Legislation that would protect public servants across all levels of government introduced.
U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) and Dan Goldman (D-NY) introduced the Providing Resources and Oversight to Ensure Confidentiality of Those who serve (PROTECT) Act to strengthen data security and prevent public officials from being targeted. The bill directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to develop best practices for protecting personally identifiable information about public servants, officials said.
“Public servants sign up to better their country and communities,” Hill said. “Unfortunately, more and more are becoming the targets of threats and harassment, and some have already been hurt, like my friend Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Others have been killed, as we saw in Minnesota with the horrific assassination of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.”
Hill said the legislation was introduced because of the attempted attack on the White House Correspondence Dinner on Saturday, April 25.
“This past weekend, a would-be assassin targeted the president and administration officials,” he said. “Yet while violence targeting politicians gets the most attention, this threat impacts public servants at every level, from local police officers and Border Patrol agents to county judges and game wardens. The PROTECT Act will give agencies at the state, local, and federal level the guidance they need to better protect the people who serve our communities.”
The lawmakers said violence against public servants at every level of government has increased over the last 10 years and that some of the attacks stem from availability of public information. The Congressmen said there is no standardized, government-wide approached to protecting this information and that their legislation would leverage DHS expertise, while ensuring that federal agencies and state and local governments have access to clear, actionable guidance to help safeguard sensitive data and protect public servants.
“In a time of rising political violence, bad actors are taking advantage of the wealth of online information to attack public figures,” Goldman said. “The bipartisan PROTECT Act will direct the DHS to provide guidance to public servants across government agencies with the best practices to protect themselves. Public servants should be able to serve those whom they represent while feeling safe and secure.”