II 

Calendar No. 5

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 228

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 28, 2003

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. GREGG, and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the 

following bill; which was read the first time 

JANUARY 29, 2003

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

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 ‘‘Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act’’. 
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 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. 

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.

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

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

6 of social security numbers has contributed to a 

7 growing range of illegal activities, including fraud, 

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

9 violent crimes. 

10 (2) While financial institutions, health care pro11 viders, and other entities have often used social se12 curity numbers to confirm the identity of an indi13 vidual, the general display to the public, sale, or pur14 chase of these numbers has been used to commit 

15 crimes, and also can result in serious invasions of in16 dividual privacy. 

17 (3) The Federal Government requires virtually 

18 every individual in the United States to obtain and 

19 maintain a social security number in order to pay 
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1 taxes, to qualify for social security benefits, or to 

2 seek employment. An unintended consequence of 

3 these requirements is that social security numbers 

4 have become one of the tools that can be used to fa5 cilitate crime, fraud, and invasions of the privacy of 

6 the individuals to whom the numbers are assigned. 

7 Because the Federal Government created and main8 tains this system, and because the Federal Govern9 ment does not permit individuals to exempt them10 selves from those requirements, it is appropriate for 

11 the Federal Government to take steps to stem the 

12 abuse of social security numbers. 

13 (4) The display, sale, or purchase of social secu14 rity numbers in no way facilitates uninhibited, ro15 bust, and wide-open public debate, and restrictions 

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

17 public debate. 

18 (5) No one should seek to profit from the dis19 play, sale, or purchase of social security numbers in 

20 circumstances that create a substantial risk of phys21 ical, emotional, or financial harm to the individuals 

22 to whom those numbers are assigned. 

23 (6) Consequently, this Act provides each indi24 vidual that has been assigned a social security num25 ber some degree of protection from the display, sale, 
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1 and purchase of that number in any circumstance 

2 that might facilitate unlawful conduct. 

3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY, SALE, OR PUR4 CHASE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION.—

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

7 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

8 section 1028 the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 1028A. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase 

10 of social security numbers 

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

12 ‘‘(1) DISPLAY.—The term ‘display’ means to in13 tentionally communicate or otherwise make available 

14 (on the Internet or in any other manner) to the gen15 eral public an individual’s social security number. 

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

17 individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, co18 operative, association, or any other entity. 

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

20 providing directly or indirectly, anything of value in 

21 exchange for a social security number. 

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

23 directly or indirectly, anything of value in exchange 

24 for a social security number. 
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1 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

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

3 Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

4 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

5 Samoa, and any territory or possession of the 

6 United States. 

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

8 in section 1028B, no person may display any individual’s 

9 social security number to the general public without the 

10 affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 

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

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

13 or purchase any individual’s social security number with14 out the affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 

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

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

17 displaying or seeking to display, selling or attempting to 

18 sell, or purchasing or attempting to purchase, an individ19 ual’s social security number shall—

20 ‘‘(1) inform the individual of the general pur21 pose for which the number will be used, the types of 

22 persons to whom the number may be available, and 

23 the scope of transactions permitted by the consent; 

24 and 
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1 ‘‘(2) obtain the affirmatively expressed consent 

2 (electronically or in writing) of the individual. 

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

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

5 of a social security number—

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

7 any Federal law; 

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

9 protection of the health or safety of an individual in 

10 an emergency situation; 

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

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

13 the investigation of fraud and the enforcement of a 

14 child support obligation; 

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

16 number is for a use occurring as a result of an inter17 action between businesses, governments, or business 

18 and government (regardless of which entity initiates 

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

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

21 fraud in protecting an employee’s right to em22 ployment benefits); 

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

24 facilitation of background checks of employees, 

25 prospective employees, or volunteers; 
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1 ‘‘(C) the retrieval of other information 

2 from other businesses, commercial enterprises, 

3 government entities, or private nonprofit orga4 nizations; or 

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

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

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

8 of, a business; 

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

10 a data matching program involving a Federal, State, 

11 or local agency; or 

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

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

14 Federal, State, or local government benefit or pro15 gram; 

16 except that, nothing in this subsection shall be construed 

17 as permitting a professional or commercial user to display 

18 or sell a social security number to the general public. 

