December 21, 2012

Rep. Erik Paulsen (MN-03) Acting Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources, spoke in strong support for the passage of bipartisan legislation aimed at decreasing identity theft. The Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take cost-effective steps to ensure that Social Security numbers are no longer displayed, coded, or embedded on the Medicare cards of American seniors. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 2010, over 1 million American senior households were at risk of having their Social Security Number stolen to obtain employment, benefits and credit. For years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Social Security Administration Inspector General have been encouraging Congress to take action to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards. Rep. Paulsen is a co-sponsor of this important legislation. www.paulsen.house.gov