Prepared Testimony Of Glenna Donnelly Assistant Deputy Commissioner
For Disability And Income Security Programs
Social Security
Administration
Before The House Committee On The Judiciary
Subcommittee On Immigration And Claims
Subject Counterfeiting And
Misuse Of the Social Security Card And state And Local Documents
July
22, 1999
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for inviting me to testify about the documentation the Social
Security Administration (SSA) uses to establish identity for Social
Security program purposes. In my testimony today I will also discuss the
development of the Social Security card, use of the Social Security card
for employment eligibility verification purposes, and the report to
Congress on options to enhance the security of the card.
History of the Social Security Card
At the time the Social Security card was initially developed in the
1930's, its only purpose was to provide a record of the Social Security
number (SSN) that had been assigned to the individual so that an employer
could accurately report Social Security earnings for the individual and
SSA could keep track of those earnings. That is still the primary purpose
for which SSA issues the card. It was never intended to serve as a
personal identification document--that is, to establish that the person
presenting it is actually the person whose name and SSN appear on the
card. Although we have made the card counterfeit-resistant, it does not
contain information that allows it to be used as proof of
identity. Over time, however, the use of the SSN and the Social
Security card has greatly expanded, and the SSN and card are now used for
purposes other than Social Security earnings record maintenance. Society's
increasing use of computerized data has led to the use of the SSN as a
personal identifier in computer records.
Prior to November 1971, all SSNs were assigned and cards issued based
solely on information alleged by an individual. Because of the expanding
use of the card for other purposes, there was concern about its integrity.
Beginning November 1971, persons aged 55 and over applying for an SSN for
the first time were required to submit evidence of identity.
Beginning in April 1974, all noncitizens applying for original SSN
cards were required to provide documentary evidence of age, identity, and
noncitizen status, U.S. born applicants age 18 and older applying for
original SSN cards were required to submit evidence of age, identity, and
U.S. citizenship. Naturalized citizens would be required to provide
evidence of age, identity and citizenship status. This made it more
difficult to obtain a card on the basis of a false identity. In July 1974,
because of our concern that individuals who had been assigned SSNs for
purposes other than work might use the card to obtain unauthorized
employment, we began to annotate our records to reflect the fact that a
noncitizen had been assigned an SSN for nonwork purposes.
Several years later, the integrity of the SSN process was further
improved. In May 1978, we began requiring all SSN applicants to provide
documentary evidence of age, identity, and U.S. citizenship or noncitizen
status. Generally, to obtain an original SSN and Social Security card, an
applicant now must submit at least two forms of acceptable evidence. For
U.S. born applicants, this is generally a birth certificate and driver's
license. Noncitizens must also submit appropriate Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) documents to establish lawful noncitizen
status. Applicants for replacement Social Security cards must submit
evidence of identity, and if foreign-born, evidence of current citizenship
or immigration status. It must be kept in mind that the Social Security
card was never meant to be an identification document.
In evaluating documents submitted with applications for SSN cards, SSA
applies the same strict standards used to evaluate documents submitted
with claims for title II and title XVI benefits.
Applicants for an original SSN card who are age 18 or over are also
required to have an in person interview specifically to determine whether
they previously were assigned SSNs. During the interview, the applicant is
asked for prior names and surnames and the reasons for never before
needing an SSN. For those who allege being born in the United States, SSA
performs additional verification prior to the issuance of an original SSN,
because most people born in the United States should have been assigned an
SSN by the time they have reached age 18. For these applicants, SSA also
verifies the existence of a birth certificate at the State Bureau of Vital
Statistics, and initiates a search for a death certificate when there is
reason to believe the applicant may be assuming a false identity. SSA also
requires documentation supporting the reason(s) the applicant never had an
SSN.
Breeder Documents
We must remember that, even with these improvements to the SSN card
issuance process, the Social Security card is still just a record of the
SSN assigned to the individual and not an identity document for Social
Security purposes. Further, SSA records reflect citizenship and work
authorization status only as of the time the SSN is assigned or the card
is replaced. SSA updates this information only if the person applies for a
replacement card.
Furthermore, the identity data contained in Social Security records are
only as reliable as the evidence on which the data are based. The
documents that a card applicant must present to establish age, identity,
and citizenship, usually a birth certificate and immigration documents-are
relatively easy to alter, counterfeit, or obtain fraudulently. These
documents are commonly referred to as "breeder documents" because they can
be used to obtain other documents used to establish identity: for example,
a birth certificate can be used to obtain a driver's license, which, in
turn, can be used to establish identity. SSA's efforts are focused on
detecting these counterfeit and fraudulent documents--to the extent we
prevent the issuance of an SSN card based on one of these documents, we
help break the chain of fraudulently obtained documents.
