# Plain Language Summary: RECOVER Act of 2024

This bill extends identity protection services to people whose personal information was stolen in data breaches at federal government agencies. Specifically, it addresses a major cyberattack on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which exposed sensitive information like Social Security numbers, fingerprints, and background investigation details for millions of federal employees and job applicants. The bill makes sure these victims get ongoing protection for the rest of their lives, rather than having that protection expire after a set number of years.

The key change is that identity protection coverage—which helps people monitor for fraud, recover from identity theft, and protect their credit—will now last a person's entire lifetime instead of ending after 2026. The bill also requires that this coverage include at least $5 million in identity theft insurance per person. This means if someone's identity is stolen and criminals open fraudulent accounts or make unauthorized purchases, the insurance helps cover those losses. For the roughly 21 million people affected by the OPM breach, this provides long-term peace of mind rather than leaving them vulnerable once the original protection period ended.

Essentially, this is the government saying: "We failed to protect your data, so we're committing to pay for your identity protection indefinitely." It removes the time limit on a benefit that was already in place, making it permanent for breach victims. This affects federal employees, job applicants, military members, and contractors whose information was compromised—basically anyone whose data was caught up in recent federal agency cyberattacks.