Health Information Compliance Alert

Privacy concerns have prompted government officials to consider installing a privacy officer at the Department of Homeland Security, according to an article in the New York Times.

According to a July 9 article in the Times, the Bush administration is under Congressional pressure to place a privacy officer in the department to ensure it weighs issues of confidentiality and the secure handling of personal information.

Mark W. Everson, controller of the Office of Management and Budget told Representative Bob Barr (R-GA) that if a proposal to install such a position were submitted, he would look at it very carefully, saying that privacy is a "very important function," according to the article. Everson said the administration was looking at options for establishing a specialized privacy officer with the new department.

However, Peter Swire, a privacy official at the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration, said proposed legislation lacks any privacy safeguards, "either to prevent harm to individuals or to stop a power grab by an unaccountable agency." Swire said the privacy issue would be especially severe because of the copious amounts of data the new department would draw from other agencies.