Statement of Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
MARKUP OF H.R. 5438, “PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL EMERGENCY COORDINATION ACT OF 2006"; H.R. 3997, “FINANCIAL DATA PROTECTION ACT OF 2006”; AND H.R. 5126, “TRUTH IN CALLER ID ACT”

May 24, 2006

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for holding today’s markup and look forward to supporting each of these bills. Each bill is the subject of bipartisan discussions and bipartisan amendments.

I am pleased to join you as a cosponsor of the first bill on the agenda, the “Public Health and Medical Emergency Coordination Act of 2006.” This bill codifies the role of the Department of Health and Human Services as the primary agency for the coordination of Federal assistance for a bioterrorist attack or other public health emergency.

It also consolidates the functions and personnel of the National Disaster Medical System, currently in the Department of Homeland Security, in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Over the coming years, this Committee will be challenged as our colleagues on the Committee on Homeland Security attempt to raid this Committee’s jurisdiction over health, nuclear security, cybersecurity, and telecommunications by moving functions of various agencies to the Department of Homeland Security. Unless we want to see these agencies suffer the fate of FEMA, we will need to remain vigilant.

The next bill, the “Financial Data Protection Act of 2006," is the version of the data protection legislation reported by the Committee on Financial Services. Unlike the excellent bipartisan legislation reported by this Committee, that bill is far too weak, and is opposed by States and consumer groups, among others.

I support your efforts to substitute our bill for it, and look forward to seeing a strong bill on the House floor soon. Almost every week, including this one, we read about the lack of care for sensitive personal data, and we must take action now on this matter.

Finally, the "Truth in Caller ID" bill, sponsored by you and our colleague Representative Engel, is a good piece of legislation to prevent mischievous people from manipulating caller ID information to mask their identity or impersonate others. I am pleased that it will be further improved by a bipartisan amendment requiring that violations must have an intent to defraud or cause harm.

I commend you for this markup, and look forward to voting for each of these bills.

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(Contact: Jodi Seth, 202-225-3641)