Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I was privileged to introduce H.R. 3779, the Social Security Fraud Prevention Act, with my friend from California, Congressman Valadao. Identity theft is a major and growing problem in our nation. Almost 18 million Americans were victims of this crime in 2014, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Of those who lost money as a result of their victimization, the average loss was over $1,300. This is a serious, complicated problem from which no one is immune. As in most complex issues, there is not just one solution. We must attack it from a variety of angles. For example, the government certainly shouldn't be making identity theft more likely by making it easier for criminals to get people's Social Security Numbers. Puffing aside the merits, the reality is that Social Security Numbers right now are used in many ways to identify people and secure accounts. Having someone's Social Security Number thus can be very helpful in stealing someone's identity. H.R. 3779 would make it more difficult to steal someone's Social Security Number by prohibiting any federal agency or department from including it on documents sent by mail unless it is determined to be necessary. And, when it is included it would not be visible from the outside of the envelope and would be partially redacted when possible. This is a common sense, bipartisan bill that is one piece of a larger comprehensive effort we need to successfully combat identity theft.…”