The Senate approved an amendment Tuesday that would prohibit the Defense Department from releasing or disclosing the medical records of its personnel without permission except in cases of national security or law enforcement purposes.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., offered the amendment, adopted by voice vote, to the fiscal 2001 defense spending bill being debated on the Senate floor.
Boxer's measure would amend the 1974 Privacy Act, which governs the release of personal information by the federal government. She said the act needs to be updated and argued that it contains far too many exceptions, including allowing Congress or the General Accounting Office access to medical records and other personal information.
"Talk about Big Brother," she said. "We (Congress) have the right to get anyone's medical record. What a stunning revelation this is."
Boxer said she would attempt to offer amendments to other spending bills that would prevent other federal agencies from releasing those medical records that they have access to without each individual's permission.
"What we're doing here we should do to every federal agency," she said.
But Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Ark., who agreed to the amendment, said he would object to using other spending bills to offer "piece by piece" amendments to the Privacy Act.
Boxer promised Stevens she would only offer her amendment to other spending bills, "where it's appropriate." A spokesman for Boxer said she was in the process of determining what those other "appropriate" bills may be.
Boxer is among several lawmakers and the Clinton administration who have called for legislation to protect the privacy of medical records.