On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), appointed the Senate Democratic Privacy Task Force. A bipartisan group of lawmakers followed suit yesterday, forming the Congressional Privacy Caucus.

In announcing the formation of the Senate task force, Sen. Daschle said, "Pollsters now tell us that [privacy is] one of the highest priorities for Americans as they look to the array of threats that they feel from the invasion of privacy. . . . Some of our most sensitive, private (data) end up on databases that are then sold to the highest bidder," he said. "That is wrong, it’s dangerous and it has to stop."

The Daschle group will attempt to develop a consensus for legislation among Democrats. It is expected to focus on medical, financial, and online privacy. It is chaired by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Other Senators who attended the first meeting include Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chris Dodd (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), and Richard Durbin (D-IL).

Meanwhile, the bipartisan group said it will focus on four principles: Consumers should have access to their information. They should be able to correct inaccurate information. Data should not be shared without consent (an opt-in approach). And federal legislation should not preempt stronger state regulation.

The co-chairs of the new caucus – Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Richard Bryan (D-NV), and Reps. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) – were the leaders of the unsuccessful effort to add more stringent privacy regulations to major legislation passed last fall to overhaul laws governing financial services industry.