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The Office of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul
203 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-2831
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January 19, 1999
Be a Friend of Liberty
Cosponsor the
Freedom and Privacy Restoration Act!
Dear Colleague:
Imagine not being able to hold a job, make a bank deposit, travel on an airplane, or even seek medical treatment because some federal bureaucrat has determined that your "papers are not in order!" Sound like something that can only happen in the few remaining Communist states like Cuba or Red China? Wrong -- this could very well be the America of the future!
Americans are rapidly losing the fundamental right to live their lives free from the prying eyes of the central state, in large part because of congressionally-authorized national identifiers. In order to rollback the "surveillance state" before it destroys America's constitutional government and swallows our liberties, I have introduced the Freedom and Privacy Restoration Act (HR 220). This bill prohibits the use of the Social Security number for purposes not related to Social Security, as well as forbidding the creation of any other national ID card or number.
The Social Security number is already a de facto national ID number. Currently there are more than 40 non-social security related uses of the Social Security number authorized by federal law! Furthermore, Congress has mandated that, starting in the year 2000, states require citizens to present a Social Security number to get a driver's license by 2000. Citizens in many states must present a Social Security number to get a driver's, marriage, or even a fishing license!
The Freedom and Privacy Restoration Act also prevents the federal government from using identifiers to monitor or regulate private transactions between individuals, thus stopping the federal government from assigning every American a "unique medical identifier." This would also place a roadblock in front of schemes such as the "Know Your Customer" proposal which would force financial institutions to treat its customers as criminal suspects.
Turning the Social Security number into a national identifier or establishing any type of national ID card or number is a threat to the liberty of every American. Please call Norm Singleton at 5-2831 today to cosponsor the Freedom and Privacy Restoration Act.
Sincerely,
Ron Paul
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