Congressional Working Group Seeks Input From Stakeholders on National Standard for Data Privacy

A congressional data privacy working group is exploring federal data privacy and security framework parameters.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Vice Chair John Joyce, M.D. (R-Penn.) created the working group in February. In a press release, Guthrie and Joyce said, “The need for comprehensive data privacy is greater than ever, and we are hopeful that we can start building a strong coalition to address this important issue.”

The working group requested that stakeholders offer their suggestions in response to a series of questions. On April 7, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) provided comments, calling for a tiered, risk-based structure that sets a national standard for privacy law by amending the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act rather than adding further requirements or layers of statute.

CAP also recommended having an expert agency retain sole authority of enforcing the privacy requirements and offering incentives in the form of financial assistance from federal agencies, such as grants and increased federal health care program payments, for steps taken to improve cyberattack prevention and response.

Sources:

https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/chairman-guthrie-and-vice-chairman-joyce-announce-creation-of-privacy-working-group

https://documents.cap.org/documents/CAP_Response_Data_Privacy_RFI_040725.pdf