WASHINGTON– Today, the House passed H.R. 3811, the Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act of 2014,  to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to notify Americans, within two business days, of any breach of security of the federal or state exchange that may have resulted in personally-identifiable information being stolen or unlawfully accessed. Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (KS-02) spoke on the House Floor in support of this bill.  

Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (KS-02):

“I thank the gentleman for yielding.

“Health care is a personal issue and Kansans are very worried about submitting their sensitive and private information into a system that can’t protect them against the devastating consequences of security breaches and fraud.

“Experts have repeatedly raised red flags about the security of the information people are submitting to the ObamaCare exchanges and a former Social Security Administrator even described the website as a “hacker’s dream.”  

“Important questions about the website’s security remain unanswered, and Americans, especially those who have lost their plans due to the President’s health care law, deserve some peace-of-mind that their information is safe from cyber thieves.

“I urge my colleagues to support this bill that requires HHS to notify Americans within two business days if their personal information has been compromised.

“Much more is required of private-sector companies whose products are not mandated by law. The least the administration can do is notify Americans if their information has been stolen or unlawfully accessed through an Obamacare exchange.

“I yield back.”

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