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. 5345) 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. 5345

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, in recent years, the theft and misuse of Social Security numbers has become a very serious problem in our country. In 2024 alone, there were over 3,000 reported data breaches, and over half of them included compromised Social Security numbers. For victims, the fallout can be overwhelming.

Instead of finding clear guidance at the Social Security Administration to deal with this stressful situation, too many folks are bounced from one office to another. They receive conflicting instructions and spend months trying to resolve what should be a straightforward issue.

During a previous Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security hearing, we heard directly from a mother about how a single point of contact at the Social Security office would have been beneficial in helping her deal with the fallout from her daughter's Social Security number being compromised.

Protecting Americans from identity theft is not a partisan issue. This bill provides a simple and commonsense fix to provide victims of identity theft with a single point of contact at the Social Security Administration when their number is lost or compromised.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman David Kustoff for his leadership on this bill. Thanks to his work, victims of identity theft whose Social Security numbers have been compromised will get the help that they so need.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, identity theft has become a major issue in our country. One of the main ways that bad actors exploit victims is through the misuse of their Social Security number.

Unfortunately, when people contact the Social Security Administration for help with a stolen or missing Social Security number, they are often met with red tape, waiting for callbacks, confusion, and conflicting information. Callers will get bounced around to multiple SSA employees or have go through different processes just to get the help that they need.

This bill sponsored by Representative Kustoff will make it easier for Americans to resolve issues with stolen or missing Social Security numbers by providing them with a single point of contact at the SSA.

I, once again, want to thank Representative Kustoff for his great leadership on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'', and I yield back the balance of my time.

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