Joe Barton: “I am standing on the Republican side to express some of the same concerns that have been expressed on the Democratic…”

“I am standing on the Republican side to express some of the same concerns that have been expressed on the Democratic side about the inadequacy about the privacy protections in the bill that is pending before us. I want to commend the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gillmor) and others on the Republican side for beginning to address the issue. Sadly, we have not gone as far as we should go. We are about to enter a brave new world where financial institutions offer large ranges of services, not just checking account balances and savings account balances. That is good. That is going to provide additional choice and additional products for the American consuming public. In the bill before us, if the Oxley amendment is adopted, we are going to protect privacy in most cases for third-party transfers outside the affiliate structure with some exceptions. My opinion is, if it is a necessity to provide privacy for third-party transactions outside of the affiliate structure, it is just as much a necessity to provide that same opt-out provision within the affiliate structure.”