Enumeration Process Improvements
To combat identity theft and other SSN fraud, SSA has tightened its SSN
policies and instituted many different systems checks. We have progressed
from an easily duplicated paper card issued from local offices to a
centrally controlled and issued counterfeit resistant card. We have taken
advantage of new fraud detection devices and tools and broadened the
training of our employees for detecting and preventing SSN fraud. With a
vigilant workforce, these measures have been highly successful; in fact,
it is our front line employees who typically uncover fraud. More recently,
however, schemes involving career criminals, sometimes using
technologically advanced forgeries, have been uncovered. The Agency's
ultimate goal is to prevent fraud.
Primary to that prevention is eliminating the opportunity for fraud by
ending SSA's dependence on documents presented directly to us by the
public as evidence of age and citizenship/work authorization- documents
which might be forged or misused by the dishonest in a fraudulent attempt
to acquire an SSN.
The efforts to reach this goal target a wide range of initiatives
aggressively being pursued with the INS and the State Bureaus of Vital
Statistics (BVS)-the sources of documents the dishonest forge or misuse to
obtain SSNs. Chief among these are our projects to enumerate newborns
(right at birth in the hospital) and newly-arrived noncitizens (as they
enter the country) when their identity is certain and simultaneous to the
birth and work authorization certification.
Enumeration At Birth Initiative
The Enumeration at Birth (EAB) program was established in 1989 as
another means of improving the SSN process. It is a valuable tool in
preventing fraudulent acquisition of an SSN and a Social Security card.
This program is available in all States as well as the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico, and allows parents to indicate on the birth
certificate information form whether they want an SSN assigned to their
newborn child. States provide SSA with birth record information about
newborns whose parents want a Social Security card for their child, and
SSA then assigns an SSN and issues a card. Almost 90 percent of the
original Social Security cards issued in calendar year 1998 were processed
through EAB.
This process greatly reduces the potential for someone to use another
person's birth certificate to obtain a Social Security card. For example,
an individual who presents the birth certificate of a child enumerated
under EAB would not be assigned a new SSN, since our records would screen
against the date of birth and parents names shown and indicate that an SSN
had already been assigned to the child named on the birth certificate. As
more children are enumerated through the EAB program, there will be fewer
persons without SSNs whose birth certificates could be used to obtain an
SSN for someone else.
Federal income tax law requires that all persons claimed as dependents
for Federal tax deduction purposes have a taxpayer identification number
(now generally the SSN). This has created a strong incentive for
individuals to obtain SSNs for their children at birth, thus reducing the
potential for someone else's birth certificate to be used to fraudulently
obtain an SSN.
Electronic Verification of Birth Certificates
We are currently working with the State Bureaus of Vital Statistics
through the National Association of Public Health Statistics and
Information Systems (NAPHSIS) to allow our field offices online access to
State vital record data. This capability will serve as an electronic link
between individual States and SSA. This system is a key step in making
verification a reality.
In Tennessee, all SSA offices already access that State's vital record
data online. Using the model in place in Tennessee, we are also now
piloting online access to State vital records in Kentucky, Texas, Florida,
and California.
Initiatives with INS and the Department of State
In addition, SSA is moving ahead with plans to have INS and the
Department of State help us with enumeration. We paved the way for this
initiative by publishing a regulation in October 1998 that authorized us
to enter into agreements with INS and the State Department to collect
enumeration data. At this point, we are in the process of working out the
final details of those agreements.
We are confident that enumeration accuracy will greatly improve when
this multi-phased process is fully implemented. Because this more
fraud-resistant process will also be much more convenient and result in
more timely receipt of an SSN, we believe that most noncitizens eligible
to take advantage of the service will do so. Through INS participation in
enumeration, work-authorized noncitizens will find their way cleared for
early employment, an important benefit. While we expect the number of
noncitizens applying for SSNs in our field offices to be minimal once this
process is implemented, we will continue our efforts to guard against the
submission of fraudulent documents in these cases.
We believe it is important to acknowledge that most noncitizens who
request SSNs have a legitimate right to and need for SSNs so they can
work. To help them and still maintain integrity in our processes, we and
INS have long worked together to improve the verification process. We
introduced access to an automated system--called Systematic Alien
Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) in a few offices several years ago,
and by January 1997, we had SAVE in every SSA office. We verify every INS
document presented with an SSN application through the SAVE program,
except for documents from noncitizens who have not been in the country
long enough for information to be available through SAVE. Currently, for
these newly arrived noncitizens, our offices follow existing procedures
for evaluating INS documents and seek manual verification from INS for any
that appear suspect.
Finally, while we are finalizing plans for INS participation in
enumeration, we are also exploring ways to improve and shorten the
verification process through automated access to more INS data. We will
continue to .jointly consider options for improving the way we verify
noncitizen status and employment authorization.
Social Security Cards for Work Authorization
I would now like to discuss the role of the Social Security card as
evidence of work authorization, which is a separate issue from personal
identification. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
makes it illegal for an employer to knowingly hire anyone not legally
permitted to work in the United States; that is, noncitizens not
authorized to work by INS. Under IRCA, all employers are required to
verify the identity and employment eligibility of all employees hired
after November, 1986, regardless of citizenship or national origin. Any of
a variety of documents specified in the law and in INS regulations can be
used for this verification. Some of these documents--such as a United
States Passport--establish both employment eligibility and identity.
