21 as applicable. 

22 ‘‘(viii) For purposes of this subparagraph, subpara23 graph (C)(x)(XI) shall apply.’’. 
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1 SEC. 103. PROHIBITION OF DISPLAY OF SOCIAL SECURITY 

2 ACCOUNT NUMBERS ON CHECKS ISSUED FOR 

3 PAYMENT BY GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social 

5 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) (as amended by 

6 section 101) is amended further by adding at the end the 

7 following new clause: 

8 ‘‘(xi) No executive, legislative, or judicial agency or 

9 instrumentality of the Federal Government or of a State 

10 or a political subdivision thereof or trustee appointed in 

11 a case under title 11, United States Code (or person act12 ing as an agent of such an agency or instrumentality or 

13 trustee) may include the social security account number 

14 of any individual (or any derivative of such number) on 

15 any check issued for any payment by the Federal Govern16 ment, any State or political subdivision thereof, or any 

17 agency or instrumentality thereof, or such trustee or on 

18 any document attached to or accompanying such a 

19 check.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

21 this section shall apply with respect to checks (and docu22 ments attached to or accompanying such checks) issued 

23 after 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 104. PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY OF PERSONAL 

2 IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS ON GOVERN3 MENT EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION CARDS OR 

4 TAGS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social 

6 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) (as amended by the 

7 preceding provisions of this title) is amended further by 

8 adding at the end the following new clause: 

9 ‘‘(xii) No executive, legislative, or judicial agency or 

10 instrumentality of the Federal Government or of a State 

11 or political subdivision thereof, and no other person offer12 ing benefits in connection with an employee benefit plan 

13 maintained by such agency or instrumentality or acting 

14 as an agent of such agency or instrumentality, may display 

15 a social security account number (or any derivative there16 of) on any card or tag that is commonly provided to em17 ployees of such agency or instrumentality (or to their fam18 ily members) for purposes of identification or include on 

19 such card or tag a magnetic strip, bar code, or other 

20 means of communication which conveys such number.’’. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

22 this section shall apply with respect to cards or tags issued 

23 after 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 105. PROHIBITION OF INMATE ACCESS TO SOCIAL SE2 CURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social 

4 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) (as amended by the 

5 preceding provisions of this title) is amended further by 

6 adding at the end the following new clause: 

7 ‘‘(xiii) No executive, legislative, or judicial agency or 

8 instrumentality of the Federal Government or of a State 

9 or political subdivision thereof (or person acting as an 

10 agent of such an agency or instrumentality) may employ, 

11 or enter into a contract for the use or employment of, pris12 oners in any capacity that would allow such prisoners ac13 cess to the social security account numbers of other indi14 viduals. For purposes of this clause, the term ‘prisoner’ 

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

16 penal institution or correctional facility.’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), the amendment made by this section shall 

20 apply with respect to employment of prisoners, or 

21 entry into contract for the use or employment of 

22 prisoners, on or after the date of the enactment of 

23 this Act. 

24 (2) TREATMENT OF CURRENT ARRANGE25 MENTS.—In the case of— 
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1 (A) prisoners employed as described in 

2 clause (xiii) of section 205(c)(2)(C) of the So3 cial Security Act (as added by this section) on 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

5 (B) contracts described in such clause in 

6 effect on such date, 

7 the amendment made by this section shall take ef8 fect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act. 

10 SEC. 106. MEASURES TO PRECLUDE UNAUTHORIZED DIS11 CLOSURE OF SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT 

12 NUMBERS AND PROTECT THE CONFIDEN13 TIALITY OF SUCH NUMBERS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social 

15 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) (as amended by the 

16 preceding provisions of this title) is amended further by 

17 adding at the end the following new clause: 

18 ‘‘(xiv) Except as otherwise provided in this para19 graph, in the case of any executive, legislative, or judicial 

20 agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government or 

21 of a State or political subdivision thereof and any trustee 

22 appointed in a case under title 11, United States Code 

23 (and any agent of such agency, instrumentality, or trust24 ee) having in its possession an individual’s social security 

25 account number— 
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1 ‘‘(I) no officer or employee thereof shall have 

