[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 121 (Tuesday, October 3, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PRIVACY COMMISSION ACT

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                               speech of

                           HON. PATSY T. MINK

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 2, 2000

  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong 
opposition to H.R. 4049, the Privacy Commission Act.
  H.R. 4049 will establish a commission to study how best to protect 
individual privacy. In eighteen months this commission will provide its 
findings to Congress and the President.
  Congress is already well aware of the ability of public and private 
institutions to gather and share data. While the gathering of personal 
data has heralded improvements in customer services and national 
security efforts, it threatens to undermine an individual's ability to 
protect their most private medical and financial information. 
Internationally, an individual's ability to control their most private 
information is considered a human right.
  I am very concerned about the invasion of our private rights and that 
is why Congress should act now, not postpone action for another 
eighteen months when the commission's report is completed.
  There is legislation before this body that would provide adequate 
protection for individual privacy. I am a cosponsor of three such 
bills: H.R. 1941, H.R. 2447, and H.R. 3320. These three bills will 
protect personal health information by limiting use and disclosure of 
such information, prohibit employment or health insurance 
discrimination based on genetic information, and amend the privacy 
provisions in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to prohibit financial 
institutions from disclosing, or making use of, nonpublic personal 
credit information. On May 1, 2000, President Clinton announced his 
consumer privacy plan which he presented to Congress stating ``we 
cannot allow new opportunities to erode old and fundamental rights.''
  These bills and the President's plan should be considered by the full 
House. Individual privacy protection greatly concerns individuals in my 
district. They deserve to have this issue debated in full and addressed 
immediately. H.R. 4049 will serve only to delay this process, and in 
the end inform us and the American people what is already abundantly 
apparent: Congress must act immediately to protect individual privacy.

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