Data Consolidation By DOGE Threatens Americans and Requires Congressional Action

I am writing to express serious concern about actions taken under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) involving the collection, consolidation, and use of Americans’ personal data. DOGE was created by executive order to improve government efficiency, yet it appears to have gathered and merged sensitive data from multiple federal agencies without clear legal authority, proper safeguards, or public transparency. Actions Taken Under DOGE That Led to Widespread Data Collection and Centralization Under the DOGE initiative, personnel were placed inside multiple federal agencies and granted broad access to internal systems containing highly sensitive personal information. This reportedly included Social Security records, tax data, health and benefits information, federal employment files, and immigration-related records. In several cases, it appears that entire databases were copied or centralized rather than accessed only for specific and limited purposes. This type of large-scale data consolidation across agencies was not authorized by Congress and goes far beyond normal data-sharing practices. How DOGE’s Actions Appear to Bypass Existing Legal Safeguards and Limits Federal privacy laws strictly control how personal data may be collected, shared, and combined. The Privacy Act of 1974 and related statutes require agencies to limit access to personal information, maintain audit trails, and clearly define lawful purposes for data use. Available information suggests that these protections may have been weakened or bypassed under DOGE, including reduced oversight by agency privacy and security officials. If accurate, these actions would represent serious legal violations and undermine basic protections meant to safeguard Americans’ personal information. Basic Questions Congress Must Answer to Restore Public Trust Despite the scale of this data activity, the public has not received clear answers to fundamental questions: (1) Where is the consolidated data now? (2) Who controls it? (3) Who has access to it? (4) What is it being used for? (5) Has it been independently audited for legal compliance and security? Without clear answers to these questions, Americans cannot be confident that their personal data is being handled lawfully or safely. What Congress Must Do Now to Stop Ongoing Harm and Prevent Future Abuses (1) Speak out publicly about these concerns so the American people understand what has occurred and what is at stake. (2) Hold comprehensive investigatory and oversight hearings, including testimony from agency leaders, inspectors general, privacy officers, security experts, and whistleblowers. (3) Demand a full accounting of where the data is held, who controls it, and how it is being used. (4) Pass legislation to undo any unlawful data consolidation, restore strong privacy protections, and prevent similar actions in the future without explicit congressional authorization. Thank you.