2 access to such number for any purpose other than 

3 the effective administration of the statutory provi4 sions governing its functions, 

5 ‘‘(II) such agency, instrumentality, trustee, or 

6 agent shall restrict, to the satisfaction of the Com7 missioner of Social Security, access to social security 

8 account numbers obtained thereby to officers and 

9 employees thereof whose duties or responsibilities re10 quire access for the administration or enforcement 

11 of such provisions, and 

12 ‘‘(III) such agency, instrumentality, trustee, or 

13 agent shall provide such other safeguards as the 

14 Commissioner of Social Security determines to be 

15 necessary or appropriate to preclude unauthorized 

16 access to the social security account number and to 

17 otherwise protect the confidentiality of such number. 

18 For purposes of this clause the term social security ac19 count number includes any derivative thereof.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

21 this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of the 

22 enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 107. PROHIBITION OF THE SALE, PURCHASE, AND DIS2 PLAY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF THE SO3 CIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBER IN THE 

4 PRIVATE SECTOR. 

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

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

7 the following new section: 

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

9 TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY

10 ACCOUNT NUMBER IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR

11 ‘‘Definitions 

12 ‘‘SEC. 208A. (a) For purposes of this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) PERSON.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara15 graph (B), the term ‘person’ means any indi16 vidual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, 

17 cooperative, association, or any other entity. 

18 ‘‘(B) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.—Such 

19 term does not include a governmental entity. 

20 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con21 strued to authorize, in connection with a gov22 ernmental entity, an act or practice otherwise 

23 prohibited under this section or section 

24 205(c)(2)(C). 

25 ‘‘(2) SELLING AND PURCHASING.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B)— 

3 ‘‘(i) SELL.—The term ‘sell’ in connec4 tion with a social security account number 

5 means to obtain, directly or indirectly, any6 thing of value in exchange for such num7 ber. 

8 ‘‘(ii) PURCHASE.—The term ‘pur9 chase’ in connection with a social security 

10 account number means to provide, directly 

11 or indirectly, anything of value in exchange 

12 for such number. 

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

14 ‘purchase’ in connection with a social security 

15 account number do not include the submission 

16 of such number as part of— 

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

18 type of Government benefits or programs 

19 (such as grants or loans or welfare or 

20 other public assistance programs), 

21 ‘‘(ii) the administration of, or provi22 sion of benefits under, an employee benefit 

23 plan, or 

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

25 or exchange of a trade or business. 
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1 ‘‘(3) DISPLAY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.— 

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

3 the general public’ means, in connection with a 

4 social security account number, to intentionally 

5 place such number in a viewable manner on an 

6 Internet site that is available to the general 

7 public or to make such number available in any 

8 other manner intended to provide access to such 

9 number by the general public. 

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

11 case in which a person requires, as a condition 

12 of doing business with such person, transmittal 

13 to such person of an individual’s social security 

14 account number by means of the Internet with15 out reasonable provisions to ensure that such 

16 number is encrypted or otherwise secured from 

17 disclosure, any such transmittal of such number 

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

19 the general public’ of such number by such per20 son. 

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

22 The term ‘social security account number’ has the 

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

24 that such term includes any derivative of such num25 ber. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any ex-
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1 pression, contained in or on any item sold or dis2 played to the general public, shall not be treated as 

3 a social security account number solely because such 

4 expression sets forth not more than the last 4 digits 

5 of such number, if the remainder of such number 

6 cannot be determined based solely on such expres7 sion or any other matter presented in or on such 

8 item. 

9 ‘‘Prohibition of Sale, Purchase, and Display to the 

10 General Public 

11 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall 

12 be unlawful for any person to— 

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

14 number or display to the general public a social se15 curity account number, or 

16 ‘‘(B) obtain or use any individual’s social secu17 rity account number for the purpose of locating or 

18 identifying such individual with the intent to phys19 ically injure or harm such individual or using the 

20 identity of such individual for any illegal purpose. 

