WASHINGTON – This morning, in a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) slammed the credit bureau Equifax for its cybersecurity failures and weak response in the wake of a data breach affecting the personal information of 143 million Americans. Sen. Warner, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Securities, Annuities, and Other Financial Investments, pressed the SEC Chairman to work with the Banking Committee to push for more transparency and accountability when a public company is breached and Americans’ personal information is exposed.

Said Warner of the Equifax breach, “We have no ability to opt-in to these systems. We are part of these systems whether we like it or not. I’m often asked in my job on the Intelligence Committee what I think the single greatest vulnerability our country faces is, and I believe it’s cybersecurity.” 

Added the Senator, “I think Equifax is a travesty. I think the resignation of the CEO is by no means enough… Number one, in terms of the sloppiness of their defenses. Two, in terms of the fact that this was clearly a knowable vulnerability – they had known for months, and if they had simply put a patch in place we might have precluded this. And to add insult to injury, Equifax, when it put up the site to direct consumers after the breach, that site was not properly domain-registered and was known to have vulnerabilities in the site itself. So if we don’t send a very, very strong message – now the market has already taken, I think, 25 percent off its market value – but I question whether Equifax has the right to even continue providing these services with the level of sloppiness and lack of attention to cybersecurity.”

Noting a number of significant data breaches in both the public and private sector have affected hundreds of millions of people in recent years, Warner pressed the SEC Chairman on whether he believes the publicly-traded companies regulated by the agency are being sufficiently forthcoming with shareholders and the public when their systems are breached by hackers.

The SEC Chairman told Sen. Warner, “I agree with you generally. I don’t think there’s been enough disclosure around the risk profile of companies with respect to cybersecurity. Where are the risks, what are the vulnerabilities, what do we know, not know. And then, if there are breaches, the disclosure of those specific breaches. I don’t think there’s been adequate disclosure in that regard.” 

Warner urged Chairman Clayton to work with the Banking Committee to strengthen those reporting standards through the SEC rulemaking process or by working with Senators to craft appropriate legislation that would improve disclosure and transparency for companies that suffer a data breach. A full transcript of their exchange is below.

In a September 13 letter, Sen. Warner also asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to examine whether credit reporting agencies such as Equifax have adequate cybersecurity safeguards in place for “the enormous amounts of sensitive data they gather and commercialize.” In a response to Sen. Warner’s questions, dated September 21 and newly released today, the FTC disclosed that the agency is considering whether an existing FTC consent degree with Equifax for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act could allow the FTC to assess additional sanctions and civil penalties on Equifax for its failure to maintain acceptable data security practices. The FTC also agreed with Sen. Warner’s assessment that Equifax has not adopted sufficient security practices for consumers wishing to place a credit freeze on their accounts following the theft of their personal information.  

The FTC also recommended that Congress take up comprehensive data security legislation that would provide timely notification to consumers when there is a data breach – a cause Sen. Warner has championed for more than three years. 

The FTC’s full response to Sen. Warner is available here.   

Transcript:

WARNER: Let me first of all echo what Senator Kennedy has just said. The whole notion of the credit rating agencies, and the public’s ability – we have no ability to opt-in to these systems. We are part of these systems whether we like it or not. I’m often asked in my job on the Intelligence Committee what I think the single greatest vulnerability our country faces is, and I believe it’s cybersecurity. I believe we do not have a whole-of-government, or whole-of-society approach on cybersecurity. In recent times, we have seen Russia take unprecedented action attacking 21 of our states’ voting systems. We’ve seen our social media platforms being manipulated with false information and misinformation and disinformation campaigns that are at least indirectly related to cyber.

I appreciate you, Mr. Chairman, coming forward with the recognition of the EDGAR system breach. I wish it had been done quicker, though as has been pointed out, this is not in isolation. We’ve seen, as has been pointed out, OPM and a series of other governmental breaches. I think Equifax is a travesty. I think the resignation of the CEO is by no means enough. I would say, and I understand your reluctance to acknowledge whether there is an investigation, your colleagues at the FTC, who also have a process in place where they normally don’t reveal an ongoing investigation, felt that this was so serious that they acknowledged that there was an investigation going on.

