May 25, 2006
Contact Jeff Schrade for Sen. Craig - 202-224-9093
Contact Jen Burita for Sen. Collins - 202-224-2523

(Washington, DC) An angry group of Senators met Thursday with VA Secretary Jim Nicholson to share their outrage at the potential loss of millions of records containing the Social Security numbers and other personal information about veterans and some spouses.

"Twenty-six million people deserve answers," said Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "I am committed to making sure that they are made whole financially should the worst happen. In the short term, however, I encourage veterans to be on guard about their financial records. Do not give out any personal information should someone call you or e-mail you claiming to be from the VA or some other government agency."

Craig's comments came at a joint hearing of the Veterans' Affairs Committee he chairs and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, chaired by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

"It is tragically ironic that this profound betrayal of trust occurs just as the American people are preparing to honor our veterans. On this Memorial Day, the pride our veterans should feel in their service to our nation will be dampened by anxiety and justifiable anger," said Senator Collins. "This specific incident compels us to confront the persistent and pervasive laxity with which the VA safeguards the personal information of the veterans it serves."

So many Senators spoke that it was nearly an hour into the hearing before VA Secretary Jim Nicholson had an opportunity to respond, and when he did he implied that heads will roll.

"I can't explain these lapses in judgement on the part of my people. Most of them are really great, hardworking people. It makes me so angry though. After the IG [Inspector General] completes his investigation, I plan to take decisive actions. I have to," Nicholson said.

"It's important to note the data did not include any of VA's electronic health records. Neither did it contain explicit financial information."

In light of this incident, Nicholson said he is going to require that all VA employees who have access to sensitive data be subject to new background investigations, and that new computer security guidelines be in place by the end of this month.

Holding up a small disk drive that he slipped in and out of his coat pocket, the head of the veterans agency said one of the challenges is the ease of today's tiny computer drives.

"As technology has advanced, it has become possible to store vast quantities of data on devices no larger than one's thumb," Nicholson. "That data that we're talking about, for the nation's 26.5 million veterans, is 5 gigabytes. This little thing right here, that slips so easily into my pocket, holds 60 gigabytes."

Both Craig and Collins said that this incident underscores a great need within government to protect the personal information of all citizens. The two said they will work with Nicholson and other members on legislative measures that may need to be taken to ensure that similar incidents do not occur again.

To address the concerns of veterans, the VA has established a toll free line ? 1-800-FED INFO (333-4636) ? which operates from 8 am to 9 pm (EDT), Monday-Saturday as long as it is needed. The call center will be able to handle up to 20,000 calls per hour (260,000 calls per day).

That center has so far received 105,000 calls.

Nicholson said the VA is also sending letters to all of the 19.6 million people which will encourage them to be vigilant for signs of identity theft and advising them how to protect themselves.

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