Congressman Zach Wamp said Tuesday he strongly opposes efforts to establish a national identification number system for medical and other uses.

His comments follow:

"The ongoing attempts of President Clinton and Vice President Gore to erode individual privacy and their administration's efforts for further government invasion into our lives are quite troubling to me. Our individual freedom and personal liberty depend on a commitment to restrain government, and I will continue to support efforts to reduce the size and scope of government and ensure that our civil liberties are not violated.

"In order to stop attempts to establish health identification numbers, I have cosponsored H.R. 220, the Freedom and Privacy Restoration Act of 1999. This bill would prohibit the establishment in the Federal Government of any uniform national identifying number and prohibits Federal agencies from imposing standards for identification of people. I will also vote for an amendment to the Health and Human Services Appropriations bill that would prohibit the use of funds to start a national medical identification system.

"The federal government does not have the authority to invade the privacy of a person's medical information by demanding that all citizens receive a health identification number for use in a national database. A health identification number endangers constitutional liberties, threatens the doctor-patient relationship, and could open the door to other breaches of personal privacy. The convenience of the government and the streamlining of the health care system should never take precedent over the Constitution and the rights of people.

"I will continue to support efforts to limit the role of the federal government while insisting that our privacy is protected."