Feingold, Sununu Introduce Bill to Require Reports on Data-Mining Bipartisan Legislation Requires Federal Agencies to Report to Congress on the Use and Development of Data-Mining Programs June 10, 2005 Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) was joined by Senator John Sununu (R-NH) and others in introducing a bill requiring federal agencies to report to Congress on data-mining programs they are developing or using. The Federal Agency Data-Mining Reporting Act mandates that agencies disclose to Congress information about data-mining programs they are using in connection with anti-terrorism and law enforcement efforts, including why they are using the data-mining technology, if the programs work as intended, and what steps are being taken to protect privacy and due process rights. "Many Americans would shudder to think that personal information like credit card reports and medical records could become part of some unregulated computerized search engine," Feingold said. "Without oversight by Congress, these data-mining programs could potentially trample on the civil liberties of Americans who have no connection to terrorism or other wrongdoing. This legislation does not prevent data-mining. It simply makes sure that Congress knows about the existence and effectiveness of data-mining efforts by the federal government." "While data-mining can be a useful tool for detecting illegal activity, the highest levels of care must be taken to ensure that federal agencies are properly using this technology," said Senator Sununu. "With appropriate oversight, we can better understand the effectiveness of data-mining and its impact on the privacy rights of all Americans." Data-mining technology is capable of reviewing and analyzing millions of both public and private records on each and every American. The use of this technology by government law enforcement or intelligence agencies to search for patterns of criminal or terrorist activity raises privacy concerns, as well as questions about the technology's effectiveness. Last year, Feingold successfully passed an amendment to the Senate version of the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill based on his data-mining reporting bill. However, the amendment did not make it into the final version of the law.

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