DATA Bill Passes Out of House Committee

WASHINGTON-Another data security bill targeting the causes of recent breaches has passed out of committee in the House. The Data Accountability and Trust Act (H.R. 4127) would provide much of the oversight for data security standards to the Federal Trade Commission. Financial service providers already have to comply with Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which essentially has the same goals. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the legislation last Wednesday by a vote of 41-0. NAFCU, working with America’s Community Bankers, and CUNA are opposing the powers provided to the FTC and are asking for a carve-out amendment. Congressman Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) introduced and then withdrew an amendment that would exempt institutions covered by GLBA from FTC oversight in this matter. “We don’t want to put another unnecessary regulation on credit unions and other financial institutions,” NAFCU Associate Director of Legislative Affairs Debbie Kwon-Moore said. NAFCU sent a letter to the committee leadership just before the markup, stating, “Having the FTC create new requirements that already exist is not the answer. The key is to widen the umbrella to include other entities that are not being regulated.” “We believe the GLBA sets stringent standards and that the banking regulators have done a superb job of implementing it,” ACB Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Government Relations Bob Davis said. “Allowing a new layer of duplicate regulations is bad for community banks and financial institutions of all types.” Just a couple weeks before, the House Financial Services Committee approved the Financial Data Protection Act (H.R. 3997), 48-17. These are just two of about a dozen data security bills currently circulating on the Hill. The House Judiciary Committee has said it will also have a data security bill out shortly.