Improving Social Security's Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3784) to amend title VII of the Social Security Act to provide for a single point of contact at the Social Security Administration for individuals who are victims of identity theft, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 3784

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Social Security's Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act''. SEC. 2. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS.

(a) In General.--Title VII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``SEC. 714. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS.

``(a) In General.--The Commissioner of Social Security shall establish and implement procedures to ensure that any individual whose social security account number has been misused (such as to fraudulently obtain benefits under title II, VIII, or XVI of this Act, or in a manner that affects an individual's records at the Social Security Administration, or in a manner that prompts the individual to request a new social security account number) or whose social security card has been lost in the course of transmission to the individual has a single point of contact at the Social Security Administration throughout the resolution of the individual's case. The single point of contact shall track the individual's case to completion and coordinate with other units to resolve issues as quickly as possible.

``(b) Single Point of Contact.--

``(1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (a), the single point of contact shall consist of a team or subset of specially trained employees who--

``(A) have the ability to coordinate with other units to resolve the issues involved in the individual's case, and

``(B) shall be accountable for the case until its resolution.

``(2) Team or subset.--The employees included within the team or subset described in paragraph (1) may change as required to meet the needs of the Social Security Administration, provided that procedures have been established to--

``(A) ensure continuity of records and case history, and

``(B) notify the individual when appropriate.''.

(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3784, the Improving Social Security's Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act.

In 2022 alone, there were over a thousand data breaches which exposed the private data, such as names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of millions of Americans, putting their identities and financial well-being at risk.

We all know someone who has been a been a victim of identity theft, and we have seen how difficult and time consuming it is for those individuals to take back control of their credit and financial well- being.

The longer it takes to resolve an issue like the loss or theft of a Social Security number, the longer fraudsters have to compromise or exploit an individual's identity.

This Congress, the Ways and Means Committee held a hearing that underlined exactly why this bill is needed. We heard from Margaret, a new mother, who testified about her 9-month-old daughter's Social Security number being compromised and the stress associated with such a situation. She testified that having a single point of contact at the Social Security Administration to talk to about her case would have made a world of difference. That is exactly what this bill does.

H.R. 3784 will streamline the process of addressing concerns with lost or stolen Social Security numbers by reducing the burdens on victims and ensuring a more efficient resolution of their issues.

I thank my colleagues, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Drew Ferguson and Ranking Member John Larson for their bipartisan work on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, a Social Security number is the gateway to taking control of an American's identity and finances. Congress owes it to the American people to do everything that we can to ensure their identities are protected and that the process for taking back control of their identity when their Social Security number is compromised is streamlined and easy. We especially owe it to the almost 1 million children who were victims of identity fraud in 2022 through no fault of their own.

H.R. 3784 is a long-overdue step forward in streamlining the Social Security Administration's process and alleviating the burden on victims.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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