June 29, 2000
Senator Thompson Applauds House Committee Vote to
Create Privacy Commission
WASHINGTON — Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson
(R-TN) today applauded the House Government Reform Committee’s bipartisan
approval of legislation to create a commission to study privacy concerns in a
comprehensive fashion. The bill, HR 4049, would require the commission to study
and make recommendations to Congress and the President on the protection of
individual privacy and the appropriate balance to be achieved between
protecting such privacy and allowing appropriate uses of information.
"I commend Congressmen Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) and Jim Moran (D-VA) for
their leadership in sponsoring this important piece of legislation,"
Senator Thompson said. "In the Information Age, privacy is an increasingly
complex problem. The Privacy Commission would look at the whole puzzle instead
of narrowly focusing on one piece at a time. The American people are very
concerned about the loss of their personal privacy, and we need to take a
coordinated and thoughtful approach to this problem.
"As Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, I look forward to
receiving this bill for our consideration," Senator Thompson continued.
"I count on working with Congressmen Hutchinson and Moran to make the
Privacy Commission a reality."
According to a recent NBC News Poll, loss of privacy is one of the greatest
concerns Americans have in this new century. There have been enormous leaps in
technology since the last privacy commission in the late 1970's. New technology
brings tremendous communications advances, but also the potential for vastly
greater threats to individual privacy. The new Privacy Commission would be
charged with conducting a comprehensive study of privacy issues. The commission
will hold field hearings around the country, identify potential threats to
privacy, examine existing efforts and current laws for privacy protection, and
report on its findings and recommendations within 18 months of its creation.
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