On Hill, data breaches not broached

House Republicans have no trouble pushing a bill to curb potential security breaches of the Obamacare website. Its the actual theft of consumer data that gets little traction.

Just this holiday season, up to 70 million Target shoppers had addresses, emails, credit or debit card information stolen, and 4.6 million Snapchat users found their names and phone numbers posted online. But the first data breach bill to hit the House floor in years set for a vote Friday will focus on security rules for HealthCare.gov, a government site that has yet to see a successful attack.

The latest corporate hackings have prompted lawmakers to dust off legislation and demand committee hearings. But Obamacare aside, Congress has shown little appetite for addressing how websites treat sensitive consumer information. Any legislation still faces tepid interest, unclear definitions and disagreement over the governments role factors that have stalled legislation for more than a decade.

Every single one of these breaches I think, This is going to be the catalyst for Congress to do something, said former Rep. Mary Bono (R-Calif.), who pushed data security legislation as head of the House Energy and Commerces manufacturing subcommittee. I dont know how much worse it is going to have to get.

(Also on POLITICO: Hacked: Why Target became a target)

Lawmakers, sounding much as they did in 2011 when hackers infiltrated Sony and Epsilon, or in 2007 when T.J. Maxx ended up the victim of a multibillion dollar breach, have promised a response to the Target incident. At least two Senate committee chairs are reintroducing bills from previous sessions. Members of the Senate Banking, Senate Commerce and House Financial Services committees want hearings. The Senate Judiciary Committee announced plans for one; the House Judiciary Committee is considering its own.

Part of the slowdown stems from supporters themselves. Both industry and privacy groups back a federal data standard that would replace a confusing amalgam of state laws. Thats where the agreement ends. Companies fear government will come on too strong and cripple the industrys ability to do business. Privacy advocates worry a weak federal mandate will dilute state laws.

There actually is more of a gap there than people understand, said Justin Brookman, director of the Center for Democracy & Technologys project on consumer privacy.

Then there are technical hang-ups, such as what constitutes a data breach, how fast companies can respond, just how much damage actually occurs and who should pay for it.

(Also on POLITICO: Snapchat hires lobbyist after breach)

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On Hill, data breaches not broached