A joint committee of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the National Genealogical Society, and the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.
May 7th, 2012 FredMoss
The National Genealogical Society annual conference meeting in Cincinnati this week includes a Records Preservation and Access meeting beginning at 3:00pm EDT in Junior Ballroom C of the Duke Energy Center on Thursday the 10th of May to which all interested in these issues are invited.
The topic is “How does the genealogical community organize to address threats to the records we need? Critical roles and resources for state liaisons. Recent successes and setbacks.”
During this session we will review an updated model presentation developed by RPAC suitable for use by state liaisons in presentations before local groups, as well as a “toolkit” for confronting legislative threats to our access. A newly developed toolkit addressing the process by which implementing regulations are developed will be shared. We will also survey recent successes and setbacks.
This meeting is open to all those interested in records preservation and access. State liaisons are particularly urged to attend. We also plan for remote participation.
We are still actively seeking State Liaisons for a number of states and would welcome any recommendations you may have. We will then contact them and see if they are willing to serve.
Contact us at: access@fgs.org
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May 2nd, 2012 FredMoss
House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany, Jr., MD (R-LA) and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) today announced that the Subcommittees on Oversight and Social Security will hold a hearing on tax fraud involving identity theft. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, in 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 A.M.
The topic of the hearing is Identity Theft and Tax Fraud. The hearing announcement is found at:
http://waysandmeans.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=293590
In view of the limited time available to hear from witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing. A list of invited witnesses will follow.
More to come. . . please stay tuned.
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April 2nd, 2012 FredMoss
RPAC and its sponsoring organizations (FGS, NGS, IAJGS) all submitted Statements for the Record supplementing the transcript of the March 20, 2012 hearing of the Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth of the Senate Committee on Finance entitled “Tax Fraud by Identity Theft, Part 2: Status, Progress, and Potential Solutions” in response to a committee invitation to do so.
RPAC Statement for Record SFC
FGS Statement for Record SFC
NGS Statement for Record SFC
IAJGS Statement for Record SFC
We will be supplementing this posting with additional Statements for the Record submitted by other societies and uniquely qualified individuals that come to our attention.
Kenneth H. Ryesky Comments for Record SFC
We have all been outraged by reports of identity thieves filing fraudulent tax refund claims using the SSNs of recently deceased infants & adults. Our strongest message is that the means to stop this particular form of identity theft exists now, without waiting for any additional legislation.
As existing policy regarding public access to the Death Master File is reviewed, we urge that input from actual genealogists be sought. The members of the Records Preservation and Access Committee stand ready to assist in arranging for that input to both the Executive and Legislative branches.
We continue to work with members and staff of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee and other interested legislators as they consider legislative responses to the outrageous conduct of identity thieves filing fraudulent tax return claiming refunds and credits utilizing the SSNs of recently deceased infants and adults.
The outcome is far from certain. Please stay tuned. We may need to call for community action at various stages in the ongoing legislative process.
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March 27th, 2012 FredMoss
On behalf of RPAC we thank all of the readers of the RPAC blog and most especially our state liaisons for helping carry the message of how important continued access to the SSDI is to the genealogical community.
As you are aware both the US House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Social Security and the US Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth held hearings in February and March which addressed access by the public to the Death Master File also known commercially as the Social Security Death Index. The genealogical community was not invited to testify at either hearing, but the genealogical community, namely, FGS, IAJGS, NGS and RPAC along with others submitted written statements for the record to the House Subcommittee and this week each of us are submitting written statements for the record to the Senate Subcommittee. We have been in contact with staff of both subcommittees before each hearing and continue to be in touch with both staffs following the hearings….the issue is very much alive on our agendas.
Genealogists have proven to be effective negotiators as exemplified most recently with the successes in both Pennsylvania and Virginia where the local genealogical community with support from outside their respective states were successful in obtaining new laws with the public gaining greater access to vital records. Recently, the RPAC leadership discussed what is most realistic considering the differences between the House and Senate versions of legislation—no access or access two years including year of death. Compromise has to be considered, what is best for the overall genealogical community is to have reasonable access, and those professional genealogists who are forensic genealogists, heir researchers, and family medical history researchers should be given immediate access.
