by Ben Whedon
The Social Security Administration on Tuesday announced that it had launched a cleanup of tens of millions of Social Security numbers (SSNs) in the largest such operation in the agency’s history.
“This is the first time SSA has undertaken an effort of this scale, and I am proud of the work we have done to strengthen the foundation of identity data relied upon throughout government and the economy,” SSA Commissioner and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano said in a statement.
The cleanup includes the addition of death dates to 17 million SSNs, adding citizenship information to 25 million files, and correcting a further 8.5 million. SSA also announced the creation of additional internal control mechanisms to fix and prevent inaccuracies in its records.
“The Social Security Number database is our country’s books and records. The database’s accuracy is essential to maintaining integrity of government services for citizens,” Bisignano (pictured above) added. “Accurate SSN records prevent fraud across federal programs and support the proper administration of benefits.”
Arizona Rep. Abe Hamadeh, in reaction to the SSA’s cleanup, said, “This is exactly what we need. Under President Trump, SSA is finally cleaning house, fixing tens of millions of bad SSN records, adding missing death dates, and correcting citizenship data so fraudsters and non-citizens can’t game the system.”
“Protecting Social Security means protecting it for the American citizens and seniors who paid into it. No more waste, no more abuse,” he added.
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said, “The people elected this November will have to deal with Social Security’s looming insolvency. In just six years, benefits could be cut by 28.5%. If you’re deciding between candidates, ask them: What is your plan to fix Social Security? We cannot wait until 2032 to find out.”
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
