NFFE-IAM Pushing Bill to Provide Lifetime of Identity Theft Protection


NFFE-IAM is working with senators from Maryland and Virginia to pass the Recover Act.

NFFE-IAM is demanding transparency from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) following the discovery of a data breach that compromised the personnel files of an estimated 22.1 million people. Federal employees, contractors, security clearance applicants and family members of applicants were among those affected.

Since the announcement of the original breach, answers from OPM have been challenging, if not impossible, to come by, often excused under the premise of “ongoing investigations.” At every turn of this still-developing data breach, NFFE-IAM has demanded the agency be more transparent and responsive in addressing the widespread concerns of the federal workforce as well as outlining steps the administration can take to alleviate the problem.

NFFE-IAM joined with allies in the Senate to introduce the Recover Act (S. 1746). The bill, introduced by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), calls for expanded identity theft coverage for federal workers, contractors, and other individuals affected by the OPM data breaches. This includes lifetime identity theft coverage—something NFFE has repeatedly demanded—and that no less than $5 million of identity theft insurance be provided.

“To this point, OPM and the administration have been slow to respond to questions from the millions of federal employees affected by OPM’s data breaches,” said NFFE National President William R. Dougan. “America’s dedicated civil servants deserve better than the treatment they have received. We applaud the senators involved in drafting and introducing the Recover Act. Passage of the Recover Act will be a top priority legislative priority of NFFE in 2015.”

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