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U.S.
Senator Member: Agriculture, Energy, Veterans' Affairs, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release May 23, 2006 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm. Director 303-455-7600 Andrew Nannis – Press Secretary 202-224-5852 |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, United States Senator Ken Salazar wrote to the Veterans’ Affairs Deputy Secretary, Gordon Mansfield, to express his deep concern about the unauthorized removal of 26.5 million veterans’ personal information from the VA, the subsequent stealing of that data from the employee’s home, and the fact that VA may not have acted quickly enough to publicly admit to the situation. Senator Salazar also released information for veterans concerned about the status of their personal information. Senator Salazar wrote in the letter, “This incident is deeply troubling for many reasons. First and foremost, I share the concern of our nation’s veterans about the potential for misuse of their names, birthdates, and Social Security numbers, and the consequences – both personal and financial – that could result. “Second, the theft raises serious questions about the safeguards VA has in place to prevent employees from putting sensitive information about our veterans at risk, whether intentionally or not. When veterans turn over their information to the agency that is responsible for serving them, they must be able to depend on that agency to protect it at all costs. “Third, I am concerned that the Department of Veterans Affairs may not have acted as quickly as it could have to notify veterans about the theft. When personal information like this is compromised, time is of the utmost importance. Yet, Congress and the American public learned yesterday that the theft occurred sometime earlier this month. Veterans and their representatives deserve to know how long VA has known about the theft, and whether an effort could have been made to notify them sooner.” The complete letter can be accessed by clicking here. Yesterday, Senator Salazar posted the following notice on his website, www.salazar.senate.gov: On Monday, May 22, the Department of Veterans' Affairs announced a security breach in which the names, birthdates, and Social Security numbers of the nation's 26.5 million veterans was stolen. Although it is not clear that the thieves are planning to use this information, Colorado veterans are encouraged to call Sen. Salazar's office at 202-224-5852 for information on how to protect themselves against data theft. Veterans are also encouraged to call 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636) or to visit VA's website on this matter at http://www.firstgov.gov/veteransinfo.shtml. # # #
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