19 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall pro20 hibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase of social secu21 rity numbers as permitted under title V of the Gramm22 Leach-Bliley Act, or for the purpose of affiliate sharing 

23 as permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, except 

24 that no entity regulated under such Acts may make social 

25 security numbers available to the general public, as may 
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1 be determined by the appropriate regulators under such 

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

3 shall not include affiliates or unaffiliated third-party busi4 ness entities as may be defined by the appropriate regu5 lators.’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

7 analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States 

8 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

9 to section 1028 the following:

‘‘1028A. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of social security numbers.’’.

10 (b) STUDY; REPORT.—

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

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

13 uses of social security numbers permitted, required, 

14 authorized, or excepted under any Federal law. The 

15 report shall include a detailed description of the uses 

16 allowed as of the date of enactment of this Act and 

17 shall evaluate whether such uses should be continued 

18 or discontinued by appropriate legislative action. 

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

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 

21 shall report to Congress findings under this sub22 section. The report shall include such recommenda23 tions for legislation based on criteria the Attorney 

24 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 1028A the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘§ 1028B. 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 1028A 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 1028A 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 1028A 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 1028A 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 1028A 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 1028A 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 1028A 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 1028A 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 1028A 
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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 1028A. 

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 1028A 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 1028A 

18 the following:

‘‘1028B. 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 num23 bers, including the utility for law enforcement, 

24 and for the promotion of homeland security; 
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1 (D) a review of the disadvantages or draw2 backs of public records that contain social secu3 rity numbers, including criminal activity, com4 promised personal privacy, or threats to home5 land 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 1028B(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 1028A(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 1028A(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 security 

15 number to commit fraud, deception, or crime. 

16 (D) The presence of adequate safeguards 

17 and procedures to prevent—

18 (i) misuse of social security numbers 

19 by employees within a business; and 

20 (ii) misappropriation of social security 

21 numbers by the general public, while per22 mitting internal business uses of such 

23 numbers. 

24 (E) The presence of procedures to prevent 

25 identity thieves, stalkers, and other individuals 
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1 with ill intent from posing as legitimate busi2 nesses to obtain social security numbers. 

3 SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ON 

4 GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION OF USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY AC6 COUNT NUMBERS ON CHECKS ISSUED FOR PAYMENT BY

7 GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES.—

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

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

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

12 the social security account number of any individual, or 

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

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

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

16 by this subsection shall apply with respect to viola17 tions of section 205(c)(2)(C)(x) of the Social Secu18 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(x)), as added by 

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

20 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) PROHIBITION OF APPEARANCE OF SOCIAL SECU22 RITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS ON DRIVER’S LICENSES OR

23 MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C)(vi) of 

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

3 is amended—

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘(I)’’ after ‘‘(vi)’’; and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(II)(aa) An agency of a State (or political subdivi7 sion thereof), in the administration of any driver’s license 

8 or motor vehicle registration law within its jurisdiction, 

9 may not display the social security account numbers 

10 issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, or any de11 rivative of such numbers, on the face of any driver’s li12 cense or motor vehicle registration or any other document 

13 issued by such State (or political subdivision thereof) to 

14 an individual for purposes of identification of such indi15 vidual. 

16 ‘‘(bb) Nothing in this subclause shall be construed 

17 as precluding an agency of a State (or political subdivision 

18 thereof), in the administration of any driver’s license or 

19 motor vehicle registration law within its jurisdiction, from 

20 using a social security account number for an internal use 

21 or to link with the database of an agency of another State 

22 that is responsible for the administration of any driver’s 

23 license or motor vehicle registration law.’’. 

24 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

25 by this subsection shall apply with respect to li-
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1 censes, registrations, and other documents issued or 

2 reissued after the date that is 1 year after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act. 

4 (c) PROHIBITION OF INMATE ACCESS TO SOCIAL SE5 CURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—

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

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

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

9 the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(xi) No Federal, State, or local agency 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 pursuant to such 

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

18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

19 by this subsection shall apply with respect to em20 ployment of prisoners, or entry into contract with 

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

22 of enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 7. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SOCIAL 

2 SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER TRANS3 ACTIONS. 

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

5 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 1150A. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SO8 CIAL SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER 

9 TRANSACTIONS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A commercial entity may not re11 quire an individual to provide the individual’s social secu12 rity number when purchasing a commercial good or service 

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

14 provide that number except—

15 ‘‘(1) for any purpose relating to—

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

17 purpose permitted under the Fair Credit Re18 porting Act; 

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

20 conducted by a landlord, lessor, employer, vol21 untary service agency, or other entity as deter22 mined by the Attorney General; 

23 ‘‘(C) law enforcement; or 

24 ‘‘(D) a Federal, State, or local law require25 ment; or 
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1 ‘‘(2) if the social security number is necessary 

2 to verify the identity of the consumer to effect, ad3 minister, or enforce the specific transaction re4 quested or authorized by the consumer, or to prevent 

5 fraud. 

