[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 7, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H1888-H1889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          PROTECTING SENSITIVE DATA FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS

  (Mr. Menendez of New Jersey was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm that 
sensitive data for millions of Americans is at risk. Many of us have 
heard of the scams, data breaches, and hacks that have plagued 
businesses and individuals for years.
  Unfortunately, the newest threat to our personal data comes from 
within the Federal Government. Over the past 3 months, Elon Musk's DOGE 
employees embedded themselves in dozens of Federal departments and 
agencies without any guardrails or protections put in place by our 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
  We know this data is extremely valuable to bad actors and foreign 
adversaries. In fact, after DOGE infiltrated the National Labor 
Relations Board, suspicious attempts were made to access the data from 
an IP address in Russia.
  Congress should be working to fulfill our obligations to the American 
people and safeguard their data. Instead, my colleagues across the 
aisle have seemingly left the door open for DOGE and anyone else to 
potentially access and misuse their constituents' personal information.
  It is not just the recklessness that should concern everyone across 
the country. It is the fact that the data being held by the government 
is being weaponized by the Trump administration.
  The IRS recently entered into an agreement with ICE to share 
information about immigrants. The same is true of data on affording 
housing recipients. If we allow them to use this data now, then what 
will stop them from using information from other agencies in the future 
against other groups of Americans?
  Mr. Speaker, at a recent Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, we 
heard from experts in this field who were invited there by my 
Republican colleagues that as we seek to harness the growth of AI, we 
must put guardrails in place to protect all Americans' sensitive 
information, which we know is a target-rich environment for foreign 
adversaries.
  My colleagues don't have to take my word for it. Just listen to the 
testimony of the people whom Republicans invited here to testify. 
Malicious actors do not care what someone's political party is or where 
they live before they steal our data. Our response to this threat 
should be bipartisan.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to stand alongside House 
Democrats in calling upon the Trump administration, the Office of 
Management and Budget, and DOGE to clarify

[[Page H1889]]

what actions they are taking to safeguard the most sensitive taxpayer 
data that exists on our Federal systems. If they don't act, then we 
should here in Congress.

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