Press Release
2 University Plaza, Suite 414
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Phone: 201-996-1154 FAX: 201-996-1883

For Immediate Release
Press Contact:
Irene Oujo (201) 996-1154
ioujo@pandab.org

SEN. ROBERT BENNETT TO KEYNOTE NATIONAL CONFERENCE SET TO EXAMINE NEW FEDERAL FAIR CREDIT REPORTING LEGISLATION
On the heels of the February 4 deadline, national experts, regulators and business leaders identify challenges and provide guidance for compliance with the new Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction (FACT) Act

January 8, 2004//Hackensack, NJ: Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT), the ranking member of Senate Banking who was deeply involved in passage of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction (FACT) Act, will keynote the nationÕs first comprehensive Conference to review and analyze the new fair credit reporting legislation, "The New FACT Act: Challenge and Opportunity."

This event comes on the heels of the first of the FTC FACT Act implementation deadlines, February 4. Hosted by Privacy & American Business (P&AB) and the Washington law firm Oldaker, Biden & Belair, this groundbreaking Conference is scheduled for February 9-10, 2004 at the Wyndham Washington in D.C.

"Our focus will not be how we got here, but what you have to do now that we have the FACT Act, and what its practical impact will be on business," said Dr. Westin, President & Publisher, P&AB.

The New Fair Credit Reporting Law
The 161-page FACT Act of 2003 makes extensive and major changes in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). These changes will affect insurers, lenders, collection agencies, employers and rental agencies. It will also affect all companies that furnish information for posting to consumer reports; that compile and maintain consumer report information; or that use consumer reports. The FACT Act also provides important new protections against identity fraud. The FACT Act requires the Federal Trade Commission and federal banking regulators to adopt extensive rules interpreting the Act, as well as conducting numerous important studies.

Major Conference Sessions
The two-day Conference, which will begin at 10:30 on February 9, will offer plenary sessions, a legal track for lawyers and legal professionals, and a policy track for Corporate Privacy Officers and other corporate professionals whose companies are impacted by changes in the FCRA.

Major sessions include: overview of the FACT Act; direction of the consumer reporting industry; anti-identity theft FACT Act provisions; affiliate sharing; data furnisher and user responsibilities; effects on credit scoring; prescreening and marketing; litigation risks; and much more.

Leading Speakers
"The Conference will feature regulators and business leaders who will have to grapple with the consequences of the Act," said Robert Belair, Partner, Oldaker, Biden & Belair, "as well as consumer advocates and attorneys who will discuss what businesses have to look out for."

The conference will feature the nationÕs leading FCRA lawyers; privacy experts and advocates; congressional officials; and FTC and other federal officials. Addressing conference attendees will be top executives from leading organizations, including: Acxiom, Allstate, American Bankers Association, CapitolOne, Fair Isaac, ID Analytics, and Juniper Bank.

"Regulators will tell us what we have to be concerned about, business leaders will tell us what the impact will be, lawyers will tell us what the risks are, and consumer advocates will tell us what they still donÕt like," said Oscar Marquis, Partner, Oldaker, Biden & Belair. "And weÕll learn what legislation may still be in the offing," he added.

Register Today Ð Special Rates Available
"The New Fair Credit Reporting Act: Challenge and Opportunity" will be held at the Wyndham Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C. Register now and take advantage of the Early Bird rate before it ends January 16, 2004. Those who sign up four or more colleagues to attend save $150 per registrant. Discounted hotel rooms are only available through January 20, 2004! Visit pandab.org or contact Olga Garey at info@pandab.org or (201) 996-1154 to register or for more information.

Members of the working press must register to attend. Contact Irene Oujo at (201) 996-1154 or ioujo@pandab.org or visit pandab.org for details.

About Privacy & American Business
Privacy & American Business (pandab.org, www.PrivacyExchange.org, & www.pjobs.org), is an activity of the Center for Social & Legal Research, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy think tank exploring U.S. and global issues of consumer and employee privacy and data protection for business since its launch in 1993.

Always on the cutting edge, P&AB was the first to chart and analyze the rise of privacy from a second-tier concern to a front-burner issue and to provide opportunities in its programs and meetings to assist businesses in understanding the privacy environment as it is evolving. P&AB, a pioneer in recognizing the rise of the Corporate Privacy Officer (CPO), was the first to open its CPO Program in 1999.

The Center and all its activities are led by Dr. Alan Westin, Professor of Public Law & Government Emeritus, Columbia University, and President and Publisher of P&AB; Robert Belair, Partner at Oldaker, Biden & Belair and P&ABÕs Vice President; and Lorrie Sherwood, P&ABÕs Executive Director.

About Oldaker, Biden & Belair
Oldaker, Biden & Belair, LLP (OB&B) is a Washington, D.C. public policy law firm affiliated with and co-located with The National Group, LLP, a government relations and legislative lobbying firm, and the Privacy Consulting Group, the nationÕs oldest and most experienced privacy consulting firm. Together, over many years, the Affiliated Firms provide unique and highly effective privacy-related legal, legislative and consulting services to corporations and trade associations.

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