As federal authorities began to track down accomplices involved with the Sept. 11 attacks and piece together the network that launched the terrorist assault on America, their search to identify suspects led them to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Investigators quickly discovered a bureaucratic blockade that delayed their ability to gain immediate access to critical information on suspects involved in the hijackings.
The SSA is the federal government’s gatekeeper of the nation’s retirement system and disability insurance program. Every worker in America relies on his or her nine-digit Social Security number, assigned often at birth by the federal agency to track lifetime earnings and eligibility for future retirement or disability benefits. Indeed, Social Security numbers are the closest thing we have to a national identity system and regularly are used by schools, hospitals, insurers and banks to identify individual Americans. Young adults quickly learn to memorize their Social Security numbers for college, loan, job and insurance applications.
As the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which bears legislative jurisdiction over the Social Security Administration, I have led efforts in Washington to maintain the integrity of the system that millions of American workers, widows, surviving children and the disabled rely upon to help meet their financial needs.
In the last decade, emerging technologies and the Internet have made it easier for criminals to "steal" an unsuspecting person’s identity by illegally assuming his or her Social Security number. Oftentimes, these new-age identity thieves proceed to make a slew of financial transactions that causes great inconvenience for the victim and often scars his or her credit rating. I’ve led a bipartisan effort in the Senate to crack down on identity theft by clamping down on credit bureaus, government agencies and even on-line marketers that are in business to sell access to sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers.
But the tragic events of Sept. 11 also have exposed a crack in the security system at the Social Security Administration. The relative ease with which the identity thieves-turned-terrorists manipulated the system begs for tighter screenings and other security precautions. Lax regulations appear to have allowed foreign terrorists to masquerade their true identities and infiltrate American society by obtaining a Social Security number. Getting a Social Security number shouldn’t be a terrorist’s ticket to setting up shop in the United States.
What’s worse, apparently the SSA does not have a program in place designed to assist in the detection of terrorist activity, according to an internal investigation I requested in late September by the agency’s in-house watchdog. When federal law enforcement agencies came knocking at the Social Security Administration for assistance shortly after the attacks, time-consuming efforts ate up valuable hours as agents worked to obtain necessary authorization to see the files of suspects. Although the requests were expedited, it revealed a weakness in a system that prohibits the automatic disclosure of certain information to the Department of Justice or FBI in connection with a terrorist investigation.
Sadly, obtaining Social Security numbers under false pretenses was easy long before Sept. 11 and misuse by wrongdoers already was rampant. But Sept. 11 has brought an element of urgency to bear on the need to tighten security at the Social Security Administration and streamline cooperation among federal agencies to detect fraud and ferret it out.
When investigators go after suspected terrorists, I don’t want the trail to turn cold at the Social Security Administration because of regulatory roadblocks. While the privacy of innocent citizens and their confidential information must be protected, it is equally important to Americans that the Social Security Administration do everything possible to ensure the authenticity of the all-important nine-digit number and root out those who smear the integrity of the system for illicit and criminal purposes.
I look forward to meeting in person with the incoming administrator of Social Security. I would hope common ground can be found between federal agencies to come together and fight terrorism. Otherwise, I’m prepared to use legislative means to make sure every agency of the federal government is on board and fully engaged in the war on terrorism.