Stop DOGE’s Secret Data Consolidation Which Threatens Americans’ Privacy

Urgent Call to Reassert Congressional Control Over Federal Data Gathering I urge you to reclaim Congress’s authority over how sensitive federal data is gathered and used. Actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) now threaten personal privacy and democratic accountability. What is happening: unchecked data centralization DOGE has embedded personnel across OPM, Treasury, IRS, HHS, Education, and GSA and obtained access to systems with personnel, tax, health, benefits, and procurement records. In August, a federal appeals court expanded DOGE’s access at Education, Treasury, and OPM. Cross-agency data pipes have been built with little transparency. At the same time, mass firings and hurried rehirings have destabilized controls over who can reach sensitive systems. Why this is dangerous A centralized data layer linking tax, employment, immigration, health, and benefit records enables profiling and retaliation against critics, journalists, or vulnerable groups. It collapses legal firewalls that the Privacy Act and computer matching rules were designed to maintain. Data gathered for efficiency can creep into enforcement - audits, raids, or benefit cuts - without new legislation. And a mega-database is a prime target for hacking or insider abuse when audit logs, deletion rules, and contractor oversight are weak. Steps Congress Should Take Now • Hold immediate hearings. Subpoena DOGE officials, agency CIOs, and contractors, and produce access logs, API documentation, security assessments, and retention policies. • Pass statute to codify strict purpose limits, role-based and time-limited access, read-only defaults, and tamper-evident audit trails. • Prohibit any centralized citizen database that combines tax, benefits, immigration, and health data absent explicit statutory authorization and independent oversight. • Direct GAO and Inspectors General to inventory removed datasets and halted reports since January 2025, verify any off-system copies, and certify corrective actions. • Establish an independent data transparency board with subpoena power and protect whistleblowers who report misuse. Regain control now Americans deserve efficient government - not a black box that can be turned against them. Please denounce DOGE’s overreach, freeze new cross-agency integrations, and pass durable safeguards that restore lawful guardrails and protect privacy and democracy.