BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

On February 13, 2008 Republican Representatives from Illinois, Mark Kirk and Peter Roskam, introduced the H.R. 5405, known as Social Security Identity Theft Protection Act.  The bill is designed “to protect seniors from identity theft and strengthen our national security by providing for the issuance of a secure Social Security card.”

As soon as I read the heading my mind drifted to Denmark.  Maybe, it is because something smells rotten.

According to the Congressional Record the card shall

 `(I) be made of tamperproof and wear-resistant material;

 `(II) have clearly marked on its face the name and social security account number of the individual to whom the card is issued;

 `(III) in the case of a card issued to an individual after attaining age 16, display a digital image, captured directly by an officer or employee of the Social Security Administration acting in his or her official capacity, of the person to whom the social security account number was issued and the date on which that image was captured; and

 `(IV) contain an encrypted, machine-readable electronic record which shall include records of biometric identifiers unique to the individual to whom the card is issued, including a copy of any digitized facial image printed on the face of the card pursuant to subclause (III).

The bill has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

With FISA in the state it is in, debates continuing as to whether the NSA or another agency can listen to our phone calls or continue to read our emails, with the FBI over reaching its boundaries as confirmed in Mueller’s recent Congressional testimony, now two Republican representatives are offering a new bill to keep track of us.

I find it distasteful that the bill was presented as a means of protecting seniors from identity theft.  And, how do they propose it to strengthen national security.

Unfortunately, the government has proved repeatedly that it cannot keep a database of any kind secure, and within those limits, those with access have repeatedly abused the power and extended their reach whenever and wherever possible.

This is one we need to head off before it gets a toehold.  Otherwise, this could become something comparable to FISA II.