I hope someone can set me straight on the SSDI situation. On this website tis a.m. http://searches.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ssdi.html I found that you can no longer search. But, I also read on another list that PAID Ancestry will have it. Since Rootsweb is owned (?) by Ancestry and the House Ways and Means committee have not yet met, how does Ancestry (PAID) still will have the SSDI data? How/why does the government sell our data to a private company and they in turn sell it to us? I am not talking about the original applications, just the INDEX....who paid for the index? I've been off list for a while, so if all of this has been hashed out, someone please give me a short run down on what is happening... Carol ----- > 7. Re: A little OT: SSDI Access ( jazzdans@comcast.net ) > 8. Re: 1940 census clarification (Eliz Hanebury) > > Message: 7 > Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:09:06 -0800 > From: " jazzdans@comcast.net " <jazzdans@comcast.net> > Subject: Re: [COOK-CO-IL] A little OT: SSDI Access > To: " Kathleen Craine " <kac522@aol.com>, cook-co-il@rootsweb.com > Message-ID: <201202010308.q1138qQT024214@mail.rootsweb.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Gf > > Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone > > ----- Reply message ----- > From: "Kathleen Craine" <kac522@aol.com> > Date: Mon, Jan 30, 2012 5:14 pm > Subject: [COOK-CO-IL] A little OT: SSDI Access > To: <cook-co-il@rootsweb.com> > > I received this message from another list. The House Ways & Means > Committee will be reviewing public access to the SSDI. > > Kathleen Craine > Chicago > > -------------------------------- > > I feel the need to sidestep our usual communications and make sure that > all of you are aware of the issues we are facing about our right to access > the SSDI - Social Security Death Index. As genealogists, I'm guessing our > 2 most often used tools are the census and the SSDI. Due to concerns about > identity theft, our government now thinks that a key way to fix this > problem is to deny the public's access to the SSDI. > > Many of us first became aware of this when we read an article by Megan > Smolenyak Smolenyak "Are We Going To Lose The SSDI?" > http://megansmolenyak.posterous.com/are-we-going-to-lose-the-social-security-deat > > We've now learned that the Ways and Means Committee is holding a hearing > on the SSDI this Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. > http://waysandmeans.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=276834 > > NO genealogists are being allowed to be witnesses and testify at this > meeting! > http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.genealogy.jewish/2012-01/msg00346.html#.TyVbv31zUsc.twitter > > It is VERY important that we all start writing letters and submit them to > the Ways and Means Committee! In the link above about their meeting, if > you go down the page, you will find an area about how to submit your > letters to them. Follow the directions to the letter! > After you've submitted your letter to the above committee, please also > figure out who your Senator(s) are and send them a copy of your letter > http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and do > the same with your Representative(s) > http://www.house.gov/representatives/ . The Senator and Representative > websites have searches on the top right to help you figure out who > represents you. (If possible, please send a letter or a fax. A pile of > papers on a politicians desk is going to have a greater impact than a > bunch of e-mails in their inbox. E-mailing is better than doing nothing at > all, but if possible, don't have it be your first choice.) > > If you need some ideas for things you can put in your letter, check out > this list from RPAC > http://www.fgs.org/rpac/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/talking-points-on-why-genealogists-need-social-security-death-index-final.pdf > If you need ideas on how to compose a letter, the CAFG is working on > sample letters and will post them here: > http://www.forensicgenealogists.com/Resources.html > > Judy Russell who is very well versed in the legal areas that affect > genealogy has posted a great blog post here: > www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/01/29/ssdi-call-to-action/http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/01/29/ssdi-call-to-action/ > It will give you some great info to get you started. > > To stay informed of this issue, you can check out Occupy Genealogy on > facebook https://www.facebook.com/occupygenealogy or on their website > http://www.occupygenealogy.com/action-center---your-help-needed.html > > Remember the old saying "The squeaky wheel gets the oil"? Now is the time > to start squeaking! Please be sure your voice is heard and get those > letters submitted ASAP! > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > COOK-CO-IL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

