Speaker Paul Ryan Signs Valadao Legislation

Press Release

On Thursday, United States Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) joined Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as he signed Congressman Valadao's legislation, the Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act. Passed by the Senate earlier this week, this bipartisan legislation now heads to the President's desk for his signature.

Congressman Valadao, said, "My bill is about ensuring the federal government does everything in its power to reduce the occurrence of identity theft for all Americans. Far too many documents sent by the federal government go through the mail every day that unnecessarily contain social security numbers. This law will put an end to this irresponsible practice."

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan stated, "Identity theft can tear apart someone's life, and this new law will make a real difference in giving people more peace of mind. I commend David for all he does to look out for our children and our veterans."

BACKGROUND

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. It threatens the financial security of millions of Americans, as well as the economic stability of the United States as a whole. In fact, every two seconds, another American becomes a victim of identity fraud. Even worse - these crimes tend to impact vulnerable populations - such as children, the elderly, and veterans the most.

H.R. 624, the Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act, addresses concerns regarding the prevalence of Social Security Numbers on government documents sent by mail. Specifically, the legislation aims to specify the circumstances under which inclusion of full SSNs is necessary and otherwise requires SSN to be partially redacted or completely removed from government-issued documents.

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