[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10658-S10659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TELEPHONE RECORDS AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF 2006

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, we have recently been reminded of the 
tremendous threat to consumer privacy posed by what is known as phone 
pretexting--the use of fraud and deception to acquire consumer phone 
records. The investigation into pretexting at Hewlett-Packard is just 
the latest example of why there is a need to enact legislation to 
safeguard the privacy and security of Americans' sensitive personal 
data.
  Consumer telephone records have become a hot commodity and this 
information is a treasure trove for those who would misuse it to make a 
profit or who exploit it for harmful purposes. More and more, this 
sensitive personal information is being collected, stored and 
disseminated without our knowledge or consent.
  Last Spring, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously reported a 
bipartisan bill that would protect the privacy interests of millions of 
American consumers who use cell phones, by making the act of pretexting 
illegal. The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act--TRAPP Act--
S. 2178, clarifies that it is illegal to use deception and fraud to 
obtain and sell confidential phone records. The bill ensures that the 
Department of Justice has the legal authority to seek criminal 
penalties and up to 10 years imprisonment for anyone who engages in 
pretexting. The legislation also preserves the rights of State and 
local governments to enforce their own privacy laws, to best protect 
the privacy rights of consumers.
  In April, the House unanimously passed an essentially identical phone 
pretexting bill, H.R. 4709. The language used in that bill was worked 
out with Senators from both sides of the aisle before it was considered 
by the House, so that when adopted by the Senate it could be sent 
directly to the President

[[Page S10659]]

for his signature. I have worked for months now to make progress on 
that bill and it has been cleared for passage twice by all Democratic 
Senators. First, we cleared it with an amendment that would have also 
passed the Second Chance Act and consensus court security measures. 
When Senate Republicans refused to clear that measure, Senate Democrats 
also cleared the bill for passage in the identical form that it passed 
the House and without any amendments. An anonymous Republican hold on 
the measure is preventing its passage.
  I know of no legitimate reason for this delay. The Senate could pass 
this bill today and send it to the President to be signed into law. 
Instead of passing this bipartisan privacy legislation, it appears this 
Republican-led Congress will recess without acting on this bill--
forcing millions of Americans to continue to play Russian roulette with 
their sensitive personal information.
  This week the former chair of Hewlett Packard, Patricia Dunn, called 
on Congress to pass bright-line laws regarding phone pretexting to 
avoid a repeat of the fiasco at HP. The TRAPP Act would do exactly 
that. This bill would help shut down the growing black market for 
consumer telephone records.
  I support this bill and I commend the bill's lead cosponsors in the 
Senate and the House--Senators Specter, Schumer and Durbin, and 
Representatives Lamar Smith and John Conyers--for their leadership on 
this privacy issue. I hope whoever is objecting on the Republican side 
will stop the needless delay of this legislation. If there is a 
legitimate concern, come forward and work with us.
  The Senate should also act on a more comprehensive privacy bill that 
Chairman Specter and I have cosponsored--the Personal Data Privacy and 
Security Act, S. 1789. This important measure was favorably reported by 
the Judiciary Committee last November. But, the Republican Senate 
leadership would not allow this bill to be considered by this Congress 
either.
  Our bill requires companies that have databases with sensitive 
personal information about Americans to establish and implement data 
privacy and security programs. The bill also requires data brokers to 
provide notice to consumers when their sensitive personal information 
has been compromised.
  We have a bill that significantly advances the ball in protecting the 
privacy of all Americans, and I will continue to work to move this 
legislation toward passage.

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