Legislative history of the Privacy Act of 1974 S. 3418 (Public Law 93-579)

S.3418, commonly referred to as the Privacy Act of 1974 (Pub.L.No.93-579, 88 Stat.1896), was enacted into law on December 31, 1974. This law is characterized by the U.S. Department of Justice as "an omnibus 'code of fair information practices' that attempts to regulate the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personal information by federal executive branch agencies." The legislative history of this law prepared jointly by the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations, chaired by Senator Abraham Ribicoff, and the U.S., House Government Operations Subcommittee on Government Information and Individual Rights, chaired by Rep. Bella Abzug; the full House committee was chaired by Rep. Jack Brooks. This history contains the text of the major bills considered by the House and Senate, with accompanying reports, the text of House and Senate Floor debate, related explanatory materials and case law, and regulatory documents issued pursuant to the public law.