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

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

23 sold or purchased by any person to the extent provided 

24 in this subsection (and for no other purpose) as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(A) to the extent necessary for law enforce2 ment, including (but not limited to) the enforcement 

3 of a child support obligation, as determined under 

4 regulations issued as provided in section 

5 205(c)(2)(I); 

6 ‘‘(B) to the extent necessary for national secu7 rity purposes, as determined under regulations 

8 issued as provided in section 205(c)(2)(I); 

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

10 purposes; 

11 ‘‘(D) to the extent necessary in emergency situ12 ations to protect the health or safety of 1 or more 

13 individuals; 

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

15 required to comply with a tax law of the United 

16 States or of any State (or political subdivision there17 of); 

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

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

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

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

22 permissible purposes described in section 604(a) of 

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

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

25 than market research) conducted by an agency or in-
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1 strumentality of the United States or of a State or 

2 political subdivision thereof (or an agent of such an 

3 agency or instrumentality) for the purpose of ad4 vancing the public good, on the condition that the 

5 researcher provides adequate assurances that— 

6 ‘‘(i) the social security account numbers 

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

8 reveal information concerning any identifiable 

9 individuals; 

10 ‘‘(ii) information about identifiable individ11 uals obtained from the research will not be used 

12 to make decisions that directly affect the rights, 

13 benefits, or privileges of specific individuals; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the researcher has in place appro16 priate safeguards to protect the privacy and 

17 confidentiality of any information about identi18 fiable individuals, including procedures to en19 sure that the social security account numbers 

20 will be encrypted or otherwise appropriately se21 cured from unauthorized disclosure. 

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

23 account number assigned to an individual may be sold, 

24 purchased, or displayed to the general public by any per25 son— 
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1 ‘‘(A) to the extent consistent with such individ2 ual’s voluntary and affirmative written consent to 

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

4 account number, but only if— 

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

6 to refuse consent are presented to the individual 

7 in a clear, conspicuous, and understandable 

8 manner, 

9 ‘‘(ii) the individual is placed under no obli10 gation to provide consent to any such sale, pur11 chase, or display, and 

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

13 the individual to limit the sale, purchase, or dis14 play to purposes directly associated with the 

15 transaction with respect to which the consent is 

16 sought, and 

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

18 deemed appropriate in regulations issued as provided 

19 under section 205(c)(2)(I). 

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

21 which constitute personally identifiable medical informa22 tion— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Commissioner of Social Security, with 

24 respect to medical research referred to in paragraph 

25 (3)(A), and 
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1 ‘‘(B) the Attorney General of the United States, 

2 with respect to any medical research not referred to 

3 in paragraph (3)(A) but which is treated in regula4 tions of the Attorney General issued pursuant to 

5 paragraph (3)(B), 

6 shall maintain ongoing consultation with the Office for 

7 Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human 

8 Services to ensure that the sale or purchase of such social 

9 security account numbers is permitted only in compliance 

10 with existing Federal rules and regulations prescribed by 

11 the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to 

12 section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac13 countability Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 2033). 

14 ‘‘Prohibition of Unauthorized Disclosure to Government 

15 Agencies or Instrumentalities 

16 ‘‘(c)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to commu17 nicate by any means to any agency or instrumentality of 

18 the United States or of any State or political subdivision 

19 thereof the social security account number of any indi20 vidual other than such person without the written permis21 sion of such individual, unless the number was requested 

22 by the agency or instrumentality. In the case of an indi23 vidual who is legally incompetent, permission provided by 

24 the individual’s legal representatives shall be deemed to 

25 be permission provided by such individual. 
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1 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the extent nec2 essary— 

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

4 limited to) the enforcement of a child support obliga5 tion, or 

6 ‘‘(B) for national security purposes, 

7 as determined under regulations issued as provided under 

8 section 205(c)(2)(I). 

9 ‘‘Prohibition of the Displays on Cards or Tags Required 

10 for Access to Goods, Services, or Benefits 

11 ‘‘(d) No person may display a social security account 

12 number on any card or tag issued to any other person 

13 for the purpose of providing such other person access to 

14 any goods, services, or benefits or include on such card 

15 or tag a magnetic strip, bar code, or other means of com16 munication which conveys such number. 

