House bill H.R. 5405, short titled the 'Social Security Identity Theft Prevention Act,' was introduced Feb. 13, 2008 by Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL). The stated purpose of H.R. 5405 is to protect seniors from identity theft and to strengthen national security. The bill is currently in referral to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The bill calls for redesigning the Social Security card to include a photo, fingerprint, barcode, magnetic strip, and computer data chip. That would for all practical purposes transform the Social Security card into a National ID card administered by the Social Security Administration.

In 2005 the Real ID Act, which passed in the House but stalled in the Senate as stand alone bill H.R 418, was foisted on America by attaching it as a Trojan Horse rider to H.R. 1268, a must-pass Asian tsunami relief and Iraq emergency supplemental appropriations bill (see H.R. 1268 House and Senate votes). As a consequence all 50 states are under orders to meet federal standards for redesigned driver's licenses, effectively turning them into National ID cards by the end of 2009. Implementation was originally planned for 2008 but postponed due to growing opposition.

(Article continues below)

The plan to force state governments to make driver's licenses Real ID Act compliant is in jeopardy due to objections by a number of state governments and grassroots resistance. H.R. 5405 appears to be an attempt to circumvent resistance at the state level by establishing a National ID card through a federally administered vehicle, the Social Security system.

Click here to take action on this issue.