Young Amendment to Protect Service Members from Fraud, ID Theft Included in House Passed Bill

Statement

Iowa Congressman David Young released the following statement after an amendment he introduced to protect the personally identifiable information of members of the Armed Forces and their families passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017. The NDAA passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 277 to 147.

Congressman Young introduced this amendment alongside Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who serves as his co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Identity Theft and Fraud.

"Our men and women in uniform, and their families, have sacrificed a great deal in defense of our nation, and we in turn must help protect them from thieves and fraudsters who seek to prey on them by taking advantage of their service. Studies have shown military families are twice as likely to be targeted for identity theft as civilians.

"This important bipartisan amendment helps ensure safeguards are in place to protect the sensitive information of service members, holds our federal government accountable, and addresses cybersecurity concerns of our nation's service members as part of a larger, fiscally responsible package setting the policies of our nation's military.

"I'm pleased my amendment will advance in the interests of our service members and their families, as part of critical legislation which gives our military the resources and tools to do their jobs, as well as the pay raise they deserve."

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