PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 21, 2025
IDs for an Inclusive Democracy Act
This bill directs the Social Security Administration (SSA) to produce and make available at no cost to individuals over the age of 14 a means of identification (ID) sufficient to satisfy certain identification requirements (i.e., requirements otherwise satisfied by a driver's license or state ID).
The ID must include a photograph, specified information, and certain security features, and must generally be valid for 10 years.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
SSA must develop and implement a campaign to educate the public about the ID, including how an individual can obtain and use one.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) must develop and implement a process that enables individuals to apply for and renew an ID through USPS, modeled after the process for passport applications.
The bill also establishes a task force to set forth requirements for the production and distribution of the new IDs. The task force must (1) issue a report outlining such requirements, including procedures to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of any information obtained from applicants seeking assistance with the ID process; and (2) develop and publish voluntary best practices for nonprofit organizations and entities that serve vulnerable populations on assisting individuals with the application process.
People & committees
Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6] · D–IL
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 19, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-21 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed IDs for an Inclusive Democracy Act would require Social Security to offer free federal identification cards to applicants in the United States aged 14 or older. The cards would satisfy identification requirements wherever state-issued licenses or identification cards are accepted. People could apply through post offices, online, or by mail. A federal task force would set production and application requirements, and cards would become available within three years after enactment.
This Act may be cited as the IDs for an Inclusive Democracy Act.
Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration shall produce and make available at no cost to individuals in the United States who submit an application under subsection (f) an identification pursuant to the requirements in the report issued by the Task Force on Federal Identification Cards under section 3(i)
shall be deemed sufficient to satisfy identification requirements to the same extent and for the same purposes that any driver’s license or identification card issued by a State is accepted to satisfy such requirements.
an individual who is at least 14 years of age or older shall submit an application at such time and containing such information as the Task Force on Federal Identification Cards established under section 3(a) determines appropriate.
(A) receive full service at a post office location, including by providing photography services at no cost to the individual; (B) submit an application online through the website of the Postal Service; (C) mail a written application described in subsection (f) through the mail service of the Postal Service at no cost to the individual;
The bill would require Social Security to make the cards available free of charge within three years after enactment, following requirements in the task force’s report.
Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration shall produce and make available at no cost to individuals in the United States who submit an application under subsection (f) an identification pursuant to the requirements in the report issued by the Task Force on Federal Identification Cards under section 3(i)
The cards would satisfy identification requirements to the same extent and for the same purposes as state-issued licenses or identification cards. This rule would also cover identification issued by the District of Columbia and the five listed U.S. territories.
the identification described in subsection (a) shall be deemed sufficient to satisfy identification requirements to the same extent and for the same purposes that any driver’s license or identification card issued by a State is accepted to satisfy such requirements.
the term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Each card would show the holder’s full name, birth date, photograph, unique identification number, issue date, and expiration date. It would also show the holder’s self-attested gender, with male, female, and X options; X would represent an unspecified or other gender identity.
(1) the full name of the individual; (2) the date of birth of the individual; (3) the gender of the individual, which shall include an option for male, female, and X (representing an unspecified or other gender identity), as attested by the individual; (4) a photograph of the individual; (5) a unique identification number; (6) the date the identification was issued to the individual; and (7) the date on which the identification is no longer valid.
Cards would need physical safeguards against tampering, counterfeiting, duplication, and fraudulent use. They would also contain machine-readable identity information, with minimum data requirements set by the task force.
(1) physical security features to make the identification resistant to tampering, counterfeiting, duplicating, and fraudulent use; and (2) common machine-readable identity information based on defined minimum data elements as determined by the Task Force on Federal Identification Cards established under section 3(a).
Cards would generally last ten years. A card issued to someone under 18 would expire on their eighteenth birthday, when they could apply for renewal. For a holder who reaches age 65 or older while the card is valid, it would remain valid after the ten-year period without renewal.
Except as provided in paragraph (2), with respect to an individual, the identification described in subsection (a) shall be valid for the 10-year period which begins on the date the identification is issued
(A) who is under the age of 18, such identification shall only be valid during the period beginning on the date the identification is issued to the individual and ending on the date the individual reaches the age of 18, after which the individual may submit an application for a renewal under subsection (f)(2); and (B) who reaches 65 years of age or older during the period the identification is valid, the identification of such individual shall be deemed valid upon the expiration of the 10-year validity period for such identification without requiring a renewal of such identification.
Applicants would need to be at least 14 and submit information on a schedule determined by the task force. Renewal applicants would not have to provide documents containing personally identifying information unless that information had changed since their most recent application.
To receive an identification under this section, an individual who is at least 14 years of age or older shall submit an application at such time and containing such information as the Task Force on Federal Identification Cards established under section 3(a) determines appropriate.
an individual shall not be required to provide documents that include the personally identifiable information of such individual unless any of such personally identifiable information has changed with respect to the most recent application submitted by the individual.
Social Security would have to begin a public education campaign about obtaining and using the cards at least six months before they become available.
Not later than 6 months before the date the identification is made available to individuals under subsection (a), the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration shall develop and implement a campaign to educate the public with respect to the identification described in subsection (a), including how an individual can receive and use such an identification to satisfy certain identification requirements.
