No: 108-24
Date: September 16, 2004

9/11 COMMISSION REPORT IMPLEMENTATION ACT INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE

On September 7, 2004, Senator McCain (R-AZ), along with two Republican and eight Democratic cosponsors, introduced S. 2774, the 9/11 Commission Report Implementation Act of 2004. The legislation is designed to implement the Commission's recommendations which were issued in August. Some of the major aspects of the bill include: reorganization of the intelligence community; the establishment of a National Counterterrorism Center; the creation of an information-sharing network; enhancement of border and transportation security; proposals to crack down on fraudulent identification documents; and the establishment of a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

The legislation addresses each of the Commission's 41 recommendations. Included in the legislation are the following provisions of interest to SSA:

Information Sharing

  • Would require the President to:
    • Establish an information sharing network to promote the sharing of terrorism information;
    • Issue guidelines governing the collection, sharing and use of information that promote information exchange while protecting privacy and civil liberties; and
    • Submit to Congress an implementation plan that defines technological requirements, establishes time lines, delineates agency roles, and estimates budget requirements.
  • Would establish an Advisory Council on Information Sharing, comprised of Federal, State, and local officials, as well as private sector representatives, to advise the President and Federal agency heads on implementation of the information sharing network.
  • Would require the President, through the Director of Management and Budget, to:
    • Establish electronic directory services to assist in locating in the Federal Government terrorism information; and
    • Conduct a review of relevant current Federal agency capabilities, including a baseline inventory of current Federal systems that contain terrorism information.

Minimum Standards for Identification Documents

-- Birth Certificates

  • Would establish minimum standards for birth certificates for use by Federal agencies.
  • Beginning two years after promulgation of the regulations describing the minimum standards, would prohibit Federal agencies from accepting a birth certificate that does not meet these standards.
  • Would authorize grants to States to:
    • Help them conform to the minimum standards;
    • Help them computerize their birth and death records;
    • Develop the capability to match birth and death records within each State and among States; and
    • Note the fact of death on the birth certificates of deceased persons.

-- Driver's Licenses and Personal Identification Cards

  • Would establish minimum standards for driver's licenses or personal identification cards issued by States.
  • Would prohibit any Federal agency from accepting a driver's license or personal identification card issued by a State more than two years after promulgation of the minimum standards unless the document conforms to those standards.

-- Social Security Cards

  • Would require the Commissioner of Social Security to:
    • Issue regulations to restrict the issuance of multiple replacement Social Security cards;
    • Require independent verification of all records provided by an applicant for an original Social Security card, other than for purposes of enumeration at birth;
    • Add death, fraud, and work authorization indicators to the Social Security number verification system; and
    • Form, in cooperation with DHS, an interagency task force for the purpose of further improving the security of Social Security cards and numbers.