17 ‘‘Prohibition of the Displays on Employee Identification 

18 Cards or Tags 

19 ‘‘(e) No person that is an employer, and no other per20 son offering benefits in connection with an employee ben21 efit plan maintained by such employer or acting as an 

22 agent of such employer, may display a social security ac23 count number on any card or tag that is commonly pro24 vided to employees of such employer (or to their family 

25 members) for purposes of identification or include on such 
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1 card or tag a magnetic strip, bar code, or other means 

2 of communication which conveys such number. 

3 ‘‘Measures to Preclude Unauthorized Disclosure of Social 

4 Security Account Numbers and Protect the Con5 fidentiality of Such Numbers 

6 ‘‘(f) Subject to the preceding provisions of this sec7 tion, any person having in such person’s records the social 

8 security account number of any individual other than such 

9 person shall, to the extent that such records are main10 tained for the conduct of such person’s trade or busi11 ness— 

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

13 has access to such number for any purpose other 

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

15 trade or business, 

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

17 the Commissioner, access to social security account 

18 numbers obtained thereby to officers and employees 

19 thereof whose duties or responsibilities require ac20 cess for the conduct of such person’s trade or busi21 ness, and 

22 ‘‘(3) provide such safeguards as may be speci23 fied, in regulations of the Commissioner, to be nec24 essary or appropriate to preclude unauthorized ac-
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1 cess to the social security account number and to 

2 otherwise protect the confidentiality of such number. 

3 ‘‘Deceased Individuals 

4 ‘‘(g) This section does not apply with respect to the 

5 social security account number of a deceased individual. 

6 ‘‘Criminal Penalty 

7 ‘‘(h) Any person who violates this section shall be 

8 guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be 

9 fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned 

10 for not more than 5 years, or both. 

11 ‘‘Applicability of Other Protections 

12 ‘‘(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to su13 persede, alter, or affect any restriction or limitation on 

14 the sale, purchase, display to the general public, or other 

15 disclosure of social security account numbers, provided in 

16 any Federal statute, regulation, order, or interpretation, 

17 if the restriction or limitation is greater than that provided 

18 under this section, as determined under applicable regula19 tions issued by the Commissioner of Social Security or by 

20 the Attorney General of the United States or another 

21 agency or instrumentality of the United States as provided 

22 in section 205(c)(2)(I).’’. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE AND RELATED RULES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Initial final regulations pre25 scribed to carry out the provisions of section 208A 
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1 of the Social Security Act (added by this section) 

2 shall be issued not later than the last date of the 

3 18th calendar month following the date of the enact4 ment of this Act. Such provisions shall take effect, 

5 with respect to matters governed by such regulations 

6 issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, or 

7 (pursuant to section 205(c)(2)(I) of such Act (added 

8 by section 102)) by the Attorney General of the 

9 United States or any other agency or instrumen10 tality of the United States, 1 year after the date of 

11 the issuance of such regulations by the Commis12 sioner, the Attorney General, or such other agency 

13 or instrumentality, respectively. Section 208A(b) of 

14 such Act shall apply in the case of displays to the 

15 general public (as defined in section 208A(a)(3) of 

16 such Act) to such displays to the general public 

17 originally occurring after such 1-year period. Such 

18 provisions shall not apply with respect to any such 

19 display to the general public of a record (containing 

20 a social security account number (or any derivative 

21 thereof)) generated prior to the close of such 1-year 

22 period. 

23 (2) SUNSET OF EXCEPTION.—The last sentence 

24 of section 208A(a)(4) of the Social Security Act 

25 (added by this section) shall cease to be effective 
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1 with respect to sales, purchases, or displays to the 

2 general public occurring after 6 years after the 18th 

3 calendar month referred to in paragraph (1). 