After listening to Congressional staff and discussion with others in the genealogical community, RPAC leaders’ statements for the record submitted to the Senate Subcommittee will state that:
While we advocate all genealogists should have immediate access to the SSDI, we would support the two year delay in access as proposed in S 1534-and if necessary the third year that National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson advocated during her oral testimony during the March 20th hearing. This support is with the caveat that certain genealogists are to be eligible for certification for immediate access. These genealogists include: forensic genealogists, heir researchers, and those researching individual genetically inherited diseases.
We recognize that some of you may not agree with this position, but our collective and unified position is this is what is best in light of increased identity theft and legislators trying to address prevention on behalf of their constituents in an election year—even though genealogists are not the cause of identity theft.
Judy Russell in her March 20th The Legal Genealogist Blog said, and we concur:
“The big difference between last month’s House hearing and today’s Senate hearing is that, if we had to, most of us in the genealogical community could live with the bill that’s being considered today. Senate Bill 1534,2 sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s much much better for genealogists as a whole than the bill introduced on the House side by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Tex.).3
Nelson’s bill really focuses on identity theft and fraudulent tax filings by people who steal the Social Security numbers of others and would only delay disclosure of death information reported to the SSDI.4 Johnson’s bill would take the SSDI away from the public forever.5 If we have no choice but an either-or, this one is a no-brainer.”
Otto Von Bismark said, never watch laws or sausage being made, and this is one of those times. We hope that you will send in your statement to the Senate Subcommittee—they will accept it snail mail only ( no e-mails nor faxes) and the deadline is April 3. Please send your statements for the record to:
Senate Committee on Finance
Attn. Editorial and Document Section
Rm. SD-219
Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510-6200
The required format is: A typewritten, single-spaced statement, not exceeding 10 pages in length. Title and date of the hearing, and the full name and address of the individual or organization must appear on the first page of the statement. Statements must be received no later than two weeks following the conclusion of the hearing.
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March 19th, 2012 FredMoss
The Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility & Economic Growth of the United States Senate Committee on Finance has announced a hearing for Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 10:00 AM EDT entitled “Tax Fraud by Identity Theft, Part 2: Status, Progress, and Potential Solutions.
The link announcing the hearing and listing witnesses scheduled to appear is found at:
http://finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=8c908260-5056-a032-525c-4f663b8d35f8
From this landing page the hearing can be viewed live at the scheduled time or after several days will be available for subsequent viewing.
This Subcommittee is chaired by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) with Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) as the ranking member. Senator Nelson is the author of Senate Bill S 1534, one of four identity theft bills before the Congress and possibly impacting access to the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). That bill as introduced September 8, 2011 can be viewed at:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s1534is/pdf/BILLS-112s1534is.pdf
This same Subcommittee held a hearing addressing these issues on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 entitled “The Spread of Tax Fraud by Identity Theft: A Threat to Taxpayers, A Drain on the Public Treasury.” Those proceedings can be viewed and prepared statements downloaded from:http://finance.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=32a4f2cc-5056-a032-5258-8967bf140b37
We understand that there may be opportunity for the submission of additional materials for the record after the hearing. We will be announcing RPAC recommendations for possible community action as details are developed. Stay tuned.
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February 20th, 2012 FredMoss
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February 19th, 2012 FredMoss
Sign the We The People petition at http://wh.gov/khE.
RPAC and its sponsoring organizations (FGS, NGS, IAJGS) all submitted Statements for the Record supplementing the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee hearing 2 February 2012 in response to a committee invitation to do so.
RPAC Statement for Record HWMC 16 Feb
FGS Statement for Record HWMC 16 Feb
NGS Statement for Record HWMC
IAJGS Statement for Record HWMC
We particularly appreciated supporting Statements for the Record submitted by other societies and uniquely qualified individuals, some of which have come to our attention.
Kenneth H. Ryesky Comments for Record HWMC
APG Statement for the Record
Massachusetts Genealogical Council Statement for Record
Virginia Genealogical Society
Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogists
We have all been outraged by reports of identity thieves filing fraudulent tax refund claims using the SSNs of recently deceased infants & adults. Our strongest message is that the means to stop this particular form of identity theft exists now, without waiting for any additional legislation.
