November 16, 2017

By Melanie Kurdys and April Few

Privacy and parental rights are being undermined yet again by the federal government.

The House passed a bill yesterday that will create a massive national database with personal data on freeborn Americans. Today Congressman Trey Gowdy (SC-4), Chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, sent out “clarification” to the Foundations for Evidence-based Policy-making Act (FEPA), or HR 4174.

Congressman Gowdy insists the bill:

1. “does not create a federal data base, and does not collect federal data in one place,” although the bill says “establishment of a shared service to facilitate data sharing, and enable data linkage” across all government agencies; and
2. does not authorize any new data analysis,” yet just yesterday, on the House floor, a key talking point was improving analysis of outcomes.

Do they think we are stupid?

This same parsing occurred with Common Core, folks. Congressmen Trey Gowdy, Paul Mitchell (MI-10), Justin Amash (MI-3), Paul Ryan (WI-1)- all of them are wrong.

This is in fact creating a federal data system about each and every one of us who has been in the military, filed a tax return, attend public school, completed a census form, bought a gun, received any government service or participated in any government program.

They imagine they are capable of setting up an easy to use, efficient, broadly accessible data system that “protects” our privacy. Talk about evidence-less decision making.

There was no press coverage, but then again the press was listed among the many beneficiaries of the new data access. Who would have guessed a Republican majority in DC would have been the first to usher in absolute tyranny?

There is a Senate twin bill, S.2046, which is in the Government Oversight Committee. Please continue to contact your senators and members of the Government Oversight Committee and tell them the dangers of this bill. Here are the members of the Government Oversight Committee and their contact information.

To stay abreast of what’s happening in education policy, visit uspie.org and Join the Movement!