Senate Committee Passes Bill to Provide 10-Year Credit Monitoring for Data Breach Victims
July 24, 2015
AFGE commends the Senate Appropriations Committee for adopting measures that would enhance protections for current and former federal employees and job applicants whose personal information was stolen during data breaches into the Office of Personnel Management’s computer systems. The extra coverage is due in part to AFGE’s insistence that OPM’s offer was not enough.
Language inserted into the fiscal 2016 Financial Services and General Government spending bill by the Senate Appropriations Committee would provide everyone affected with at least 10 years of credit monitoring services and at least $5 million in liability protection for related damages. The measures go far beyond what OPM has said it would provide.
AFGE commends Sen. Barbara Mikulski for introducing these measures, which would significantly enhance protections for employees, retirees and job applicants whose personal information was stolen during the massive OPM data breaches.
However, we still believe Congress needs to provide OPM with emergency funds to address the theft of personnel files so agencies aren’t forced to cover the costs out of funds that should be used to serve taxpayers.
