Ben Cardin actually said...

"I am still not comfortable that we have a system in place that will stop the issuance of a passport, checks have been made as to whether this person has a valid Social Security number or not."

"And that could lead to prosecution or----"

"We do require a Social Security number, but we cannot refuse to adjudicate a passport if someone does not provide a Social Security number."

"The passport is the gold standard for identification in this country."