Just like a Social Security number can get copied today, a fingerprint could get copied tomorrow. And it's real hard to get a new fingerprint.

We're going to be tapping into Social Security trust fund for what you're asking for today, ... Let's have support for a modest security surcharge. How many people are going to turn down a ticket at $303 rather than $300? This is the same thing I've been hearing for 15 years.

When someone claims that we should make a security improvement at the expense of privacy or other values, we should apply ordinary analysis to make sure that the security payoff is really there. If we get little or no security improvement and a large infringement on free speech or other values, then we should be very careful. If there is a big security payoff, then we deserve to look at that more carefully,

The issue is the future of Social Security. The program as we know it today will not last. It is headed for bankruptcy.

The major impact of Sept. 11 on privatization is the disappearance of the Social Security surplus, ... Before the attacks, it was questionable whether we had enough money available to pay for the transition to privatization. This makes the issue even more difficult.

We can set aside a surplus to save Social Security or Medicare, or we can pass the burden of the baby boomers retirement off on to our children,