[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 14, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H2838-H2839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PRIVATE MEDICAL DATA OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

  (Mr. Subramanyam of Virginia was recognized to address the House for 
5 minutes.)
  Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, we need to stop this administration 
from trying to collect private medical data on Federal employees and 
their families.
  Recently OPM, the Office of Personnel Management, started asking 
Federal workers and their family members for their detailed monthly 
health records.
  This isn't just trends or summaries. This is things like 
prescriptions and claims, so all this data has personally identifiable 
information that paints a clear picture of a person's private life and 
health.
  Why do they want to do this? Well, we are not really sure. One story 
from OPM is that this is to help provide competitive, quality, 
affordable health plans. But OPM already has health claims data 
warehouses, and they haven't really explained how this would actually 
help with finding a competitive plan. They certainly haven't cited 
legal authority for why they are entitled to every Federal worker's 
detailed health information.
  We are being asked right now to trust that this will all be secure, 
but they haven't really outlined how they will keep this information 
safe, and OPM has a really poor track record. This is the agency that 
leaked 21 million records in one of the largest Federal data breaches 
in recent history.

  Last year, there were credible reports that DOGE personnel were 
granting sweeping access to sensitive OPM systems and data.
  A Federal judge has temporarily blocked this policy of collecting 
Federal worker health data because it likely violates the Privacy Act, 
but we need to permanently stop this policy from moving forward.
  Instead of going after Federal workers' personal information, I would 
ask the OPM to instead focus on processing the backlog of retirement 
claims, which has surpassed 55,000 cases. In any case, I hope my 
colleagues will join me in opposing what OPM is doing here.


                     Forest Service Reorganization

  Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the planned 
reorganization of the Forest Service, which will mean the relocation or 
closure of dozens of Forest Service offices.
  The Forest Service is an agency many of us don't think about, but it 
does so much important work that impacts our lives every day. They 
protect national forests, wildlife diversity, and watersheds. They lead 
the fight against forest fire and promote fire prevention. They 
research forest health and manage 193 million acres of land.
  We already know that these relocations and closures of Forest Service 
offices will be a disaster, because the first Trump administration 
relocated

[[Page H2839]]

just three offices, which resulted in the largest loss of productivity 
and staffing in recent history for that agency. That is just three 
offices. Imagine moving the entire headquarters, which is 260 
employees. Those folks, some of whom are my constituents, would have to 
choose between their jobs or uprooting their lives and their families.

                              {time}  1215

  The administration also wants to close 57 of 77 Forest Service 
research facilities. This will slow down or end research on wildfire 
prevention, logging techniques, endangered species research, and 
climate change response. I could keep going.
  This is irresponsible, given the record temperatures we are seeing 
every year and the once-in-a-lifetime droughts and floods that are 
happening every few years.
  This can't be about reducing waste, fraud, and abuse, or streamlining 
government, because the move itself would be incredibly costly, and the 
natural disasters that result from them will be far more costly than 
maintaining these offices.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this administration to stop these disastrous 
relocations of the Forest Service.

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