4 SEC. 108. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF CREDIT HEADER 

5 INFORMATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit 

7 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(q) CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF CREDIT HEAD10 ER INFORMATION.—Information regarding the social se11 curity account number of the consumer, or any derivative 

12 thereof, may not be furnished to any person by a consumer 

13 reporting agency other than in a full consumer report fur14 nished for use or disclosure solely for permissible purposes 

15 described in section 604(a).’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

17 this section shall take effect 90 days after the date of the 

18 enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 109. REFUSAL TO DO BUSINESS WITHOUT RECEIPT OF 

20 SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBER CON21 SIDERED UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACT OR 

22 PRACTICE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who refuses to do 

24 business with an individual because the individual will not 

25 consent to the receipt by such person of the social security 
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1 account number of such individual shall be considered to 

2 have committed an unfair or deceptive act or practice in 

3 violation of section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission 

4 Act (15 U.S.C. 45). Action may be taken under such sec5 tion 5 against such a person. 

6 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

7 any person in any case in which such person is expressly 

8 required under Federal law, in connection with doing busi9 ness with an individual, to submit to the Federal Govern10 ment such individual’s social security account number. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The preceding provisions of 

12 this section shall apply with respect to acts or practices 

13 committed after 180 days after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act. 
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1 TITLE II—STUDIES RELATING TO 

2 THE INTEGRITY OF APPLICA3 TIONS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY 

4 ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND SO5 CIAL SECURITY CARDS 

6 SEC. 201. STUDY RELATING TO USE OF PHOTOGRAPHIC 

7 IDENTIFICATION IN CONNECTION WITH AP8 PLICATIONS FOR BENEFITS, SOCIAL SECU9 RITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS, AND SOCIAL SECU10 RITY CARDS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of 

13 Social Security shall undertake a study to— 

14 (1) determine the best method of requiring and 

15 obtaining photographic identification of applicants 

16 for old-age, survivors, and disability insurance bene17 fits under title II of the Social Security Act, for a 

18 social security account number, or for a replacement 

19 social security card, and of providing for reasonable 

20 exceptions to any requirement for photographic iden21 tification of such applicants that may be necessary 

22 to promote efficient and effective administration of 

23 this title, and 

24 (2) evaluate the benefits and costs of instituting 

25 such a requirement for photographic identification, 
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1 including the degree to which the security and integ2 rity of the old-age, survivors, and disability insur3 ance program would be enhanced. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall 

6 report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 

7 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 

8 Senate regarding the results of the study undertaken 

9 under paragraph (1). Such report shall contain such rec10 ommendations for legislative changes as the Commissioner 

11 considers necessary relating to requirements for photo12 graphic identification of applicants described in subsection 

13 (a). 

14 SEC. 202. STUDY RELATING TO MODIFICATION OF THE SO15 CIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERING SYS16 TEM TO SHOW WORK AUTHORIZATION STA17 TUS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of 

20 Social Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

21 Homeland Security, shall undertake a study to examine 

22 the best method of modifying the social security account 

23 number assigned to individuals who— 

24 (1) are not citizens of the United States, 
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1 (2) have not been admitted for permanent resi2 dence, and 

3 (3) are not authorized by the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security to work in the United States, or 

5 are so authorized subject to one or more restrictions, 

6 so as to include an indication of such lack of authorization 

7 to work or such restrictions on such an authorization. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall re10 port to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 

11 of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the 

12 Senate regarding the results of the study undertaken 

13 under this section. Such report shall include the Commis14 sioner’s recommendations of feasible options for modifying 

15 the social security account number in the manner de16 scribed in subsection (a). 

17 TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT 

18 SEC. 301. NEW CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR MISUSE OF SO19 CIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(a) of the Social Secu21 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 408(a)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (7), by adding after subpara23 graph (C) the following new subparagraph: 

24 ‘‘(D) with intent to deceive, discloses, sells, 

25 or transfers his own social security account 
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1 number, assigned to him by the Commissioner 

2 of Social Security (in the exercise of the Com3 missioner’s authority under section 205(c)(2) to 

4 establish and maintain records), to any person; 

5 or’’; 

6 (2) in paragraph (8), by adding ‘‘or’’ at the 

7 end; and 

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol9 lowing new paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(9) without lawful authority, offers, for a fee, 

11 to acquire for any individual, or to assist in acquir12 ing for any individual, an additional social security 

