This story was originally published by ProPublica.
What Happened: Citing reporting by ProPublica, eight Democratic U.S. senators have criticized the Trump administration's demands to access the health data of millions of people as a condition of giving lifesaving aid to other countries. In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators, including minority leader Chuck Schumer of New York, said the U.S. demands were "unprecedented and at odds with U.S. policy concerning the data of American citizens."
The inquiry into the administration's approach to foreign health data referred to a ProPublica story published in June about agreements the U.S. struck with African countries -- and the risks they posed to people there. Experts told ProPublica that the deals are vague and lack language used in most data-sharing agreements to adequately limit what information is collected and how it can be used. As a result, they said, there is an increased risk that individuals' personal data could be exposed, misused, or commercialized without their consent.
The senators -- who include Tim Kaine of Virginia; Chris Van Hollen of Maryland; Brian Schatz of Hawaii; Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; Christopher Coons of Delaware; Jeff Merkley of Oregon; and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who led the effort -- requested a briefing on the healthcare agreements' data requirements. They also asked Rubio to respond in writing to a list of questions by the end of August.
