I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 220
To amend title II of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to protect the integrity and confidentiality of Social Secu-
rity account numbers issued under such title, to prohibit the establish-
ment in the Federal Government of any uniform national identifying 
number, and to prohibit Federal agencies from imposing standards for 
identification of individuals on other agencies or persons. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2005
Mr. PAUL (for himself, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, and Mr. HINCHEY) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 
and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, 
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 title II of the Social Security Act and the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 to protect the integrity and con-
fidentiality of Social Security account numbers issued 
under such title, to prohibit the establishment in the 
Federal Government of any uniform national identifying 
number, and to prohibit Federal agencies from imposing 
standards for identification of individuals on other agen-
cies or persons.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Identity Theft Preven-
tion Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF THE SOCIAL SECU-
RITY ACCOUNT NUMBER. 
(a) REPEAL OF PROVISIONS AUTHORIZING CERTAIN 
USAGES OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBER.—
Section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
405(c)(2)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘(C)(i) It 
is the policy’’ and all that follows through clause 
(vi); 
(2) by striking subparagraphs (C)(ix), (E), and 
(H); and 
(3) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and 
(G) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively. 
(b) NEW RULES APPLICABLE TO SOCIAL SECURITY 
ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—Section 205(c)(2) of such Act is 
amended further—
(1) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(C)(i) All social security account numbers issued 
under this subsection shall be randomly generated. 
‘‘(ii) Except as otherwise provided in this para-
graph—
‘‘(I) the social security account number issued 
under this subsection to any individual shall be the 
exclusive property of such individual, and 
‘‘(II) the Social Security Administration shall 
not divulge the social security account number 
issued to any individual under this subsection to any 
agency or instrumentality of the Federal Govern-
ment, to any State, political subdivision of a State, 
or agency or instrumentality of a State or political 
subdivision thereof, or to any other individual. 
‘‘(iii) Clause (ii) shall not apply with respect to the 
use of the social security account number as an identifying 
number to the extent provided in section 6109(d) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to use of the so-
cial security account number for social security and re-
lated purposes).’’; and 
(2) by redesignating clauses (vii) and (viii) of 
subparagraph (C) as clauses (iv) and (v), respec-
tively. 
(c) USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS 
UNDER INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—Subsection (d) of 
section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended—
(1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘for Social Se-
curity and Related Purposes’’ after ‘‘Number’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘this title’’ and inserting ‘‘sec-
tion 86, chapter 2, and subtitle C of this title’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATES AND RELATED RULES.—
(1) EFFECTIVE
DATES.—Not later than 60 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Commissioner of Social Security shall publish in the 
Federal Register the date determined by the Com-
missioner, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
Treasury, to be the earliest date thereafter by which 
implementation of the amendments made by this 
section is practicable. The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the earlier of such 
date or the date which occurs 5 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act. The amendments made 
by subsection (b) shall apply with respect to social 
security account numbers issued on or after such 
earlier date. The amendments made by subsection 
(c) shall apply with respect to calendar quarters and 
taxable years beginning on or after such earlier date. 
(2) REISSUANCE OF NUMBERS.—The Commis-
sioner of Social Security shall ensure that, not later 
than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, all individuals who have been issued social secu-
rity account numbers under section 205(c) of the 
Social Security Act as of the date prior to the earlier
date specified in paragraph (1) are issued new social 
security account numbers in accordance with such 
section as amended by this section. Upon issuance of 
such new social security account numbers, any social 
security account numbers issued to such individuals 
prior to such earlier date specified in paragraph (1) 
shall be null and void and subject to the require-
ments of section 205(c)(2)(C)(ii)(II) of such Act, as 
amended by this section. Nothing in this section or 
the amendments made thereby shall be construed to 
preclude the Social Security Administration and the 
Secretary of the Treasury from cross-referencing 
such social security account numbers newly issued to 
individuals pursuant to this paragraph to the former 
social security account numbers of such individuals 
for purposes of administering title II or title XVI of 
such Act or administering the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 in connection with section 86, chapter 
2, and subtitle C thereof. 
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE PRIVACY ACT 
OF 1974. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7 of the Privacy Act of 
1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a note, 88 Stat. 1909) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2) 
and inserting the following:
‘‘(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this sub-
section shall not apply with respect to any disclosure which 
is required under regulations of the Commissioner of So-
cial Security pursuant to section 205(c)(2) of the Social 
Security Act or under regulations of the Secretary of the 
Treasury pursuant to section 6109(d) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986.’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(b) Except with respect to disclosures described in 
subsection (a)(2), no agency or instrumentality of the 
Federal Government, a State, a political subdivision of a 
State, or any combination of the foregoing may request 
an individual to disclose his social security account num-
ber, on either a mandatory or voluntary basis.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the earlier date specified 
in section 2(d)(1). 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF GOVERNMENT-WIDE UNIFORM 
IDENTIFYING NUMBERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as authorized under sec-
tion 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, any two agencies 
or instrumentalities of the Federal Government may not 
implement the same identifying number with respect to 
any individual.
(b) IDENTIFYING NUMBERS.—For purposes of this 
section—
(1) the term ‘‘identifying number’’ with respect 
to an individual means any combination of alpha-nu-
meric symbols which serves to identify such indi-
vidual, and 
(2) any identifying number and any one or 
more derivatives of such number shall be treated as 
the same identifying number. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this section 
shall take effect January 1, 2006. 
SEC. 
5. 
PROHIBITION 
OF 
GOVERNMENT-ESTABLISHED 
IDENTIFIERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), a Fed-
eral agency may not—
(1) establish or mandate a uniform standard 
for identification of an individual that is required to 
be used by any other Federal agency, a State agen-
cy, or a private person for any purpose other than 
the purpose of conducting the authorized activities 
of the Federal agency establishing or mandating the 
standard; or 
(2) condition receipt of any Federal grant or 
contract or other Federal funding on the adoption, 
by a State, a State agency, or a political subdivision
of a State, of a uniform standard for identification 
of an individual. 
(b) TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN PRIVATE PERSONS.—
Notwithstanding subsection (a), a Federal agency may not 
establish or mandate a uniform standard for identification 
of an individual that is required to be used within the 
agency, or by any other Federal agency, a State agency, 
or a private person, for the purpose of—
(1) investigating, monitoring, overseeing, or 
otherwise regulating a transaction to which the Fed-
eral Government is not a party; or 
(2) administrative simplification. 
(c) CONFORMITY OF OTHER LAWS.—Any provision 
of Federal law enacted on or before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act is superseded by this section to the extent 
that such provision is inconsistent with subsection (a) or 
(b), including sections 1173(b) and 1177(a)(1) of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2(b); 42 U.S.C. 
1320d–6(a)(1)) and subtitle B of title VII of the Intel-
ligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 
(Public Law 108–458), and, to the extent that any provi-
sion of Federal law enacted after such date is inconsistent 
with subsection (a) or (b), such provision shall be effective 
only if it specifically cross-refers to such subsection. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means any 
of the following: 
(A) An Executive agency (as defined in 
section 105 of title 5, United States Code). 
(B) A military department (as defined in 
section 102 of such title). 
(C) An agency in the executive branch of 
a State government. 
(D) An agency in the legislative branch of 
the Government of the United States or a State 
government. 
(E) An agency in the judicial branch of the 
Government of the United States or a State 
government. 
(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 
the several States, the District of Columbia, the Vir-
gin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Mar-
shall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or 
the Republic of Palau. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this section 
shall take effect January 1, 2006.
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