APFN
19 Terrorists Obtained Social Security Cards
Fri Nov 2 11:17:54 2001


19 Terrorists Obtained Social Security Cards

Associated Press
Friday, November 2, 2001; Page A19

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27299-2001Nov1.html


All 19 terrorist hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks had Social Security
numbers, and 13 obtained them legally, government officials say.

The Social Security Administration's inspector general told House members
yesterday that the government needs to tighten the process it uses to issue
the numbers.

"We have learned that the risks inherent in failing to adequately protect
the integrity of the Social Security number may have serious consequences,"
said James G. Huse Jr.

The hijackers' Social Security numbers "allowed them autonomy, to operate
below the radar," he told the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social
Security.

They could open bank accounts, get credit, obtain driver's licenses and
apply to flight schools, he said.

One glaring problem is the need for independent verification of documents
required to obtain a number, Huse said.

For example, the Social Security Administration and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service do not have a computer link to quickly check the
validity of visas or other immigration documents that non-U.S. citizens
must submit with their applications.

"Having a secure system is critical to preventing future attacks," said
Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr. (R-Fla.), the subcommittee chairman.

Huse noted that a man whose name appears on an FBI watch list was indicted
in Arizona this week on charges he lied on Social Security and Federal
Aviation Administration forms.

Also, a man held by the British government on suspicion that he trained
four of the hijackers had used the Social Security number of a dead New
Jersey woman.

"The process we have -- while well-intentioned -- is certainly not as
robust as it should be," Huse said.

Larry G. Massanari, acting Social Security commissioner, said the number of
disaster-related claims has climbed to more than 4,000 and is expected to
increase. More than half are for children who lost parents in the attacks.

The agency has taken claims or determined eligibility for the families of
the 125 victims who worked at the Pentagon, and for 53 of the 64 passengers
on the American Airlines flight that crashed there.

After the attacks, Social Security requested nearly $50 million to help
with processing increased claims, rebuilding its office that was near the
World Trade Center and strengthening security, Massanari said.

President Bush has allocated $7.5 million of the $20 billion he proposed in
emergency spending for disaster recovery and security.

Massanari said the agency will divert money from other areas to meet the
recovery needs. But that could mean that the processing of a backlog of
about 40,000 disability claims could be delayed further.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company
====================================================================
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