Wired News: Lawmakers Clash on Phone Records

Wired News: Lawmakers Clash on Phone Records: "02:00 AM May, 16, 2006

Congress agrees on one thing when it comes to the internet sale of private phone records -- stop it.

But a turf war over which federal agency will enforce a new law is complicating efforts on Capitol Hill.

In a rare show of bipartisan support, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 by a unanimous vote of 409 - 0 on April 25.

The House measure and its companion in the Senate (S. 2178) gives the Justice Department enforcement authority to put offenders in jail for up to 10 years, and hit them with a $500,000 fine, if they're convicted of selling phone records."