13 account number or a number that purports to be a 

14 social security account number; or 

15 ‘‘(10) being an officer or employee of any exec16 utive, legislative, or judicial agency or instrumen17 tality of the Federal Government or of a State or 

18 political subdivision thereof (or a person acting as 

19 an agent of such an agency or instrumentality), will20 fully acts or fails to act so as to cause a violation 

21 of section 205(c)(2)(C)(xi); or 

22 ‘‘(11) being an officer or employee of any exec23 utive, legislative, or judicial agency or instrumen24 tality of the Federal Government or of a State or 

25 political subdivision thereof (or a person acting as 
37 

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1 an agent of such an agency or instrumentality) in 

2 possession of any individual’s social security account 

3 number (or an officer or employee thereof or a per4 son acting as an agent thereof), willfully acts or fails 

5 to act so as to cause a violation of clause (vi)(II), 

6 (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), or (xiv) of section 205(c)(2)(C); 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(12) being a trustee appointed in a case under 

9 title 11, United States Code (or an officer or em10 ployee thereof or a person acting as an agent there11 of), willfully acts or fails to act so as to cause a vio12 lation of clause (x), (xi), or (xiv) of section 

13 205(c)(2)(C);’’. 

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.—Paragraphs (7)(D) and (9) 

15 of section 208(a) of the Social Security Act (added by sub16 section (a)(2)) shall apply with respect to each violation 

17 occurring after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 Paragraphs (10), (11), and (12) of section 208(a) of such 

19 Act (added by subsection (a)(2)) shall apply with respect 

20 to each violation occurring on or after the effective date 

21 applicable with respect to such violation under title I. 

22 SEC. 302. EXTENSION OF CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY AU23 THORITY. 

24 (a) APPLICATION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES TO

25 ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS.—Section 1129(a) 
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1 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)) is 

2 amended— 

3 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

4 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; 

5 (2) by designating the last sentence of para6 graph (1) as a new paragraph (2), appearing after 

7 and below paragraph (1); and 

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as des9 ignated under paragraph (2) of this subsection) the 

10 following: 

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

12 or other entity) who— 

13 ‘‘(A) uses a social security account number that 

14 such person knows or should know has been as15 signed by the Commissioner of Social Security (in an 

16 exercise of authority under section 205(c)(2) to es17 tablish and maintain records) on the basis of false 

18 information furnished to the Commissioner by any 

19 person; 

20 ‘‘(B) falsely represents a number to be the so21 cial security account number assigned by the Com22 missioner of Social Security to any individual, when 

23 such person knows or should know that such number 

24 is not the social security account number assigned 

25 by the Commissioner to such individual; 
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1 ‘‘(C) knowingly alters a social security card 

2 issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, or 

3 possesses such a card with intent to alter it; 

4 ‘‘(D) knowingly buys or sells a card that is, or 

5 purports to be, a card issued by the Commissioner 

6 of Social Security, or possesses such a card with in7 tent to buy or sell it; 

8 ‘‘(E) counterfeits a social security card, or pos9 sesses a counterfeit social security card with intent 

10 to buy or sell it; 

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

12 or knowingly sells or purchases the social security 

13 account number of any person in violation of the 

14 laws of the United States; 

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

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

17 the true identity of any other person), furnishes or 

18 causes to be furnished false information to the Com19 missioner with respect to any information required 

20 by the Commissioner in connection with the estab21 lishment and maintenance of the records provided 

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

23 ‘‘(H) without lawful authority, offers, for a fee, 

24 to acquire for any individual, or to assist in acquir25 ing for any individual, an additional social security 
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1 account number or a number which purports to be 

2 a social security account number; 

3 ‘‘(I) with intent to deceive, discloses, sells, or 

4 transfers his own social security account number, as5 signed to him by the Commissioner of Social Secu6 rity under section 205(c)(2)(B), to any person; 

7 ‘‘(J) being an officer or employee of any execu8 tive, legislative, or judicial agency or instrumentality 

9 of the Federal Government or of a State or political 

10 subdivision thereof (or a person acting as an agent 

11 of such an agency or instrumentality), in possession 

12 of any individual’s social security account number, 

13 willfully acts or fails to act so as to cause a violation 

14 of clause (vi)(II), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), or (xiv) of 

