According to Computerworld, the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2009 got a boost when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill in a vote of 15-5. The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

Under the bill, companies and government agencies would be required to follow specific rules for protecting sensitive and personally identifiable data. In addition, the bill contains a federal breach-notification standard, which would require companies to notify not just individuals affected by a data breach, but also possibly credit-reporting agencies and the U.S. Secret Service.

Recently, the FBI threw its support behind the idea of a federal law that would require businesses to report data breaches.