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

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

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

9 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A vio10 lation of this section shall be deemed to be a violation of 

11 section 208(a)(8). 

12 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON CLASS ACTIONS.—No class ac13 tion alleging a violation of this section shall be maintained 

14 under this section by an individual or any private party 

15 in Federal or State court. 

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

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

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

19 which the attorney general of a State has rea20 son to believe that an interest of the residents 

21 of that State has been or is threatened or ad22 versely affected by the engagement of any per23 son in a practice that is prohibited under this 

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

25 a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 
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1 State in a district court of the United States of 

2 appropriate jurisdiction to—

3 ‘‘(i) enjoin that practice; 

4 ‘‘(ii) enforce compliance with such 

5 section; 

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

7 other compensation on behalf of residents 

8 of the State; or 

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

10 court may consider appropriate. 

11 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an 

13 action under subparagraph (A), the attor14 ney general of the State involved shall pro15 vide to the Attorney General—

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

17 and 

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

19 the action. 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXEMPTION.—

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

22 shall not apply with respect to the fil23 ing of an action by an attorney gen24 eral of a State under this subsection, 

25 if the State attorney general deter-
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1 mines that it is not feasible to provide 

2 the notice described in such subpara3 graph before the filing of the action. 

4 ‘‘(II) NOTIFICATION.—With re5 spect to an action described in sub6 clause (I), the attorney general of a 

7 State shall provide notice and a copy 

8 of the complaint to the Attorney Gen9 eral at the same time as the State at10 torney general files the action. 

11 ‘‘(2) INTERVENTION.—

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

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

14 shall have the right to intervene in the action 

15 that is the subject of the notice. 

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

17 Attorney General intervenes in the action under 

18 paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall have 

19 the right to be heard with respect to any matter 

20 that arises in that action. 

21 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bring22 ing any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in 

23 this section shall be construed to prevent an attor24 ney general of a State from exercising the powers 
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1 conferred on such attorney general by the laws of 

2 that State to—

3 ‘‘(A) conduct investigations; 

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

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

6 the production of documentary and other evi7 dence. 

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

9 THE UNITED STATES.—In any case in which an ac10 tion is instituted by or on behalf of the Attorney 

11 General for violation of a practice that is prohibited 

12 under this section, no State may, during the pend13 ency of that action, institute an action under para14 graph (1) against any defendant named in the com15 plaint in that action for violation of that practice. 

16 ‘‘(5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.—

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

18 paragraph (1) may be brought in the district 

19 court of the United States that meets applicable 

20 requirements relating to venue under section 

21 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 

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

23 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 

24 served in any district in which the defendant—

25 ‘‘(i) is an inhabitant; or 
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1 ‘‘(ii) may be found. 

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

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

4 this section.’’.

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

6 date that is 6 years and 6 months after the date of enact7 ment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation 

8 with the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, shall 

9 issue a report evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency 

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

11 subsection (a)) and shall make recommendations to Con12 gress as to any legislative action determined to be nec13 essary or advisable with respect to such section, including 

14 a recommendation regarding whether to reauthorize such 

15 section. 

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

17 subsection (a) shall apply to requests to provide a social 

18 security number occurring after the date that is 1 year 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 8. EXTENSION OF CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES FOR 

21 MISUSE OF A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 

22 (a) TREATMENT OF WITHHOLDING OF MATERIAL

23 FACTS.—
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1 (1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The first sentence of 

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

3 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)(1)) is amended—

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

5 ‘‘who—’’; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘makes’’ and all that fol7 lows through ‘‘shall be subject to’’ and inserting 

8 the following: 

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

10 or representation of a material fact, for use in deter11 mining any initial or continuing right to or the 

12 amount of monthly insurance benefits under title II 

13 or benefits or payments under title VIII or XVI, 

14 that the person knows or should know is false or 

15 misleading; 

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

17 for such use with knowing disregard for the truth; 

18 or 

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

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

21 fact which the individual knows or should know is 

22 material to the determination of any initial or con23 tinuing right to or the amount of monthly insurance 

24 benefits under title II or benefits or payments under 

25 title VIII or XVI and the individual knows, or 
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1 should know, that the statement or representation 

2 with such omission is false or misleading or that the 

3 withholding of such disclosure is misleading, 

4 shall be subject to’’; 

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

6 benefits while withholding disclosure of such 

7 fact’’ after ‘‘each such statement or representa8 tion’’; 

9 (D) by inserting ‘‘or because of such with10 holding of disclosure of a material fact’’ after 

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

12 and

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

14 disclosure’’ after ‘‘such a statement or rep15 resentation’’. 