And the Equifax breach is so egregious. Number one, in terms of the sloppiness of their defenses. Two, in terms of the fact that this was clearly a knowable vulnerability – they had known for months, and if they had simply put a patch in place we might have precluded this. And to add insult to injury, Equifax, when it put up the site to direct consumers after the breach, that site was not properly domain-registered and was known to have vulnerabilities in the site itself. So if we don’t send a very, very strong message – now the market has already taken, I think, 25 percent off its market value – but I question whether Equifax has the right to even continue providing these services with the level of sloppiness and lack of attention to cybersecurity. 

I’d also point out – and Senator Brown raised this question – this not the first time. I mean, Yahoo last year. 500 million user breach, and Yahoo did not believe that it was material enough to even report. One investigation has shown, with 9,000 public companies, we have less than 100 companies, since 2010, feel that any level of cyber incursion was significant enough to meet that materiality standard to notify the public. I find that absolutely unacceptable. 

I know Senator Brown asked that, but Mr. Clayton, do you want to make any further comment about what the SEC might be looking at in terms of reviewing these materiality standards as it relates to cybersecurity? 

CLAYTON: Yes, I do. I agree with you generally. I don’t think there’s been enough disclosure around the risk profile of companies with respect to cybersecurity. Where are the risks, what are the vulnerabilities, what do we know, not know. And then, if there are breaches, the disclosure of those specific breaches. I don’t think there’s been adequate disclosure in that regard.

WARNER: Well my hope would be that this would be something – I know I’m very interested in, and I think across both sides of the aisle, we’d like to work with you on – whether we need legislative actions, or whether we work with you as an entity. 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and a group of Senators in calling on President Trump to fill the vacancies for U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. These key positions have gone unfilled in the over eight months of the Trump presidency. In the wake of North Korea’s actions, Senate-confirmed nominees for these positions would provide stable leadership and coordinate State and Defense Department efforts as our country works with our allies and partners to reach a diplomatic solution.

 “As North Korea continues its illegal nuclear weapons program, commits blatant violations of international law, and makes threats to our country and allies, the confirmation of a U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea must be prioritized to send a concrete signal to reassure not only our ROK allies but also the American people,” the Senators wrote. “Just as our diplomatic mission to the ROK deserves leadership of an ambassador to represent our nation’s interests, our country’s diplomatic and military efforts in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region deserve permanent Assistant Secretaries of State and Defense to coordinate our diplomatic efforts on North Korea, other regional challenges as well as opportunities to advance U.S. interests.”

In addition to Sens. Warner and Hirono, the following Senators also signed the letter: Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

 Text of the letter is below and can also be found here. 

Dear Mr. President:

We write to you today to express our deep concern that a nominee to fill the vacancy of the U.S. ambassadorship to the Republic of Korea (ROK) in light of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula has yet to be announced eight months into your presidency. Given the importance of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region to U.S. national security interests, we urge you to swiftly send a nominee to the Senate for advice and consent along with your nominees to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs which play key roles in coordinating U.S. diplomacy and defense policy on North Korea in addition to the wider region. We urge you to select highly qualified and competent nominees with extensive experience in the region including on North Korea issues.

As North Korea continues its illegal nuclear weapons program, commits blatant violations of international law, and makes threats to our country and allies, the confirmation of a U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea must be prioritized to send a concrete signal to reassure not only our ROK allies but also the American people, that one of our most important diplomatic relationships will be appropriately represented at the ambassadorial level. The United States has diplomatic relations with over 190 nations but none are as extensive and instrumental to our national security as those with our treaty allies such as the ROK. The U.S.-ROK alliance was strengthened by the bonds forged between U.S. and ROK troops during the Korean War and it continues to be strengthened by the Korean-American community, our economic ties and our mutual defense treaty commitments. We look forward to hearing your nominee’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on your administration’s North Korea strategy and how the U.S.-ROK alliance can be further strengthened to meet the challenges and opportunities in our bilateral relationship.

