Addressing the Hack of U.S. Treasury Payment Systems

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, if you were approached on the street by a stranger and asked for your Social Security number, your home address, or your bank account information, you would say no. When the government asks for this information in order to process Social Security checks or a refund, Americans say yes because there is an expectation of privacy and trust.

Mr. Speaker, they trust that their information won't fall into the hands of bad actors. They trust that their information will be secure with people who are qualified, vetted, and who have been proven worthy of having access to our sensitive data.

This administration has allowed this trust to be broken. I was quick to cosponsor the Taxpayer Data Protection Act to protect the Nation's payment system from reckless and unlawful interference.

It would require anyone who is accessing this system to have a reliable track record of professional service, the necessary security clearance, made an ethics commitment, and has no conflicts of interest.

I will note that The New York Times reports that Elon Musk will make no public disclosure of any conflicts of interest in his financial disclosure.

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