16 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR IMPOS17 ING PENALTIES.—The first sentence of section 

18 1129A(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 1320a–8a(a)) is amended—

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

21 ‘‘who—’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘makes’’ and all that fol23 lows through ‘‘shall be subject to’’ and inserting 

24 the following: 
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1 ‘‘(1) makes, or causes to be made, a statement 

2 or representation of a material fact, for use in deter3 mining any initial or continuing right to or the 

4 amount of monthly insurance benefits under title II 

5 or benefits or payments under title VIII or XVI, 

6 that the person knows or should know is false or 

7 misleading; 

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

9 for such use with knowing disregard for the truth; 

10 or 

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

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

13 fact which the individual knows or should know is 

14 material to the determination of any initial or con15 tinuing right to or the amount of monthly insurance 

16 benefits under title II or benefits or payments under 

17 title VIII or XVI and the individual knows, or 

18 should know, that the statement or representation 

19 with such omission is false or misleading or that the 

20 withholding of such disclosure is misleading, 

21 shall be subject to’’. 

22 (b) APPLICATION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES TO

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

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

25 amended by subsection (a)(1), is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para2 graph (4); 

3 (2) by redesignating the last sentence of para4 graph (1) as paragraph (2) and inserting such para5 graph after paragraph (1); and 

6 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re7 designated) the following: 

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

9 or other entity) who—

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

11 such person knows or should know has been as12 signed by the Commissioner of Social Security (in an 

13 exercise of authority under section 205(c)(2) to es14 tablish and maintain records) on the basis of false 

15 information furnished to the Commissioner by any 

16 person; 

17 ‘‘(B) falsely represents a number to be the so18 cial security account number assigned by the Com19 missioner of Social Security to any individual, when 

20 such person knows or should know that such number 

21 is not the social security account number assigned 

22 by the Commissioner to such individual; 

23 ‘‘(C) knowingly alters a social security card 

24 issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, or 

25 possesses such a card with intent to alter it; 
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1 ‘‘(D) knowingly displays, sells, or purchases a 

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

3 Commissioner of Social Security, or possesses such 

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

5 ‘‘(E) counterfeits a social security card, or pos6 sesses a counterfeit social security card with intent 

7 to display, sell, or purchase it; 

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

9 or knowingly displays, sells, or purchases the social 

10 security account number of any person in violation 

11 of the laws of the United States; 

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

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

14 the true identity of any other person) furnishes or 

15 causes to be furnished false information to the Com16 missioner with respect to any information required 

17 by the Commissioner in connection with the estab18 lishment and maintenance of the records provided 

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

20 ‘‘(H) offers, for a fee, to acquire for any indi21 vidual, or to assist in acquiring for any individual, 

22 an additional social security account number or a 

23 number which purports to be a social security ac24 count number; or 
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1 ‘‘(I) being an officer or employee of a Federal, 

2 State, or local agency in possession of any individ3 ual’s social security account number, willfully acts or 

4 fails to act so as to cause a violation by such agency 

5 of clause (vi)(II) or (x) of section 205(c)(2)(C), 

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

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

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

9 also be subject to an assessment, in lieu of damages sus10 tained by the United States resulting from such violation, 

11 of not more than twice the amount of any benefits or pay12 ments paid as a result of such violation.’’. 

13 (c) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF RECOVERED

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

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

16 ‘‘In the case of amounts recovered arising out of a deter17 mination relating to title VIII or XVI,’’ and inserting ‘‘In 

18 the case of any other amounts recovered under this sec19 tion,’’. 

20 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

21 (1) Section 1129(b)(3)(A) of the Social Secu22 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(b)(3)(A)) is amended 

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

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

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(c)(1)) is amended by strik-
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1 ing ‘‘and representations’’ and inserting ‘‘, represen2 tations, or actions’’. 

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

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

5 striking ‘‘statement or representation referred to in 

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

7 occurred’’. 