Within two years after enactment, the Postal Service, consulting Social Security, would have to establish an application process for first-time cards and renewals modeled on its passport application process.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service shall, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, develop and implement a process pursuant to the requirements of paragraph (2) that enables individuals to apply for the identification described in subsection (a) through the United States Postal Service, including a process with respect to an application for a first-time identification and a renewal of such identification, which shall be modeled after the process with respect to applications for a passport through the Postal Service.
Applicants would have options for full service at a post office, including free photographs; online applications; and mailing written applications free of charge. Approved cards could be mailed to the applicant’s address or a post office, at the applicant’s choice.
(A) receive full service at a post office location, including by providing photography services at no cost to the individual; (B) submit an application online through the website of the Postal Service; (C) mail a written application described in subsection (f) through the mail service of the Postal Service at no cost to the individual; and (D) with respect to an approved identification of an individual, receive such identification through mail service to the individual’s address or a post office location, at the option of the individual.
The bill would establish a task force to determine requirements for producing and making the cards available. Its minimum nine members would include the Social Security Commissioner and representatives from eight specified federal bodies.
There is established a Task Force on Federal Identification Cards (in this section referred to as the Task Force) for the purpose of determining the requirements to produce and make available the identification described in section 2(a).
The Task Force shall be composed of at least 9 members as follows: (1) The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. (2) At least 1 representative from the Election Assistance Commission. (3) At least 1 representative from the Domestic Policy Council. (4) At least 1 representative from the United States Postal Service. (5) At least 1 representative from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (6) At least 1 representative from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (7) At least 1 representative from the Department of Education. (8) At least 1 representative from the Department of Labor. (9) At least 1 representative from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Social Security Commissioner, working with the other designated representatives, could appoint additional members with relevant expertise or experience. For those appointments, the task force would have to try to ensure representation of populations disproportionately affected by lack of identification.
The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, in collaboration with the representatives described in paragraphs (2) through (9), may appoint such other individuals with relevant expertise or experience as the Task Force shall determine appropriate and the Task Force shall, with respect to any such appointees, make efforts to ensure that populations that have been disproportionately affected by the lack of access to identification are represented.
All task force appointments would be due within eight months after enactment. Vacancies would be filled using the same method as the original appointment.
All appointments to the Task Force shall be made not later than 8 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Any vacancy in the Task Force shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
Full-time federal officers and employees would receive no extra pay, allowances, or benefits for task force service. Subject to that restriction, members would receive travel expenses under the cited federal travel rules, including daily allowances for subsistence.
Members of the Task Force who are full-time officers or employees of the United States may not receive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the Task Force.
Except as provided in subsection (e), each member shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
The Social Security Commissioner and representatives of the Election Assistance Commission and Domestic Policy Council would provide task force staff. On request, they would also provide information, administrative services, and supplies they jointly consider necessary.
The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, any representatives from the Election Assistance Commission, and any representatives from the Domestic Policy Council shall provide support staff for the Task Force.
Upon the request of the Task Force, the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, any representatives from the Election Assistance Commission, and any representatives from the Domestic Policy Council shall provide any information, administrative services, and supplies that such Commissioner and representatives jointly consider necessary for the Task Force to carry out its duties under this section.
The bill would exempt this task force from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The supplied text does not reproduce that law’s requirements.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Task Force.
Within one year after enactment, the task force would have to issue its report on requirements for producing and making the cards available. The report would have to require Social Security and the Postal Service to establish procedures preventing unauthorized disclosure of information about people seeking help obtaining a card.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Task Force shall issue a report regarding the requirements to produce and make available the identification described in section 2(a).
The Task Force shall include in the report issued under this subsection a requirement that the Commissioner of Social Security and the Postmaster General shall establish procedures to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of any information obtained with respect to individuals who seek assistance in obtaining the identification described in section 2(a).
Within one year after enactment, the task force would also publish voluntary recommendations for nonprofits and entities serving vulnerable populations. These would address comprehensive help obtaining cards and reducing barriers to obtaining necessary documentation, including for groups disproportionately affected by lack of identification.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Task Force shall develop and publish recommendations for voluntary best practices for nonprofit organizations and entities that provide services to vulnerable populations with respect to how such organizations and entities can assist individuals to obtain the identification described in section 2(a)
(1) recommendations with respect to how such organizations and entities can provide full service to individuals to obtain such identification; and (2) recommendations to minimize the barriers faced by such individuals, including individuals from groups which have been disproportionately affected by the lack of access to identification, in obtaining documentation of the information necessary to obtain the identification.
The task force would end when the cards become available.
The Task Force shall terminate on the date the identification is made available to individuals under section 2(a).
The bill would authorize Congress to provide whatever funding is necessary to carry it out. It does not specify a dollar amount or itself provide that funding.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated September 19, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 21, 2025. It does not establish the bill’s subsequent progress or enactment status.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-19T23:13:52Z. 2025-02-21: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 2025-02-21: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-21. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the contents of other versions or accompanying earmark materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied text contains a task-force-specific statutory exemption. Identifying this exception does not establish that it is improper or financially beneficial.
The proposed Task Force on Federal Identification Cards would receive an express exemption from the Federal Advisory Committee Act while developing requirements for the identification program. This is a narrow institutional exemption connected to administering the main policy; the source does not supply the underlying law needed to assess its full practical consequences.
There is established a Task Force on Federal Identification Cards (in this section referred to as the Task Force) for the purpose of determining the requirements to produce and make available the identification described in section 2(a).
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Task Force.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 19, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI