President Dispatches Identity Theft Team

President Bush has ordered the creation of an Identity Theft Task Force to increase efforts to find and prosecute offenders, improve public outreach and boost safeguards over personal data held by federal agencies. The members of the group -- which will be chaired by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and include the secretaries of Treasury, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security -- have 180 days to prepare a strategic plan to "improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the federal government's activities in the areas of identity theft awareness, prevention, detection, and prosecution."

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., immediately called the move "a year late and a lot out of step."