News

Data-security bills die for another year

Congress is expected to revisit data security in '07 session. 

October 1, 2006

WASHINGTON - Legislation to beef up data security is dead, at least for this year. But the House Financial Services Committee says it expects the issue to be a top priority early in the next congressional session.

Calling the matter "most urgent," Rep. Spencer Bachus (D-Alabama), who's in line to lead the Financial Services Committee if the Republicans take the House in mid-term elections, said data security will be a priority on his agenda next year. Bachus, who is the chairman of the Financial Services' subcommittee for financial institutions, said he is concerned about the growing costs of data breaches to both consumers and FIs.

Many of the costs associated with breaches, he said, are accrued for the recall and issuance of new credit and debit cards, even when there has been no fraud. And Rep. Barney Frank (R-Massachusetts), who's poised to become the next chairman of the Financial Services Committee if the Democrats sweep the House, also listed data security among his top priorities.

Both lawmakers, while speaking in Washington to the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, conceded that the time left in this year's legislative session doesn't leave enough time to reconcile the dozen different data-security bills floating around in both the House and Senate.