US GOVERNMENT AND CONGRESS STILL HASN'T PASSED LEGISLATION TO PROTECT THE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF AMERICANS FROM IDENTITY THIEVES Pick up the pace - OrlandoSentinel.com: Opinion Pick up the pace
Our position: While Congress takes its time, identity theft continues to plague consumers.
Posted January 2, 2006

Congress began work months ago on measures to protect the personal information of Americans from identity thieves, but still hasn't passed legislation.Meanwhile, incidents continue to mount. Action is overdue.

Last week, Marriott Vacation Club International said computer tapes had gone missing from its Orlando headquarters with information on 206,000 employees, time-share owners and customers. The information included Social Security numbers, raising the risk of identity theft if the tapes were stolen, and not just lost.

More than 134 data breaches involving information for 57 million people were reported in 2005, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer group. While it's unknown how many cases of identity theft have resulted from those breaches, the pilfering of personal information is a growing menace. Millions of Americans have fallen victim.There are promising proposals in both chambers of Congress that would require companies to do more to safeguard the personal information of their customers and notify them when that information has been compromised. Two Floridians, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns, have been among leading advocates for action. But passage of legislation has been stalled due to turf battles among committees with overlapping jurisdiction.

Congress needs to put aside the pettiness and make protecting Americans from identity theft a priority. Ideally, a new federal law won't preempt states from passing their own, tougher laws.