------- Forwarded message follows -------
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Ballard" <john.ballard(a)anu.edu.au>
To: <ingen(a)mail.cityofbrazil.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 5:58 AM
Subject: threat to SSDI
from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter (28 Apr 2003) at
http://www.rootsforum.com/
Proposed Federal Legislation is a Threat to Genealogists
The following is from the California State Genealogical Alliance:
FEDERAL LEGISLATION - A CALL TO ACTION
At the federal level there are two bills on privacy and the use of
Social Security Numbers working their way through the system. They
are called the Social Security Misuse Prevention Act. Granted, the
misuse of Social Security Numbers has gone on much too long, but as
the bills are worded, it could spell the end of the Social Security
Death Indexes. Even if they were to exempt the present Death
Indexes, no further indexes could be developed.
The Utah Genealogical Society has worked to get the authors to amend
the bill to protect the continued availability of the death indexes,
but so far there have been no amendments. It is time for the
genealogy community to let Washington know how we feel. We want
people's privacy protected, but we do not want to see this very
important historical research tool lost forever. It is important to
thousands of genealogists and family health historians.
We ask that make the following amendments in S228 and HR637:
1. Under Sec. 3 (a)(1)(a) DEFINITIONS, add the following definition:
"SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER - The term 'social security number' refers
to the social security number of a living individual."
2. Under Sec. 4 (a)(1)(e)(2) LIST OF PAPER AND OTHER NONELECTRONIC
RECORDS, delete "(D) death certificates."
You can contact the authors:
S228
Senator Dianne Feinstein
331 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3841/fax (202) 228-3954
http://feinstein.senate.gov/email.html
Senator Patrick J. Leahy
433 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-4242
senator_leahy(a)leahy.senate.gov
Senator Judd Gregg
393 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3324
mailbox(a)gregg.senate.gov
HR637
Representative John E. Sweeney
416 Cannon Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202)225-5614/Fax (202) 225-6234
To be added to the Network, send your name, name of your
organization, and e-mail address,
stating you wish to be added to the Legislative Network, to
ijones(a)accessbee.com. ---22 April
2003, CSGA Legislative Network, Iris Carter Jones.
[Permission is granted to reprint Legislative reports. Please cite
your source.]
To discuss this story further, please visit the newsletter
Discussion Board at
http://www.RootsForum.com and click on
"Discussion Board."