He believes that reform of the way in which campaigns are financed is critical to Congress' accountably in other areas. At the start of the 105th Congress, Senator Thompson's colleagues elected him Chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, making him among the most junior senators in history to serve as a major chairman. This Committee is charged with broad oversight of federal agencies, and Thompson has used the post to demand accountability in government. During the 106th Congress, he authored and passed several important pieces of legislation to change the way Washington works. The legislation, which was signed into law, provides a new framework for protecting the government's computers from outside attack by hackers.
People have a right to know the costs and benefits of important regulatory decisions.
Thompson also scored a victory in the 106th Congress for those concerned about privacy protection on federal web sites. In December, Congress approved his legislation to ensure that Congress and the public are made aware of potential privacy violations on federal agency Internet sites. This bill will ensure that we know about agencies' data collection practices so that we in Congress can make sure that privacy rights of citizens are not being violated. The federal government should be setting the standard for privacy protection in cyberspace. The Thompson privacy amendment will require the Inspector General of each agency to report to Congress on how the agency collects and reviews personal information on its web site.