All constituents who are at least 18 years of age are required to sign and submit their own privacy release form. However, in the case that an adult has a legal guardian, that legal guardian may sign and submit for the adult. Any minor who needs assistance with a federal agency must have a parent or legal guardian sign and submit the privacy release form on their behalf. Keep these tips in mind if you are filling out the privacy release form for another person:

• In the section that asks for personal information, such as name, date of birth, and social security number, please put the information of the person who needs assistance.
• In the section that asks for a description of the problem, the parent or legal guardian must explicitly designate they are the parent or legal guardian of the person facing the problem and that they will sign on their behalf.
• In the section that asks for a signature, a parent or legal guardian must sign. A minor cannot sign.

Rights of Legal Guardians. - For the purposes of this section, the parent of any minor, or the legal guardian of any individual who has been declared to be incompetent due to physical or mental incapacity or age by a court of competent jurisdiction, may act on behalf of the individual.

Please Note: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) requires that Members of Congress or their staff have written authorization before they can obtain information about an individual's case.

We must have your signature to proceed with this type of request.

Disclaimer:

The United States Congress collects sensitive information from the public in order to carry out its legislative and oversight functions. This information may include personal information, such as names, addresses, and phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and other identifying information.

The Congress takes the security of this information very seriously. It has in place a number of safeguards to protect this information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. These safeguards include:

• Physical security measures, such as locked doors and security cameras, to protect sensitive information from unauthorized physical access.
• Technical security measures, such as firewalls and encryption, to protect sensitive information from unauthorized electronic access.
• Access control measures, such as passwords and two-factor authentication, to restrict access to sensitive information to authorized individuals.
• Auditing and monitoring procedures to detect and investigate security breaches.

Congress is also subject to a number of laws that govern the collection, use, and disclosure of sensitive information. These laws include:

• The Privacy Act of 1974, which protects the privacy of individuals who provide personal information to the government.
• The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), requires federal agencies to implement security controls to protect sensitive information.
• The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which protects the privacy of electronic communications.

Congress is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the sensitive information it collects from the public. If you have any questions about the Congress's security practices, please contact the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Office of the Secretary of the Senate.

Citing the law

The laws that govern the collection, use, and disclosure of sensitive information by the Congress include:

• The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a)
• The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) (44 U.S.C. § 3541 et seq.)
• The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) (18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2522)