 Just as our diplomatic mission to the ROK deserves leadership of an ambassador to represent our nation’s interests, our country’s diplomatic and military efforts in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region deserve permanent Assistant Secretaries of State and Defense to coordinate our diplomatic efforts on North Korea, other regional challenges as well as opportunities to advance U.S. interests. As head of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs within the State Department, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs manages our diplomatic activities and serves as a key advisor to the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs on regional matters. Its Defense Department counterpart serves a similar role for oversight of security cooperation not only with our five treaty allies in the region but a growing number of partners key to our national security interests. The recent enactment of additional sanctions on North Korea from Congress and the United Nations Security Council warrant these posts to be filled on a non-acting basis to lead efforts to ensure close coordination with our allies and partners as implementation proceeds and dialogue continues on our response to North Korea’s continued provocations. 

 To date, the Senate has confirmed 20 ambassadorial nominees including six to close allied nations. It is critical now for our government to affirmatively convey to our ROK allies that our relationship is valued in the same manner as these nations, and as senators we stand ready to consider your nominees for U.S. ambassador to the ROK as well as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON— U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued this statement on the passing of Dr. Ron Carrier, former longtime president of James Madison University:

"It is hard to overstate Ron's tremendous impact on JMU's history, its growth and the reputation it enjoys today. At the same time, Ron provided principled and strong leadership throughout the Valley and indeed across Virginia. 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) issued this joint statement following an announcement by Anthem that it will re-enter 63 counties or cities in Virginia where consumers  otherwise would be left without any insurance options in the 2018 Affordable Care Act exchanges. Both senators were engaged in efforts to resolve this challenge prior to today’s deadline for notifying the Bureau of Insurance at the State Corporation Commission.    

“We are glad Anthem is re-entering the Virginia individual health care exchange to provide thousands of Virginia consumers with coverage in places where they might have had none. This is welcome news for Virginians in rural communities, who have been hit particularly hard by health care uncertainty. It's time for the Trump Administration to stop their efforts to sabotage and destabilize the markets, which resulted in fewer choices and higher premiums for 2018.  We will continue to work in Congress with colleagues regardless of party to fix the existing Affordable Care Act to ensure a stable market, lower costs, and improve coverage.”

 The Senate HELP Committee has been holding bipartisan hearings this month on measures to stabilize the health insurance market, including proposals like Kaine’s bill to help stabilize the individual health care marketplace and lower premiums through reinsurance. On Thursday, he called on insurers like Anthem to stop depriving people in rural Virginia of opportunities by limiting coverage options or pulling out of the individual markets. State health insurance commissioners and health care experts have expressed support for reinsurance as a way to increase certainty in the marketplace.

Senator Warner sits on the Senate Finance Committee, which is holding hearings on expanding consumer options and making health care coverage more affordable for American families. Senator Warner has offered several commonsense proposals to increase competition in the health care marketplace, lower health care costs, and make the Affordable Care Act work better for more Virginians.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Banking, Budget and Finance committees and cofounder of the bipartisan Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, today asked the Federal Trade Commission to examine the recent cyber hack of credit reporting agency Equifax. Last week, Equifax publically disclosed a breach which exposed sensitive personal information of 143 million Americans.

Sen. Warner requested an FTC investigation into the lapse in Equifax cybersecurity practices, and questioned the company’s widely-panned response to consumers potentially impacted by the breach. His letter asks the FTC to examine whether credit reporting agencies such as Equifax have adequate cybersecurity safeguards in place for “the enormous amounts of sensitive data they gather and commercialize.” 

Sen. Warner has been a leader in calling for better consumer protections from data theft. In the aftermath of the Target breach that exposed the debit and credit card information of 40 million customers, Sen. Warner in 2014 chaired the first congressional hearing on protecting consumer data from the threat posed by hackers targeting retailers’ online systems. Sen. Warner also partnered with the National Retail Federation to establish an information sharing platform that allows the industry to better protect consumer financial information from data breaches.

