Washington, D.C. - Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) today introduced the Data Theft Prevention Act of 2006 which would establish federal penalties for anyone who knowingly and without authorization views, uses, downloads or removes any means of identification or individually identifiable health information that is in a federal database. This bill would also establish federal penalties for any person who uses personal information obtained from a federal database while in violation of a federal or state criminal law.
"My legislation would send the message that anyone who knowingly and without authorization removes personal information from a federal database does so at their own risk," stated Senator Akaka.
This legislation is in response to concerns that arose following the recent theft of computer equipment from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee in early May. The stolen equipment contained personal information on as many as 26.5 million veterans, active duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel.
Senator Akaka was alarmed to learn that this unauthorized removal of the personal information from VA was not an illegal act. "In fact, I was told by VA’s Inspector General that the employee’s only misdeed was of a recently established VA Security Guideline, which only carries the weight of suggested employee behavior," he said.
Cosponsoring the bill are Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY).
"Over the past several weeks we have all become too familiar with how dangerous it can be when Americans' private information is compromised. Senator Akaka's bill is just the type of strong deterrent we need to protect our citizens from potential risk," Senator Murray said. "It is time for the Administration to step up and ensure that data collected from Americans is protected, encrypted, and only provided to those who absolutely need it. And if a situation like this occurs we need all the pertinent information reported immediately. We need to be aware of the scope of the problem so that we can plan an appropriate response and ensure the public's peace of mind."
"We can't ask the private sector to put safeguards in place, while our own government is asleep at the switch," said Senator Schumer, author of the Comprehensive Identity Theft Prevention Act that would prevent large-scale security breaches by regulating data brokers and create an Office of Identity Theft to assist those affected by such breaches recapture their stolen identities. "These incidents show a pattern of complacency at the highest levels of government and an inability to tackle one of the greatest privacy and economic issues of our time. Our legislation will close a gaping loophole in the law by focusing on protecting federal databases and the hackers and thieves who try to steal this very sensitive information for financial gain. What bank robbery was to the Depression Era, ID theft is to the Information Age," stated Senator Schumer.
Senator Akaka is Ranking Member on the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. His full statement is available on the statements section of this web site.
Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at the Senate Radio & TV Gallery, Senator Akaka will hold a press conference with Senators Schumer, Murray, Clinton and Ken Salazar (D-CO). They will be discussing this legislation and a letter to the Government Accountability Office that requests an in-depth inquiry into the causes of this serious breach, the adequacy of the VA’s response, and the impact to the veterans and military community at large.
