June 28, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

(Washington, DC) U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, federal, state and local law enforcement officials are all being hailed today as heroes.

The praise comes after Secretary Nicholson announced Thursday morning that the stolen computer and hard drive containing the names and Social Security numbers of 26.5 million veterans and active duty personnel have been recovered.

"The news that the stolen data has been recovered is wonderful for veterans and active duty personnel. We are all holding our breath now for the FBI forensic analysis which we hope will confirm that the data has not been compromised," said Sen. Larry Craig, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

"There's a moral to this story and it's this: In times of crisis, the Bush administration is relentless in the hunt for those who would harm our nation. Every day thousands of dedicated public servants stand on guard to protect us -- whether it's our privacy or our security, whether it's in Iraq or in the back alleys of our nation's inner cities -- and we owe each of them our thanks.

"We have all learned, as well, that serious changes are needed in data protection government-wide."

Just yesterday Secretary Nicholson issued a directive delegating new security responsibilities to VA's Assistant Secretary for Information Technology. That person is now responsible for fully implementing strict guidelines on VA data and enforcing quick disciplinary action when any security failures are detected.

The recovery late yesterday of the data should also be good news taxpayers. The Bush administration had just this week requested $160 million to pay for credit monitoring for those impacted by the theft.

"I have always emphasized that we would hold veterans harmless and ensure they were kept whole financially. Now if the FBI can confirm that the data has not been removed from the computer since it was stolen, I think we will be able to save taxpayers millions of dollars. The FBI says they have reason to be optimistic," Craig said.

The Associated Press reported a few days ago that VA has spent $14 million so far and has been spending an additional $200,000 a day to maintain a call center for veterans concerned about the data theft.

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