Loss of data roils Congress

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is drafting a letter to the General Services Administration and Bank of America asking what action the bank will take to ensure the safety of federal credit card-holders' personal data.

The letter follows disclosure late last month that the company, one of five federal charge card providers, had lost backup tapes containing personal information on 1.2 million federal employees from 30 agencies, including the Senate, who use GSA's SmartPay program.

Bank of America officials said the bank has set up a hot line and written to card-holders whose data was on the missing tapes, but deny any evidence that the tapes or data have been accessed or misused.