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Washington, D.C.—The head of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) told a House committee today the federal workforce deserves immediate answers about whether and to what extent their private information was compromised, and the highest-level of protection the government can provide to protect against fraud, identity theft and other threats.

“Not knowing whose data, and what exactly has been accessed and compromised, is creating widespread confusion and anxiety, on top of the general frustration of having one’s personal information compromised be it from a foreign power, a thief, or otherwise ill-intended individual,” NTEU National President Colleen M. Kelley said in a statement submitted to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

“Employees deserve to know what exact databases and information was hacked, and they need to be in a position to act, given the high level of risk they and their families are facing,” Kelley added.

NTEU submitted the statement to the committee, which conducted a hearing today on the data breach. The cyberattack has been linked in media reports to hackers sponsored by a foreign government.

On June 4, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said the hackers may have accessed personal data of 4 million federal employees and retirees. On Friday, OPM said a second cyberattack may have compromised highly-detailed information for many more current and former employees, including financial and medical details and information submitted for required background checks.

Kelley said NTEU is urging the government to provide free credit-monitoring and identity-theft services to affected individuals beyond the current 18 months and to allow them, again for free, to set up credit freezes on their accounts to prevent harm.

“Given how long these breaches may have gone undetected, and since the exact identities and data compromised is not yet known, NTEU believes these items to be prudent courses of action,” the NTEU leader wrote. “Ultimately, NTEU members want to be assured that their information, and their family members’ information, is not at risk because of their profession. Our members deserve to be able to trust that the government can properly secure their private information.”

Kelley also noted that federal employees are questioning proposals to expand requirements for submitting this type of detailed personal information to agencies in the future and asked the committee to be mindful of these breaches when considering so-called “Continuous Evaluation” (CE) policies.

The NTEU president raised concerns about the amount of time it took to notify Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees about a cyberattack which occurred in September 2014. It was not until June 4, 2015, that DHS began providing NTEU-represented Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees with information about credit monitoring and identity theft services.

NTEU, the nation’s largest independent federal union, represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.