15 section 205(c)(2)(C); 

16 ‘‘(K) being a trustee appointed in a case under 

17 title 11, United States Code (or an officer or em18 ployee thereof or a person acting as an agent there19 of), willfully acts or fails to act so as to cause a vio20 lation of clause (x), (xi), or (xiv) of section 

21 205(c)(2)(C); 

22 ‘‘(L) violates section 208A (relating to prohibi23 tion of the sale, purchase, or display of the social se24 curity account number in the private sector); or 
41 

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1 ‘‘(M) violates section 208B (relating to fraud by 

2 social security administration employees); 

3 shall be subject to, in addition to any other penalties that 

4 may be prescribed by law, a civil money penalty of not 

5 more than $5,000 for each violation. Such person shall 

6 also be subject to an assessment, in lieu of damages sus7 tained by the United States resulting from such violation, 

8 of not more than twice the amount of any benefits or pay9 ments paid as a result of such violation.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply with respect to violations com12 mitted after the date of the enactment of this Act, except 

13 that subparagraphs (J), (K), (L), and (M) of section 

14 1129(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (added by subsection 

15 (a)) shall apply with respect to violations occurring on or 

16 after the effective date provided in connection with such 

17 violations under title I. 

18 SEC. 303. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE 

19 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION WHO 

20 KNOWINGLY AND FRAUDULENTLY ISSUE SO21 CIAL SECURITY CARDS OR SOCIAL SECURITY 

22 ACCOUNT NUMBERS. 

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

24 (as amended by the preceding provisions of this Act) is 
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1 amended further by inserting after section 208A the fol2 lowing new section: 

3 ‘‘FRAUD BY SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

4 EMPLOYEES

5 ‘‘SEC. 208B. (a) Whoever is an employee of the So6 cial Security Administration and knowingly and fraudu7 lently sells or transfers one or more social security account 

8 numbers or social security cards shall be guilty of a felony 

9 and upon conviction thereof shall be fined under title 18, 

10 United States Code, imprisoned as provided in subsection 

11 (b), or both. 

12 ‘‘(b) Imprisonment for a violation described in sub13 section (a) shall be for— 

14 ‘‘(1) not less than 1 year and up to 5 years, in 

15 the case of an employee of the Social Security Ad16 ministration who has fraudulently sold or trans17 ferred not more than 50 social security account 

18 numbers or social security cards, 

19 ‘‘(2) not less than 5 years and up to 10 years, 

20 in the case of an employee of the Social Security Ad21 ministration who has fraudulently sold or trans22 ferred more than 50, but not more than 100, social 

23 security account numbers or social security cards, or 

24 ‘‘(3) not less than 10 years and up to 20 years, 

25 in the case of an employee of the Social Security Ad26 ministration who has fraudulently sold or trans-
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1 ferred more than 100 social security account num2 bers or social security cards. 

3 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this section— 

4 ‘‘(1) The term ‘social security employee’ means 

5 any State employee of a State disability determina6 tion service, any officer, employee, or contractor of 

7 the Social Security Administration, any employee of 

8 such a contractor, or any volunteer providing serv9 ices or assistance in any facility of the Social Secu10 rity Administration. 

11 ‘‘(2) The term ‘social security account number’ 

12 means a social security account number assigned by 

13 the Commissioner of Social Security under section 

14 205(c)(2)(B) or another number that has not been 

15 so assigned but is purported to have been so as16 signed. 

