In testimony on March 7 before the House Financial Services Committee, the Financial Services Roundtable, a trade group for the nation’s largest banks, called on Congress to “enact a strong set of national data security standards” in efforts to better protect consumers and their sensitive financial information.

“FSR strongly believes Congress needs to act to require firms of all shapes and sizes that handle sensitive information to protect the data, and it should do so by creating a robust, yet flexible and scalable, data security framework,” testified Jason Kratovil, FSR’s vice president of Government Affairs.

While Congress has imposed specific data protection obligations on the industry, FSR supports bipartisan draft legislation sponsored by Reps. Luetkemeyer (R-MO) and Maloney (D-NY) that ensures all companies across the economy are:

Required to protect sensitive personal and financial data with a strong but flexible and scalable data security framework;

Require timely notification to consumers that are at risk of identity theft or fraud when a breach occurs; and

Eliminating eliminate overlapping and inconsistent state laws.

The legislation is H.R. 4028, the PROTECT Act.