As existing policy regarding public access to the Death Master File is reviewed, we urge that input from actual genealogists be sought. The members of the Records Preservation and Access Committee stand ready to assist in arranging for that input to both the Executive and Legislative branches.
Sign the We The People petition at http://wh.gov/khE.
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February 13th, 2012 TMacEntee
SSDI Call to Action Kit
Record Preservation and Access Committee
Your help is needed to help Save the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) as an accessible resource for the genealogical community and others. Here are ways that you can help:
1. Educate yourself on why saving the SSDI is so important to the genealogy community!
- Please see the SSDI FAQ at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/2012/02/08/ssdi-frequently-asked-questions-faq%E2%80%99s/.
- Watch the video of the 2 Feb Hearing before the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee found at http://waysandmeans.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=133. For a glimpse of the Administration’s vision of genealogical access to the SSDI, focus on the five minute segment beginning with Congressman Marchant’s question to SSA Commissioner Astrue near minute 26 and ending with the completion of the Commissioner’s answer to the Chairman’s follow-up question at 31:00. If you are on the fence about signing the RPAC petition, this should be required reading.
- View the Got Records? Threats to Genealogy Records Access video at http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/FHD/Community/en/Community/Jan_Meisels_Allen/Got_Records__Threats_to_Genealogy_Records_Access/Player.html featuring RPAC member Jan Meisels Allen. This is a good overview of RPAC and the issues confronting access to the SSDI and other records.
2. Sign the We The People petition at http://wh.gov/khE.
If you are experiencing problems with registering at the website or signing the petition, please see http://fgs.org/pdf/rpac_petition.pdf. Most issues with the petition can be solved by closing your browser window, opening a new browser window and clicking http://wh.gov/khE once you’ve registered with the website.
3. Fax and email letters to Congress!
Download a sample letter at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/sample_ssdi_letter_basic.doc (Microsoft Word) or at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/sample_ssdi_letter_basic.pdf (PDF) and read the instructions carefully. Your efforts will be more effective if you:
- fax a copy of your letter to Congressman Sam Johnson, chair of the House Ways & Means Committee.; and
- email copies of your letter to your own Representative and Senators.
4. Help get the word out to others!
- Post the link http://wh.gov/khE as part of a Status Update on Facebook if you have a Facebook account. Also, don’t forget to post to any Facebook pages or groups to which you are subscribed, including genealogical societies!
- If you use Twitter, include the link http://wh.gov/khE and briefly explain why signing the petition is important. The hashtag for this campaign is #openssdi.
- Consider putting the link http://wh.gov/khE in your email signature to let others know about the petition.
5. Ask questions! RPAC is here to help!
For further information, contact RPAC at access@fgs.org.
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February 12th, 2012 FredMoss
Sign the We The People petition at http://wh.gov/khE.
We encourage every genealogist to view the entire video of the 2 Feb Hearing before the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee found at:
http://waysandmeans.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=133
BUT for a glimpse of the Administration’s vision of genealogical access to the SSDI, focus on the five minute segment beginning with Congressman Marchant’s question to SSA Commissioner Astrue near minute 26 and ending with the completion of the Commissioner’s answer to the Chairman’s follow-up question at 31:00.
This snippet is also available at:
http://youtu.be/HuSVZvMmN5A
If you are on the fence about signing the RPAC petition, this should be required reading.
Can you really find the information we get from the SSDI in other records?
Would you like to wait 75 years for the SSDI to become available to the public?
Would you like to wait 125 years for public access to birth records in every state?
Sign the We The People petition at http://wh.gov/khE.
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February 9th, 2012 TMacEntee
During the recent RootsTech conference, RPAC member Jan Meisels Allen - Vice President of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and President, Program Chair and founding member of the Jewish Genealogical Society of the Conejo Valley and Ventura County - sat down with FGS Board of Directors member Thomas MacEntee to present an overview of RPAC, current threats to genealogy records access and issues involving threats to access of the Social Security Death Index. Click here to view the interview.
Thanks go out to FamilySearch and the Family History Library for their assistance in producing this interview and making it available for free to the public.
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