IC Oversight & Policy — 2026-08-04

Lawmakers Introduce RECOVER PII Act to Provide Lifetime Identity Protection for 22 Million OPM Breach Victims as Current Coverage Expires

BLUFWithout a Republican co-sponsor or committee signal, lifetime coverage for 22 million OPM breach victims likely depends on attachment to a must-pass vehicle before the September 30 lapse.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) introduced the bicameral RECOVER PII Act, which would extend identity-protection coverage, including the existing $5 million identity-theft insurance requirement, for the 22.1 million people affected by the 2015 OPM data breaches for the remainder of their lives, replacing the current 10-year statutory minimum 12. Sens. Tim Kaine, Angela Alsobrooks, and Chris Van Hollen are Senate cosponsors 1. Norton and Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger separately introduced a House companion, the RECOVER Act, with identical intent 3. Current coverage under OPM's MyIDCare program is expiring on a rolling basis tied to individual enrollment dates and is set to end entirely on September 30, per the bill sponsors 12. The legislation would also let agencies, at their discretion, reimburse employees and contractors for personal data-removal and privacy services from existing salary-and-expense budgets, an option not restricted to OPM breach victims 12.

Analysis
The bill's prospects hinge on attachment to a must-pass vehicle such as the NDAA or a fiscal year funding package, since a purely Democratic sponsor roster in a Republican-controlled Congress carries little standalone momentum. MyIDCare's rolling, enrollment-date expiration means coverage lapses unevenly for the 22.1 million victims through September, a staggered clock that either builds cross-agency pressure for a fix or lets urgency dissipate before any single deadline forces action. Norton's history of introducing similar lifetime-coverage bills without enactment signals institutional inertia rather than a shift in congressional appetite. Low confidence in near-term legislative movement reflects the absence of any Republican co-sponsor, committee-leadership signal, or scheduled hearing.

4 sources

Lawmakers propose giving 2015 OPM breach victims identity protection for life - Nextgov/FCW
OPM breach victims could get identity protection for life - Government Executive
Norton, Ruppersberger Introduce Bill to Provide Lifetime Identity Protection Coverage to Federal Employees Affected by OPM Data Breaches - Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
Warner, Norton, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Give Lifetime Protections to Federal Workers Whose Information Was Stolen in Cyberattacks - Office of Senator Mark R. Warner