Daniel Moynihan

Mr. MOYNIHAN

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendments be dispensed with.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Finally, Mr. President, I have four amendments concerning the legislation before us on the American family, restoring the American family, which I send to the desk on behalf of Mr. Bryan. I ask for their immediate consideration.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the amendments be laid aside.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendments be dispensed with.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I have two amendments I send forward on behalf of Senator Kohl. Each concerns the Food Stamp Program.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask that amendment be laid aside.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, Senator Kerrey has an amendment on the Food Stamp Program which I send to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I have just a short list of amendments to be called up and set aside, on behalf of other Senators. Amendment No. 2549 to Amendment No. 2280 (Purpose: To allow a State to revoke an election to participate in the optional State food assistance block grant)

Mr. MOYNIHAN. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, it was 18 years ago that I first proposed we produce a new tamper-resistant Social Security card to reduce fraud and enhance public confidence in our Social Security system. This has been an ongoing battle, and I think there should be a new sense of urgency about this issue in light of the current welfare debate. The amendment I offer today is very simple. It would require two things. First, it would require the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration to develop a prototype of a counter-proof Social Security card. The prototype card would be designed with the security features necessary so that it could be used reliably to confirm U.S. citizenship or legal resident alien status. Second, it would require the Commissioner to study and report to Congress on ways to improve the Social Security card application process so as to reduce the process' vulnerability to fraud. An evaluation of cost and workload implications of issuing a counterfeit- resistant Social Security card is also required. The Congressional Budget Office has informed me that this amendment would result in an insignificant increase--less than $500,000--in administrative expenses for the Social Security Administration. When the Social Security amendments were before us in 1983, we approved a provision to require the production of a new tamper- resistant Social Security card. The law, section 345 of Public Law 98- 21, stated: The social security card shall be made of banknote paper, and (to the maximum extent practicable) shall be a card which cannot be counterfeited. What a disappointment when late in 1983, the Social Security Administration began to issue the new card, and it became clear that the agency simply had not understood what Congress intended. The new card looks much like the old, a pasteboard card really much like the first ones produced by Social Security in 1936. It has the same design framing the name and nearly the same colors. It feels the same. An expert examining a card with a magnifying glass can certainly detect whether or not one of the new ones is genuine, but therein lies the problem. We should have a distinguished, durable card that can hold vital information and can be authenticated easily. There is a history here. The Social Security Administration, from its earlier years, has resisted any use of the Social Security card for identification purposes. In fact, the card actually said it could not be so used. In 1977, when I first proposed that we produce a new card, the Social Security Administration objected and the proposal was not adopted. I tried again and again, and succeeded only on the fifth try. Or so I thought. Until the card was introduced. A new Social Security card--one very difficult to counterfeit and easily verified as genuine--could be manufactured at a low cost. The major expense, if we were to approve new cards, would be the cost of the interview process and that is why the amendment requires a study to include the cost and workload implications of a new card. Let us explore our options--we must try to improve the system. A Social Security card could be designed along the lines of today's high technology credit cards. The card could be highly tamper- resistant, and its authenticity could be readily discerned by the untrained eye. It must be seen as a special document; one which would be visually and tactilely more difficult to counterfeit than the current paper card. The magnetic stripe would contain the Social Security number, encoded with an algorithm known only to the Social Security Administration. A so-called watermark stripe could be placed over it, making it nearly impossible to counterfeit without technology that currently costs $10 million. The decoding algorithm could be integrated with the Social Security Administration computers. The new cards will not eliminate all fraudulent use of Social Security cards. But it will close down the shopfront operations that flood America with false Social Security cards. That is what the Congress intended in the 1983 legislation. Let us try again. We have seen that it can be done. It is what the Clinton [[Page S 12916]] administration intended last year when they introduced the health security card. As many of you remember, it has a magnetic stripe to hold whatever information may be necessary. A key reform in our ongoing welfare debate is the restriction of benefits to U.S. citizens. I think it is safe to say that when this restriction is enforced there will be a revitalized black market for documentation of U.S. citizenship. It would be wise to head off this foreseeable problem. A high technology Social Security card would also facilitate the disbursement of benefits to our citizens. A simpler, more effective way of providing citizenship would strengthen public confidence in our immigration system and improve the efficiency of our welfare system. I offer the present amendment, which as I said earlier, would require only the development of a prototype counterfeit-resistant card and a study on ways to reduce the vulnerability of the card application process to fraud. The Attorney General would assist the Commissioner of Social Security with determining what is needed here. I ask for the support of my colleagues on this important matter once again--this time for a simple prototype card and a study.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk for myself and Senator Dole. It is an amendment for the development of a prototype counterfeit resistant Social Security card. I ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. There is a Moynihan-Dole amendment we can accept right now.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. I said the sequence depends on the Republican manager.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. The Republican manager would have to agree to any sequence on the Senator's vote. If he could be patient, that will be done.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Yes.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, if the Senator from Iowa would be good enough, it would seem to me that we could put the amendment over until Monday. We will begin voting Monday at 5 o'clock. We can arrange for him to have a vote after 5 o'clock if that is possible. I see the majority leader on the floor.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be set aside.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, finally, in this seemingly endless sequence, I send an amendment of my own to the desk.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendments be laid aside.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Rockefeller, I send to the desk the following modifications to amendments Nos. 2491 and 2492.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendments be dispensed with.

Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, a final sequence. On behalf of Mr. Lieberman, I send to the desk an amendment concerning the reduction of illegitimacy and control of welfare spending and an amendment to create a national clearing house on teenage pregnancy.