December 5, 2001
Via Regular Mail and Facsimile: (410) 966-3168
The Honorable Jo Anne B. Barnhart
Commissioner
Social Security Administration
6401 Security Boulevard
Suite 152
Altmeyer Building
Baltimore, MD 20235
Re: Social Security Number Misuse
Dear Commissioner Barnhart:
As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance, I share your commitment to preventing Social Security Number (SSN) misuse, an illegal act which rates among the fastest growing trends in white collar crime. As you are aware, SSN misuse most often occurs when an individual provides an employer with a SSN that either has never been issued or has already been assigned to another person. However, vulnerabilities in Social Security Administration (SSA) programs and operations have provided wrongdoers with opportunities to commit fraud by using legitimate SSNs to create false identities. Administrative vulnerabilities have also enabled holders of SSNs to defraud SSA of its program dollars.
Given the privacy and related economic concerns raised by SSN misuse, I appreciate your responses to the following questions which expand upon themes raised during the November 15, 2001, nomination hearing of James B. Lockhart, III, for the position of SSA Deputy Commissioner, and Harold Daub for the position of Member of the Social Security Advisory Board. Information provided by the SSA Inspector General pertains to the enclosed report, as well as its "Congressional Response Report: SSN Misuse - A Challenge for the Social Security Administration (A-08-02-22030) - Issued October 2001," which is available online at http://www.ssa.gov/oig/adobepdf/A-08-02-22030.pdf.
1.The SSA Inspector General has reported that SSA controls to detect or prevent undocumented immigrants from obtaining a false or stolen SSN "do not always work as intended and are not always used. Moreover, these mechanisms do not indicate whether the misuse is connected with possible terrorist activity." The Inspector General has also stated that, "The tragedies of [September 11, 2001] demonstrate that SSN misuse and identity theft are ?breeder' offenses with the ability to facilitate crimes beyond our imagination." It has been widely reported that the hijackers and their suspected accomplices committed identity theft, including at least one documented case of using a false SSN, to infiltrate the United States while planning the September 11 attacks. Given the connection between SSN misuse and possible terrorist acts, how do you intend to improve SSA's performance to identify illegal aliens and prevent them from obtaining false or stolen SSNs?
2.The SSA Inspector General has reported that SSNs have issued to individuals based on counterfeit evidentiary documents. One audit revealed that 999 of the 3,557 original SSN applications reviewed were approved based on improper evidentiary documentation. And, once a SSN has issued, SSA has little ability to prevent or curtail the use of that SSN in committing further fraud. How do you intend to stop SSA from issuing SSNs based on counterfeit documents?
3.SSA policy allows individuals to obtain up to 52 replacement Social Security cards in a year. This number seems high and prone to allow opportunities for identity theft. The SSA Inspector General has determined that 192 individuals obtained six or more replacement SSN cards during a one year period. As you are aware, identify theft was a prime modus operandi of the September 11 terrorists. What are your plans to regulate Social Security cards to prevent these cards and SSNs from falling into the hands of possible criminals or -- infinitely worse -- terrorists?
4.In the past five years, the SSA Inspector General has investigated 55 cases involving 61 SSA employees who have disclosed, sold or released SSN information. These criminal allegations include submission or processing of false SSN applications, selling legitimate SSNs, and selling counterfeit SSN cards. Forty-five of these cases resulted in criminal convictions, approximately half of which resulted in incarceration.How do you intend to stop SSA employees from stealing or otherwise misusing SSNs?
I appreciate your written responses by December 21, 2001.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member
Enclosure
CC (without enclosure):
The Honorable Tom Ridge
Director
Office of Homeland Security
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500