To a US Senator: support comprehensive federal privacy legislation

If you’ve been affected by a data breach, identity-related fraud, or a privacy concern that would have been addressed under stronger federal law, your perspective has weight. If you live in a state with strong state-level privacy protection (CA, CO, VA, others), advocating for a federal-floor-without-preemption is particularly valuable.

Dear Senator {{rep_last_name}},

I’m writing as a constituent in {{my_city}}, {{my_state}} to ask you to support comprehensive federal privacy legislation — and to advocate for a version that sets a meaningful federal privacy floor without preempting stronger state laws.

The United States is the largest economy in the world without a comprehensive federal privacy law. The European Union enacted the General Data Protection Regulation in 2018; China enacted the Personal Information Protection Law in 2021. The US relies on a fragmented sectoral patchwork — HIPAA for health, FERPA for education, GLBA for finance, COPPA for children — with everything else governed by general FTC consumer-protection authority. In the federal vacuum, roughly twenty states have now enacted comprehensive privacy laws: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Oregon, and more than a dozen others, with Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island joining at the start of 2026.

The American Privacy Rights Act was the most recent serious attempt at a federal framework, but it lapsed when the 118th Congress ended and was not reintroduced. New proposals have since appeared in the 119th Congress. The point of this letter is not any single bill — it is the enduring need for a federal privacy law worth having, and the principles a good one must include:

1. A federal floor, not a ceiling. Federal law should set a baseline of protection below which no state can fall — while leaving states free to enact stronger protections. A law that preempts state innovations like California’s Delete Act would weaken the overall privacy framework rather than strengthen it.
2. Data minimization — collection and use of personal data limited to what is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was provided.
3. Affirmative consent for sensitive data — health, biometric, precise location, government identifiers, and similar categories.
4. Individual rights — access, correction, deletion, and portability.
5. A meaningful private right of action. Without the ability for individuals to enforce their own rights, a privacy law depends entirely on the resources of a single agency.
6. Adequate FTC enforcement capacity — staffing and authority that match the scope of the law.

The recurring sticking point in federal privacy legislation is preemption — whether federal law displaces state law on the same subject. Industry generally favors broad preemption; some current proposals would preempt any state law that merely “relates to” the federal scheme. Civil society, state attorneys general, and state-level privacy advocates generally favor a federal floor that does not preempt stronger state laws. Trading a real patchwork for a single weak national standard would leave Americans worse protected than they are today.

[Personalize: name a specific concern. Examples: “I’ve been affected by [data breach / fraud / privacy violation]”; “I work in [field] and have direct concern about data practices in [specific area]”; “I live in [state with strong state privacy law] and want federal action that builds on rather than overrides it”; “I’m a parent concerned about [children’s privacy issue]”.]

I’m asking you to:

1. Support comprehensive federal privacy legislation that establishes real, enforceable rights.
2. Insist on a federal floor without preemption of stronger state laws. A federal standard that erases what states have built is not progress.
3. Defend a meaningful private right of action against pressure to remove or hollow it out.
4. Ensure adequate FTC enforcement capacity. Even the best statute won’t produce enforcement without the resources to back it.

I’d appreciate knowing your position on comprehensive federal privacy legislation, and on the preemption and enforcement questions in particular.

Thank you for your service.

Sincerely,

[Your name] [Your address]