SSDI is meant to be available to all credit agencies to prevent fraud by someone using the SS of a deceased person. There is some miss use of it, mostly that credit providers don't check it. The new push to prevent people from using it is from the parents of some teenagers whose SS was used to apply for credit and run it up and suddenly the parents were getting collection calls. You can imagine how upset they got. But once again the legislators are throwing the baby out with the bath water. Eliz On Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 11:46 AM, Lorac <radford2@bellsouth.net> wrote: > I hope someone can set me straight on the SSDI situation.  On this website > tis a.m. > > http://searches.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ssdi.html > > I found that you can no longer search.  But, I also read on another list > that PAID Ancestry will have it. > Since Rootsweb is owned (?) by Ancestry and the House Ways and Means > committee have not yet met, > how does Ancestry (PAID) still will have the SSDI data?  How/why does the > government sell our data to a private company and they in turn sell it  to > us?  I am not talking about the original applications, just the INDEX....who > paid for the index? > > I've been off list for a while, so if all of this has been hashed out, > someone please give me a short run down on what is happening... > > Carol > > > > > ----- >   7. Re: A little OT: SSDI Access ( jazzdans@comcast.net ) >>   8. Re: 1940 census clarification (Eliz Hanebury) >> >> Message: 7 >> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:09:06 -0800 >> From: " jazzdans@comcast.net " <jazzdans@comcast.net> >> Subject: Re: [COOK-CO-IL] A little OT: SSDI Access >> To: " Kathleen Craine " <kac522@aol.com>, cook-co-il@rootsweb.com >> Message-ID: <201202010308.q1138qQT024214@mail.rootsweb.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 >> >> Gf >> >> Sent from  my Verizon Wireless Phone >> >> ----- Reply message ----- >> From: "Kathleen Craine" <kac522@aol.com> >> Date: Mon, Jan 30, 2012 5:14 pm >> Subject: [COOK-CO-IL] A little OT: SSDI Access >> To: <cook-co-il@rootsweb.com> >> >> I received this message from another list.  The House Ways & Means >> Committee will be reviewing public access to the SSDI. >> >> Kathleen Craine >> Chicago >> >> -------------------------------- >> >> I feel the need to sidestep our usual communications and make sure that >> all of you are aware of the issues we are facing about our right to access >> the SSDI - Social Security Death Index. As genealogists, I'm guessing our >> 2 most often used tools are the census and the SSDI. Due to concerns about >> identity theft, our government now thinks that a key way to fix this >> problem is to deny the public's access to the SSDI. >> >> Many of us first became aware of this when we read an article by Megan >> Smolenyak Smolenyak "Are We Going To Lose The SSDI?" >> http://megansmolenyak.posterous.com/are-we-going-to-lose-the-social-security-deat >> >> We've now learned that the Ways and Means Committee is holding a hearing >> on the SSDI this Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. >> http://waysandmeans.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=276834 >> >> NO genealogists are being allowed to be witnesses and testify at this >> meeting! >> http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Soc/soc.genealogy.jewish/2012-01/msg00346.html#.TyVbv31zUsc.twitter >> >> It is VERY important that we all start writing letters and submit them to >> the Ways and Means Committee! In the link above about their meeting, if >> you go down the page, you will find an area about how to submit your >> letters to them. Follow the directions to the letter! >> After you've submitted your letter to the above committee, please also >> figure out who your Senator(s) are and send them a copy of your letter >> http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm  and do >> the same with your Representative(s) >> http://www.house.gov/representatives/ . The Senator and Representative >> websites have searches on the top right to help you figure out who >> represents you. (If possible, please send a letter or a fax. A pile of >> papers on a politicians desk is going to have a greater impact than a >> bunch of e-mails in their inbox. E-mailing is better than doing nothing at >> all, but if possible, don't have it be your first choice.) >> >> If you need some ideas for things you can put in your letter, check out >> this list from RPAC >> http://www.fgs.org/rpac/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/talking-points-on-why-genealogists-need-social-security-death-index-final.pdf >> If you need ideas on how to compose a letter, the CAFG is working on >> sample letters and will post them here: >> http://www.forensicgenealogists.com/Resources.html >> >> Judy Russell who is very well versed in the legal areas that affect >> genealogy has posted a great blog post here: >> www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/01/29/ssdi-call-to-action/http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/01/29/ssdi-call-to-action/ >> It will give you some great info to get you started. >> >> To stay informed of this issue, you can check out Occupy Genealogy on >> facebook https://www.facebook.com/occupygenealogy or on their website >> http://www.occupygenealogy.com/action-center---your-help-needed.html >> >> Remember the old saying "The squeaky wheel gets the oil"? Now is the time >> to start squeaking! Please be sure your voice is heard and get those >> letters submitted ASAP! >> >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> COOK-CO-IL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to COOK-CO-IL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message