WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman Denny Rehberg has introduced legislation in the U.S. House to eliminate the requirement that states collect Social Security Numbers (SSN) from applicants for recreational licenses. Under current law, sportsmen, hunters and fishermen seeking recreational licenses must provide the license vendor with their Social Security Number at the time of purchase.

“At a time when identity theft is on the rise, Social Security numbers should be protected,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Congressional Sportsman’s Caucus. “Requiring the disclosure of Social Security numbers is an invasion of privacy and needlessly puts additional Montanans at risk.”

Rehberg’s bill, H.R.1865, would make a simple change to the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement that states collect Social Security numbers from applicants for recreational licenses. In 2007, Montana was granted an exemption allowing them to collect only the last four digits of an applicant’s SSN. Many sportsmen remain concerned that the last four digits of a person’s SSN are often used as passwords for financial transactions. A 2009 court ruling declared that Montana had a compelling interest to comply with federal mandates for SSN collection if non-compliance meant losing federal dollars.

“The federal government should not be subjecting Montana’s sportsman to increased risk of identity theft and a general invasion of privacy,” said Rehberg.