POWER Act

The Privacy Officer With Enhanced Rights (POWER) Act of 2005 was designed to strengthen the oversight capabilities of the Chief Privacy Officer within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The bill would have granted this officer investigative powers similar to those of an Inspector General, including the authority to subpoena documents from outside the federal government and compel testimony from department employees. For citizens, this measure aimed to provide a more robust safeguard for personal data by ensuring the DHS privacy official had the legal tools necessary to independently investigate and report on how the department handles private information.