by William Neikirk

Top members of the House Ways and Means Committee from both parties want to limit the use of your Social Security number by government and business in order to crack down on identity theft, a growing scourge in society.

A bill they introduced Monday falls short of an outright ban on using the number for governmental or business purposes, but its sponsors say it would help reduce the amount of identity theft. The question is whether the exceptions allowed under the bill would still give identity thieves enough room to operate. Time will tell, as they say.

But by permitting some exceptions, the sponsors do tacitly concede that your SSN is still a mighty handy universal identifier for many government and business purposes. It would still be possible to use it for credit purposes, for example. And I know a lot of people nervous about mentioning their SSN in public when applying for credit in a store.

Posted by Mark Silva at 3:40 pm CDT

As voters from Virginia to Colorado this fall face ballot measures banning same-sex marriage within their states – and with President Bush repeatedly failing to win support for a federal constitutional amendment – the White House faced questions this week about how far Bush takes the “sanctity of marriage.’’

Preserving that sanctity of marriage – the institution of a bond between a man and woman – is a principle the president often cites in support of the marriage amendment. Tony Snow, White House spokesman, was asked Monday if common-law marriage between a man and a woman is also not a threat to the sanctity of marriage. “That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer,’’ Snow said, promising to return with an answer today. He did: “The reason it hasn't come up is that I'm not sure there have been any shacking up bans.’’

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Tuesday, June 20, as compiled by the Associated Press.

The National Transportation Safety Board is opening a two-day public hearing into the Dec. 2005 runway overrun by a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 at Chicago Midway Airport.
Location: NTSB offices, 429 L’Enfant Plaza

President Bush is departing for his European trip and meetings with the European Community.

Energy Information Administration chief Guy Caruso is releasing the International Energy Outlook 2006 with forecasts of world energy supply and demand through 2030.

The House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee holds a hearing on consumer privacy in the commercial sector with Meg Whitman, President and CEO of eBay Inc.

Good Morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, June 16, as compiled by the Associated Press.

The House continues its debate on the war in Iraq.

President Bush is attending political events in Washington state and New Mexico.

Posted by Frank James at 12:10 pm CDT

ABC News has a very disturbing report today, at least for reporters and anyone else who believe that whistleblowers serve an important role in safeguarding American democracy.

On its blog, The Blotter, ABC News reports that a senior government source has told its reporters that the reporters’ phone calls with sources are being tracked by the U.S. government “to root out confidential sources.”

I hasten to say I don't have independent confirmation of the facts underlying the ABC News report. But I thought it was something readers of The Swamp would find interesting. The item follows.

Posted by Frank James at 3:20 pm CDT

The disclosure by USA Today that the National Security Agency has been collecting the phone-call data of Americans as part of its effort to fight terrorists is drawing responses from privacy experts here in the nation’s capital.

An email from the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank, has some observations from Jim Harper, Cato’s director of information policy studies who alse serves on the Homeland Security Department’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee.