Bailout Bill Would Require Banks to Track and Report Personal Checking Accounts to Feds

by Capitol Confidential

It’s amazing to watch the civil libertarians hide when Democrats propose the most sweeping intrusions of privacy in generations. In addition to the litany of bad policies contained in the Dodd Financial Reform bill is this nugget on pages 1039-1040. In short, it extends government reach to every deposit account of every citizen.

Subtitle G of the Dodd discussion draft bill requires that records be maintained and reported “for each branch, automated teller machine at which deposits are accepted, and other deposit taking service facility with respect to any financial institution, [b]the financial institution shall maintain a record of the number and dollar amounts of deposit accounts of customers.â€