Enzi Amendment Prevents "Full Body Scan' of Personal Financial Information

Press Release

U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., introduced an amendment to the financial regulatory reform bill today that will protect consumers' privacy by preventing a federal bureaucracy from freely thumbing through Americans' personal financial records at its own discretion.

Enzi's amendment proposes to put the control back in the hands of consumers by forcing the Consumer Financial Protections Bureau created through the bill to obtain written permission from individuals for the government to access a person's financial transactions.

"If you think full body scans at airport security are bad, they pale in comparison to the supposed consumer protection provision in the financial regulatory bill we're debating here today. Even if you are OK with this heightened airport security measure, will you be OK with a full scan of your financial records?" Enzi said.

"This is not a single step encroaching upon privacy like a body scan image. What the Bureau proposes to do skips over that privacy boundary. It's not a single scan. It's a life audit.

"My amendment would make it so that the government can't watch over my financial transactions without me saying so. My amendment gives consumers a choice. I don't think the Bureau should be allowed to look over my credit card statement to see if I am spending too much money. I don't think the Bureau should be allowed to monitor my purchases and note that I bought a new boat, a new car or a gun."

Amendment 4018 to S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, simply says that if the new Bureau created in this bill wants to investigate a consumer's individual transactions, then the Bureau must get written permission from that individual. The Bureau wouldn't be able to investigate someone's banking activities or credit card purchases without that person's permission.

Source