8 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

11 shall apply with respect to violations of sections 

12 1129 and 1129A of the Social Security Act (42 

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

14 section, committed after the date of enactment of 

15 this Act. 

16 (2) VIOLATIONS BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS IN

17 POSSESSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.—Sec18 tion 1129(a)(3)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 

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

20 (b), shall apply with respect to violations of that sec21 tion occurring on or after the effective date de22 scribed in section 3(c). 
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1 SEC. 9. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR THE MISUSE OF A SO2 CIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 

3 (a) PROHIBITION OF WRONGFUL USE AS PERSONAL

4 IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—No person may obtain any 

5 individual’s social security number for purposes of locating 

6 or identifying an individual with the intent to physically 

7 injure, harm, or use the identity of the individual for any 

8 illegal purpose. 

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

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

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

12 the semicolon; and 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol14 lowing: 

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

16 (f) of section 1028A of title 18, United States Code, 

17 knowingly and willfully displays, sells, or purchases 

18 (as those terms are defined in section 1028A(a) of 

19 title 18, United States Code) any individual’s social 

20 security account number without having met the 

21 prerequisites for consent under section 1028A(d) of 

22 title 18, United States Code; or 

23 ‘‘(10) obtains any individual’s social security 

24 number for the purpose of locating or identifying the 

25 individual with the intent to injure or to harm that 
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1 individual, or to use the identity of that individual 

2 for an illegal purpose;’’. 

3 SEC. 10. CIVIL ACTIONS AND CIVIL PENALTIES. 

4 (a) CIVIL ACTION IN STATE COURTS.—

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

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

7 amendments made by this Act may, if otherwise per8 mitted by the laws or rules of the court of a State, 

9 bring in an appropriate court of that State—

10 (A) an action to enjoin such violation; 

11 (B) an action to recover for actual mone12 tary loss from such a violation, or to receive up 

13 to $500 in damages for each such violation, 

14 whichever is greater; or 

15 (C) both such actions. 

16 It shall be an affirmative defense in any action 

17 brought under this paragraph that the defendant 

18 has established and implemented, with due care, rea19 sonable practices and procedures to effectively pre20 vent violations of the regulations prescribed under 

21 this Act. If the court finds that the defendant will22 fully or knowingly violated the regulations prescribed 

23 under this subsection, the court may, in its discre24 tion, increase the amount of the award to an amount 
36

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1 equal to not more than 3 times the amount available 

2 under subparagraph (B). 

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

4 be commenced under this subsection not later than 

5 the earlier of—

6 (A) 5 years after the date on which the al7 leged violation occurred; or

8 (B) 3 years after the date on which the al9 leged violation was or should have been reason10 ably discovered by the aggrieved individual. 

11 (3) NONEXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—The remedy pro12 vided under this subsection shall be in addition to 

13 any other remedies available to the individual. 

14 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who the Attor16 ney General determines has violated any section of 

17 this Act or of any amendments made by this Act 

18 shall be subject, in addition to any other penalties 

19 that may be prescribed by law—

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

21 $5,000 for each such violation; and 

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

23 $50,000, if the violations have occurred with 

24 such frequency as to constitute a general busi25 ness practice. 
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1 (2) DETERMINATION OF VIOLATIONS.—Any 

2 willful violation committed contemporaneously with 

3 respect to the social security numbers of 2 or more 

4 individuals by means of mail, telecommunication, or 

5 otherwise, shall be treated as a separate violation 

6 with respect to each such individual. 

7 (3) ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES.—The provi8 sions of section 1128A of the Social Security Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a), other than subsections (a), 

10 (b), (f), (h), (i), (j), (m), and (n) and the first sen11 tence of subsection (c) of such section, and the pro12 visions of subsections (d) and (e) of section 205 of 

13 such Act (42 U.S.C. 405) shall apply to a civil pen14 alty action under this subsection in the same man15 ner as such provisions apply to a penalty or pro16 ceeding under section 1128A(a) of such Act (42 

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

18 this paragraph, any reference in section 1128A of 

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

20 shall be deemed to be a reference to the Attorney 

21 General. 

22 SEC. 11. FEDERAL INJUNCTIVE AUTHORITY. 

23 In addition to any other enforcement authority con24 ferred under this Act or the amendments made by this 

25 Act, the Federal Government shall have injunctive author-
38

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1 ity with respect to any violation by a public entity of any 

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

3 Act.

Calendar No. 5

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 228

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. 

JANUARY 29, 2003

Read the second time and placed on the calendar