> 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@leahy.senate.gov > > Senator Judd Gregg > 393 Hart Senate Office Bldg. > Washington, D.C. 20510 > (202) 224-3324 > mailbox@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@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."