President's Identity Theft Task Force
Long thought by critics to be among the more meaningless, merely symbolic tasks associated with being the American President, Presidential Task Forces have evolved greatly over the years and now play an important role in a given administration.
One of the ways the Bush Administration confronted the perils of identity theft, for example, was through a Presidential Task Force. Comprised of a litany of government officials and headed by the United States Attorney General, the duties of the panel include informing the president of the given problem (its history, key definitions, context in which it is usually executed, etc.), supplying the sources from which it has obtained relevant information (public comments, victim impact statements, law enforcement perspectives) and listing what is usually a multi-tiered, complex network of solutions that can be implemented in the most cost-effective manner.
For example, the last Task Force on Identity Fraud (headed by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales), informed the president of four key improvements the government needed to make. They included educating the public more about the dangers of distributing without reservation personal information; increasing the number of security measures a criminal would have to navigate in order to complete the crime; assisting more efficiently victims once they realize they have been abused and prosecuting and punishing more aggressively those who perpetrate identity theft crimes.
After presenting the president with those four key improvements, the Task Force then recommended the following aggressive, tangible changes: forcing federal agencies to reduce unnecessary use of a given person’s Social Security Number; setting national standards that include what information can be shared; specifying when and how to go about resolving a security breach when it does, in fact, occur; educating both the public and private sectors more about the damage that identity fraud can cause and creating a National Identity Theft Law Enforcement Center. The last is perhaps most comprehensive and sweeping as its primary purposes would be to gather various law enforcement agencies in one place so as to streamline their efforts in the fight against identity theft and ensure that varying investigations and prosecutions are carried out with the utmost efficiency.
The aforementioned changes are massive, require significant government funding and much resolve. President Bush was unable to enact each of the specific measures discussed but laid some very significant groundwork. And while he and President-elect Obama share few philosophical agreements, both agree that identity theft is a crime with which to be reckoned.
Now that a new administration is on the cusp of assuming power, President-elect Obama is likely to follow through on many of recommendations from the Bush Administration while adding a few new changes of his own. They are likely to address any remaining gaps in our current laws addressing the monetary and prison penalties for identity abuse and enlist the help of various universities and national scientific organizations in creating forms of identities (for passports, driving licenses, Medicare/Medical cards, Social Security cards and general state identification cards) that are substantially harder and more expensive to replicate or otherwise corrupt.
Moreover, Obama will likely reach out to organizations that have substantial contact with populations most susceptible to identity fraud. For examples, the Administration may contact organizations such as AARP and Student Body Associations of various colleges and universities. Studies indicate that the elderly are more likely to be totally unaware of the existence of the crime of identity theft (and are therefore more likely to be victimized by it) and that, because students tend to be novices when it pertains to credit card use and more, they are less likely to review carefully each month their statements and keep them placed safely out of the way of dishonest dorm/classmates. Forging partnerships with organizations like these and more may be quite useful when it comes to publicizing the government’s efforts.
To conclude, while long criticized for its inability to bring about substantive change, Presidential Task Forces have become key weapons in the fights against identity theft, drug abuse and more. Key government officials vested with significant power like the United States Attorney General and Chair of the Federal Trade Commission have the ear of the president and recommend generally well-researched, comprehensive changes that are likely to help the government reduce the incidence rate of identity fraud.
