On Hill, data breaches not yet broached

House Republicans have no trouble pushing a bill to curb potential security breaches of the Obamacare website. It’s the actual theft of consumer data that gets little traction.

Just this holiday season, up to 70 million Target shoppers had addresses, emails, credit or debit card information stolen, and 4.6 million Snapchat users found their names and phone numbers posted online. But the first data breach bill to hit the House floor in years will focus on security rules for HealthCare DOT gov, a government site that has yet to see a successful attack. The latest corporate hackings have prompted lawmakers to dust off legislation and demand committee hearings. But Obamacare aside, Congress has shown little appetite for addressing how websites treat sensitive consumer information. Any legislation still faces tepid interest, unclear definitions and disagreement over the government’s role — factors that have stalled legislation for more than a decade.