Allard Identity Theft Amendment Included In Senate Immigration Bill

Press Release

ALLARD IDENTITY THEFT AMENDMENT INCLUDED IN SENATE IMMIGRATION BILL

U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) announced today that an important provision he had originally introduced earlier this year to help curb identity theft has been included in The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S.1348).

"Protecting the identity of hard working Americans is of the utmost importance to me," said Allard. "Identity theft plagues innocent victims across the country, and we cannot take a comprehensive look at immigration reform without addressing this critical issue. My amendment tears down the wall that prevents the sharing of existing information among government agencies and will help prevent identity theft before the damage to the innocent victim is already done."

Allard's amendment would allow information sharing between the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security related to the fraudulent use of names and social security numbers in connection with employment.

The legislation requires the Commissioner of Social Security to provide the Secretary of Homeland Security with information in cases where a social security number is used with multiple names or in cases where there is more than one person reporting earnings for a particular name and social security number.

"Under current law, government agencies are prevented from sharing information with each other, even in cases where communication could lead to the discovery of identity theft," said Allard. "This wall between agencies concerns me a great deal and I am pleased that my amendment to provide a legislative fix to this problem has been included in the immigration bill we are debating."

Allard has yet to make a decision of support or opposition to S. 1348 and will continue to review the legislation and offer amendments.

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