On July 18, 2013, Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX), the Chair of the House Ways & Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security, introduced H.R. 2720, which would address access to the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File.

Under provisions of the bill, the Social Security Commissioner will only be able to disclose name, social security number, date of birth, and date of death. The Commissioner would be required to establish a certification program by which entities can access SSN DMF information under a written agreement with the Commissioner, and would be required to conduct periodic audits of certified entities and charge certified entities fees to pay for the costs of the certification process. Entities eligible to participate in the certification program must:

  1. Demonstrate a legitimate business need for the information, which includes “preventing financial harm to the entity or to a customer or client of the entity,” or a legitimate interest in preventing fraud or unauthorized financial transactions. (There is no express reference to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.);
  2. Have infrastructure and procedures in place to prevent wrongful access to or the disclosures of DMF information;
  3. And have adequate experience and expertise in maintaining confidential and security of information.

References

Full Text: (PDF 1.9 meg)
Summary Text: (PDF: 141kb)
Bill Analysis:  (PDF 111kb)