Sen. Warner has been working to develop bipartisan legislation to create a comprehensive, nationwide and uniform data breach standard requiring timely consumer notification for breaches of financial data and other sensitive information. 

The text of the letter is below and can be found here. 

September 13, 2017

The Honorable Maureen K. Ohlhausen

Acting Chairwoman

Federal Trade Commission

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20580

Dear Acting Chairwoman Ohlhausen,

I write you in the wake of reports that one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies has suffered one of the largest, and potentially most impactful, breaches in recent history. According to reports, Equifax in May of this year experienced a breach affecting as many as 143 million consumers, with highly sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license records, birthdates, addresses, and credit histories potentially at risk. This information – critical to opening a new bank account or taking out a loan – will expose Americans to identity theft, tax fraud, extortion, and other risks.

By streamlining and routinizing the collection of consumer reports and credit history, the Fair Credit Reporting Act in part enshrined the nation’s major credit reporting agencies’ role as arbiters of Americans’ access to credit, and even employment and residential opportunities. At the same time, Congress sought to ensure that these firms “exercise their grave responsibilities” with a “respect for the consumer’s right to privacy,” including through “reasonable procedures…with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information[.]”  And Congress directed the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission” or “FTC”) to enforce key aspects of the law, including by treating violations of the FCRA as unfair or deceptive practices under the Commission’s Section 5 authority. 

Today’s digital economy, in which data increasingly represents a key input, has only amplified the reach of these firms, and provided them with incentives to collect and centralize ever-growing amounts of sensitive personal information, and to commercialize this data in opaque ways. The volume and sensitivity of the data potentially involved in this breach raises serious questions about whether firms like Equifax adequately protect the enormous amounts of sensitive data they gather and commercialize. 

As someone who has worked for several years with stakeholders and a bipartisan group of lawmakers on legislation to establish a comprehensive, nationwide and uniform data breach standard, I recognize Congress’s unfinished work in this area. I am hopeful that this recent development will help galvanize action among my colleagues in Congress to safeguard American consumers and our nation’s economic security.

At the same time, aspects of this breach raise questions about the data security practices of Equifax that implicate the Federal Trade Commission’s existing authority. In particular, press reports and cybersecurity experts have identified a number of security lapses, including in the days following Equifax’s disclosure of the breach, that potentially indicate a pattern of security failings.

While the precise details of the “website application vulnerability” exploited in the Equifax breach are not yet known, experts have pointed to a wide range of other lapses by Equifax – including in the wake of the breach – that indicate exceptionally poor cybersecurity practices. For instance, experts have pointed to an exceedingly broad attack surface, with thousands of domains and subdomains managed by Equifax across hundreds of network hosts. And security experts have identified a range of antiquated, unpatched, or otherwise vulnerable systems maintained by Equifax.

Equifax’s post-breach actions also raise serious concerns about the company’s data security practices. For instance, Equifax chose to register a new domain, Equifaxsecurity2017.com – but not in its own name. Reports also catalogued a litany of security mistakes, including use of potentially insecure content management software and improperly configured web encryption.  These, and other lapses, resulted in a range of popular web browsers flagging Equifax’s site as a potential phishing or scam site. 

Equally alarming have been Equifax’s procedures for handling customer inquiries. In order for a concerned consumer to determine if they may have been impacted, Equifax requires the consumer to submit their last name and six digits of their Social Security number. The security of this procedure is as questionable as its efficacy: researchers noted that entering the last name “Test” and the Social Security numbers “123456” returned a confirmed breach.

Similarly alarming, when concerned consumers elect to place a credit freeze with Equifax – something the Commission encourages them to do – the PIN that Equifax assigns to that consumer is a simple, non-unique timestamp (formatted as, for instance, “0910170930” for a user that submitted a request at 9:30AM on the 10th of September). Separately, experts have noted that Equifax’s central website, where American consumers go to set up credit account monitoring, features cross-site scripting vulnerabilities that would enable an attacker to execute malicious code to, for instance, redirect submitted form data (such as the Social Security number the Equifax site requests) to an attacker. 