Others--including a Social Security card without a restrictive nonwork
legend--can be used to establish employment eligibility, but must be
accompanied by an identification document, such as a State driver's
license. Employers do not have the authority to require employees to show
their Social Security card to establish employment eligibility. In fact,
for I-9 purposes, requiring a new employee to present their card is a
violation of immigration law.
Originally, SSA issued the same type of Social Security card to
everyone, whether or not they were authorized to work. Beginning in May
1982, a legend, "NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT," was printed on the Social
Security cards of noncitizens not authorized to work. This was due to the
increasing need for persons to have SSNs for nonwork purposes and INS
concern that such persons could use their SSNs for work and the employer
could not determine, based on the card, if the individual was authorized
to work. Currently, there are few valid reasons to be issued a nonwork
Social Security number card, although one such reason is to receive local,
State, or Federal benefits.
With this nonwork legend appearing on the card, employers were able,
for the first time, to determine whether the individual to whom the card
was issued was authorized to work at the time the card was issued. Of
course, they still could not rely solely on the card to establish that the
person presenting it was the person to whom the SSN was assigned.
Beginning in September 1992, SSA began issuing SSN cards with the legend
"VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION" to noncitizens lawfully in
the United States with temporary authority to work. In these cases,
employers must look at the noncitizen's INS document to determine if the
noncitizen has current authorization to work in the United States.
Counterfeit-Resistant Social Security Cards
In the beginning of the Social Security program, due to the then
limited purpose of the Social Security card, no special efforts were made
to prevent Social Security cards from being counterfeited. However, as
counterfeiting became a concern, actions were taken to address this
problem. For example, legislation enacted in 1983 required that Social
Security cards be made of banknote paper and--to the maximum extent
practicable--be resistant to counterfeiting. SSA worked with the Bureau of
Engraving, the Secret Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to
design a card that met these requirements. All Social Security cards
issued since October 1983, incorporate a number of security features
intended to make the card counterfeit-resistant and tamper-proof. It is
now difficult to produce a high quality counterfeit of these cards.
Some types of humanly readable security features that make the card
more counterfeit-resistant are already incorporated in the current Social
Security card. However, while some of these security features have been
made public, others, for obvious reasons, have not. Thus, it would be
difficult to train employers to identify counterfeit Social Security cards
without disclosing the very security features designed to make the card
counterfeit-resistant. Under current law, employers are required to make a
good faith effort to ensure that documents are genuine. They are not
required to be document experts. For the same reason that most of us will
unwittingly accept a counterfeit $20 bill--lack of experience, expertise,
and equipment in identifying a counterfeit bill--employers may unwittingly
accept counterfeit Social Security cards.
As new versions of Social Security cards have been developed since the
first cards were issued in 1936, new and replacement cards have been
issued prospectively because of the prohibitive cost of replacing all
cards still in use. Thus, there are now 49 versions of the Social Security
card in use, all of which are still valid.
Prototype SSN Card Study/Report
As you know, both welfare reform and immigration reform legislation
required us to develop a prototype of a new card and to study and report
on different methods of improving the Social Security card application
process. In September 1997 SSA published our findings in the Report to
Congress: Options for Enhancing the Social Security Card. We developed
seven card options in response to the legislative requirements. These
included:
- Plastic cards
- Cards with pictures
- Cards with secure barcode stripes
- Cards with an optical memory stripe
- Magnetic stripe cards
- Magnetic stripe/picture cards
- Microprocessor/magnetic stripe/picture cards
We found that issuing any of the enhanced cards would be feasible. If
mass reissuance of cards to all SSN holders were required, it would be far
more costly than a prospective issuance. We also studied the feasibility
of charging a user fee to offset costs to issue enhanced cards. SSA's
Inspector General studied Canada's Social Insurance Number fee charging
operation and concluded that to pay for the related administrative
expenses SSA should charge a fee of $13 for each card (in 1997
dollars).
The cost of issuing an enhanced card to almost 300 million card holders
would be staggering. Depending on the option selected, costs range from
$3.8 billion to $9.2 billion, including costs for contacting all number
holders, processing costs (excluding staff overhead) to issue cards,cost
of the card itself, and the cost of special equipment needed to work with
each card option and capture information to be included on the card. In
addition, because SSA would have to establish a process to collect the
user fee, at an additional cost of $1.2 billion, the total cost of issuing
replacement cards ranges from $5.1 billion to $10.5 billion. And, of
course, there would be concerns about privacy and the potential for the
card to be used as a national identification card, an issue that must be
considered carefully.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, SSA has in place a comprehensive system to
check and verify documents necessary for an individual to get an SSN or
file for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits. The
current SSN card has a number of features that make it counterfeit
resistant and which make the card suitable for the purposes of reporting
and tracking earnings. The card is as counterfeit and tamper resistant as
all but the newest bills of U.S. currency. I would be happy to answer any
questions you may have.
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