mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , congress has been moving for the last few years to protect the identities , personal information , and privacy of americans . 
almost 2 years ago , the house pushed for a creation of the federal do not call registry . 
months later , however , congress passed legislation that will put millions of people 's personal information and privacy in jeopardy . 
the medicare modernization act allows and encourages the secretary of health and human services to distribute the personal information of millions of medicare and medicaid beneficiaries to private companies for marketing purposes . 
in light of the number of significant breaches of personal information recently and the widespread reports of identity theft , this amendment would prevent the government from distributing the personal information of millions of americans to the many companies that may be providing prescription drug plans when the so-called medicaid modernization act goes into effect . 
if personal medicare information is given to these providers , our constituents will be subjected to calls from any of the prescription drug plan providers . 
if we have learned anything from telemarketers , it is that our senior citizens will be harassed at home by plan providers calling and sending direct mail . 
personal privacy is a nonpartisan issue . 
during the 108th congress , over 400 members voted in favor of creating the do not call registry . 
millions of americans have had their identity stolen , no matter their political affiliation . 
we can stop the spread of this personal information being carelessly distributed . 
i urge support of the gentleman from oregon 's ( mr. defazio ) xz4001000 amendment . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