Taken as a whole, and given past breaches by other major credit bureaus, these lapses may potentially represent a systemic failure by firms currently incentivized to collect and store highly sensitive identification and financial data for Americans. The volume and sensitivity of the data involved – information critical to identity management and access to consumer credit – distinguishes this breach from many other breaches of consumer data. And in contrast to other breaches, where consumers might respond to the perceived lack of data security by taking their business elsewhere, those affected by last week’s breach in most cases do not have a direct consumer relationship with Equifax.

The implications of a breach of this magnitude are sobering, as this identifying data forms the basis for consumer credit and other financial transactions. Congress foresaw this threat in 1970, noting that failures of this industry could “undermine the public confidence which is essential to the continued functioning of the banking system.”  In ways similar to the financial service industry’s systemic risk designation, I fear that firms like Equifax may illustrate a set of institutions whose activities, left unchecked, can significantly threaten the economic security of Americans.

I respectfully request that you respond to the following questions:

1. 1.      Equifax is currently under a consent decree with the Commission for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act related to improper handling of consumer information.  Does that consent decree provide the Commission with additional remedies in the context of Equifax’s data security practices? 

1. 2.      Given the current inability of consumers to cease doing business with a credit reporting agency which displays an arguably cavalier attitude toward cybersecurity, should the Fair Credit Reporting Act be amended to provide the Commission authority to issue rules requiring credit reporting agencies to establish a way for consumers to “opt out” of having their information stored by a particular credit reporting agency? 

1. 3.      In many cases, Equifax collects and maintains sensitive information about consumers as a service to other businesses. Under state data breach notification statutes, a breached service provider need only inform the business it provides service to about the breaches it suffers, and has no obligation to provide public notice that it incurred the breach. In recent breach incidents involving third-party service providers, some companies (e.g., Heartland, Experian, Anthem, etc.) have provided public notice that their breach affected consumers. Would the FTC support legislation that requires all entities suffering a breach of security that creates a significant risk of financial harm, to make public notice of that breach in order to ensure a more timely and effective form of notice? 

1. 4.      Do you interpret the Fair Credit Reporting Act to include heightened data security standards and/or requirements, given Congress’s unique concern about the “confidentiality, accuracy…and proper utilization” of this highly sensitive data? 

1. 5.      The Commission has suggested that consumers place a credit freeze with the three major credit bureaus.  Does the Commission consider a timestamp to be a sufficiently strong PIN for unfreezing a consumer’s account?

1. a.      Has the Commission issued guidance to credit reporting agencies on adequate security and data protection measures associated with credit freezes? 
2. b.      Should this guidance be updated in light of security concerns with the site Equifax maintains to process credit monitoring and freeze requests?

1. 6.      Should Congress limit the ability of credit reporting agencies to sell data outside specific contexts, such as credit, banking, and employment inquiries?

1. 7.      Does the Commission hold lapses in data security practices in response to a breach to a higher standard than data security practices related to the breach itself?

1. 8.      Do adequate incentives to use reasonable data security practices, or penalties to deter unreasonable data security practices, exist to counter-balance the profit incentives to collect, centralize, and maintain large quantities of highly sensitive personal information of American consumers?

The American people deserve to know that their government is serious about learning from and responding to this truly concerning incident, and that it is taking all appropriate steps to help ensure it cannot happen again. Your response will be critical to this process, and I look forward to receiving that within the next two weeks. If you should have any questions or concerns, please contact my office.

As always, I appreciate your service in this important role. Thank you for your timely consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,

MARK R. WARNER

United States Senator 

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WASHINGTON – Congress today approved a bipartisan, bicameral resolution led by Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA)—prompted by the violence and domestic terrorist attack in Charlottesville, Va. last month—condemning white nationalists, white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other hate groups.  The joint resolution (S. J. Res. 49) also calls upon the Trump Administration to use all available resources to improve data collection on hate crimes and to work in a coordinated way to address the growing prevalence of hate groups. 

