Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I think it is very important to say at the outset this is not about clarifying anything. This is about a major change in policy. This amendment will permit the publication of a victim's sensitive information, such as the individual's name and case history, on the internet. This overrides the Privacy Act. So let's be clear about what this is. This is not a clarification. This is a major change in policy. This amendment will make a bad bill even worse. It specifies that the Privacy Act does not prohibit the publication of a victim's sensitive information, such as his or her name and case history. Under current law, the Treasury Department cannot, for the purposes of the Judgment Fund, publish the sensitive information of individuals who are victims of government abuse or misconduct, such as a name or case history. This is because the Privacy Act requires an individual's consent prior to publishing their name or other sensitive information. Although proponents of this amendment may claim that this information is, in some instances, already publicly available, the Supreme Court has recognized that a person's privacy interests and their personal information collected in government records does not automatically dissolve because such information may be available to the public already in some other format. Individuals have the right to control the dissemination of their own personal information.…”