Top Ranking Democrat Urges Treasury to Bar Equifax from Government Contracts

The ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee is asking the Trump Administration to prohibit Equifax from receiving any federal government contracts.

 

According to a Washington Examiner report, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) wrote to the Treasury Department to consider whether the recent data breach at the credit reporting company could be considered as "debarment," which would prevent Equifax from receiving new government contracts or renewing existing ones. This follows last week’s action by the Internal Revenue Service that awarded the Atlanta-based Equifax a short-term contract to protect taxpayer confidentiality.
 
"This simply is not a company that deserves to be trusted with Americans' personal data or taxpayer dollars," Brown wrote in a letter to Treasury debarment official Iris Cooper. The senator’s letter was made public shortly after the Social Security Administration contracted with Equifax on managing its online portal for beneficiaries.