“Our nation’s elected leaders have a responsibility to stand up to forces of hatred and bigotry wherever they may be found. What happened in Charlottesville was domestic terrorism perpetrated by white supremacists who tragically cut short the life of a young woman, Heather Heyer, and led to the deaths of two Virginia State Police troopers Berke Bates and Lt. Jay Cullen.  The United States Congress has spoken up with one voice to recognize the lives of those we lost, to unconditionally condemn racist speech and violence, and to denounce the white nationalists, neo-Nazis, the KKK, and other hate groups,” said the Senators. “We hope that President Trump will move quickly to sign this resolution and commit his Administration to address the rise of hate groups.”

The legislation was co-sponsored in the Senate by 57 bipartisan Senators, including Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

A companion version with identical language was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week by Reps. Tom Garrett (R-VA-5) and Gerald Connolly (D-VA-11) with support from the entire Virginia House delegation. 

The joint resolution recognizes the death of Heather Heyer, 32, and the injuries suffered by many others after a car allegedly driven by a neo-Nazi slammed into a crowd of counter-demonstrators in Charlottesville. The resolution specifically describes that event as a “domestic terrorist attack.” The resolution also acknowledges the heroism and public service of Virginia State Police troopers Berke Bates and Lt. Jay Cullen, who died in the crash of their helicopter while monitoring the protests. Finally, it expresses support for the people of Charlottesville as that community heals “following these acts of violent bigotry.”   

The joint resolution also has the support of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. It now heads to President Trump for his signature. 

The text of the resolution is available here. More background on how a Joint Resolution works is available here. 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a former technology executive, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, member of the Senate Banking Committee, and cofounder of the bipartisan Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, released the following statement on today’s announcement from credit reporting firm Equifax that a data breach could have potentially affected 143 million consumers in the United States:

“The recent news that one of the largest credit reporting agencies and data brokers in the U.S. suffered a breach involving over 143 million Americans is profoundly troubling. While many have perhaps become accustomed to hearing of a new data breach every few weeks, the scope of this breach – involving Social Security Numbers, birth dates, addresses, and credit card numbers of nearly half the U.S. population – raises serious questions about whether Congress should not only create a uniform data breach notification standard, but also whether Congress needs to rethink data protection policies, so that enterprises such as Equifax have fewer incentives to collect large, centralized sets of highly sensitive data like SSNs and credit card information on millions of Americans. It is no exaggeration to suggest that a breach such as this – exposing highly sensitive personal and financial information central for identity management and access to credit– represents a real threat to the economic security of Americans.”

Sen. Warner has been a leader in calling for better consumer protections from data theft. In the aftermath of the Target breach that exposed the debit and credit card information of 40 million customers, Sen. Warner in 2014 chaired the first congressional hearing on protecting consumer data from the threat posed by hackers targeting retailers’ online systems. Sen. Warner also partnered with the National Retail Federation to establish an information sharing platform that allows the industry to better protect consumer financial information from data breaches.

Sen. Warner has been working to develop bipartisan legislation to create a comprehensive, nationwide and uniform data breach standard requiring timely consumer notification for breaches of financial data and other sensitive information.

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WASHINGTON – This morning, during the first full session of the Senate since the deadly violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Va., on August 11 and 12, 2017, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) are introducing a bipartisan resolution condemning white nationalists, white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other hate groups. The joint resolution (S. J. Res.) also calls upon the Trump Administration to use all available resources to improve data collection on hate crimes and to work in a coordinated way to address the growing prevalence of hate groups.

The joint resolution recognizes the death of Heather Heyer, 32, and the injuries suffered by 19 other people after a car allegedly driven by a neo-Nazi slammed into a crowd of counter demonstrators in Charlottesville. The resolution specifically describes that event as a “domestic terrorist attack.” The resolution also acknowledges the heroism and public service of Virginia State Police troopers Berke Bates and Lt. Jay Cullen, who died in the crash of their helicopter while monitoring the protests. Finally, the resolution expresses support for the people of Charlottesville as that community heals “following these acts of violent bigotry.”   

The Senators hope for quick action by the Senate to pass the resolution, which has support from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Anti-Defamation League, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The text of the resolution is available here.

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