17 ‘‘(3) The term ‘social security card’ means a 

18 card issued by the Commissioner of Social Security 

19 under section 205(c)(2)(G), another card which has 

20 not been so issued but is purported to have been so 

21 issued, and banknote paper of the type described in 

22 section 205(c)(2)(G) prepared for the entry of social 

23 security account numbers, whether fully completed 

24 or not. 
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1 ‘‘(d) Any employee of the Social Security Administra2 tion who attempts or conspires to commit any violation 

3 of this section shall be subject to the same penalties as 

4 those prescribed for the violation the commission of which 

5 was the object of the attempt or conspiracy.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring 

8 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 304. ENHANCED PENALTIES IN CASES OF TERRORISM, 

10 DRUG TRAFFICKING, CRIMES OF VIOLENCE, 

11 OR PRIOR OFFENSES. 

12 (a) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE II.—Section 208 of the 

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

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘shall be 

15 fined’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol16 lowing: ‘‘shall be fined, imprisoned, or both, as pro17 vided in subsection (b).’’; 

18 (2) by striking subsection (c); 

19 (3) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub20 section (c); and 

21 (4) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol22 lowing new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(b) A person convicted of a violation described in 

24 subsection (a) shall be— 
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1 ‘‘(1) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

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

3 in the case of an initial violation, subject to para4 graphs (3) and (4), 

5 ‘‘(2) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

6 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, 

7 in the case of a violation which occurs after a prior 

8 conviction for another offense under subsection (a) 

9 becomes final, subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), 

10 ‘‘(3) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

11 or imprisoned for not more than 20 years, in the 

12 case of a violation which is committed to facilitate 

13 a drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 

14 929(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code) or in con15 nection with a crime of violence (as defined in sec16 tion 924(c)(3) of title 18, United States Code), sub17 ject to paragraph (4), and 

18 ‘‘(4) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

19 or imprisoned for not more than 25 years, in the 

20 case of a violation which is committed to facilitate 

21 an act of international or domestic terrorism (as de22 fined in paragraphs (1) and (5), respectively, of sec23 tion 2331 of title 18, United States Code).’’. 

24 (b) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE VIII.—Section 811 of 

25 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1011) is amended— 
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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘shall be 

2 fined’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘shall be 

3 fined, imprisoned, or both, as provided in subsection 

4 (b).’’; 

5 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub6 section (c); and 

7 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol8 lowing new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(b) PUNISHMENT.—A person convicted of a viola10 tion described in subsection (a) shall be— 

11 ‘‘(1) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

12 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, 

13 in the case of an initial violation, subject to para14 graphs (3) and (4), 

15 ‘‘(2) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

16 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, 

17 in the case of a violation which occurs after a prior 

18 conviction for another offense under subsection (a) 

19 becomes final, subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), 

20 ‘‘(3) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

21 or imprisoned for not more than 20 years, in the 

22 case of a violation which is committed to facilitate 

23 a drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 

24 929(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code) or in con25 nection with a crime of violence (as defined in sec-
47 

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1 tion 924(c)(3) of title 18, United States Code), sub2 ject to paragraph (4), and 

3 ‘‘(4) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

4 or imprisoned for not more than 25 years, in the 

5 case of a violation which is committed to facilitate 

6 an act of international or domestic terrorism (as de7 fined in paragraphs (1) and (5), respectively, of sec8 tion 2331 of title 18, United States Code).’’. 

9 (c) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE XVI.—Section 1632 of 

10 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1383a) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘shall be 

12 fined’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘shall be 

13 fined, imprisoned, or both, as provided in subsection 

14 (b).’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

16 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 

17 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol18 lowing new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(b) A person convicted of a violation described in 

20 subsection (a) shall be— 

21 ‘‘(1) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

22 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, 

23 in the case of an initial violation, subject to para24 graphs (3) and (4), 
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1 ‘‘(2) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

2 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, 

3 in the case of a violation which occurs after a prior 

4 conviction for another offense under subsection (a) 

5 becomes final, subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), 

6 ‘‘(3) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

7 or imprisoned for not more than 20 years, in the 

8 case of a violation which is committed to facilitate 

9 a drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 

10 929(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code) or in con11 nection with a crime of violence (as defined in sec12 tion 924(c)(3) of title 18, United States Code), sub13 ject to paragraph (4), and 

14 ‘‘(4) fined under title 18, United States Code, 

15 or imprisoned for not more than 25 years, in the 

16 case of a violation which is committed to facilitate 

17 an act of international or domestic terrorism (as de18 fined in paragraphs (1) and (5), respectively, of sec19 tion 2331 of title 18, United States Code).’’. 

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