WASHINGTON, DC – Today, on the eve of Memorial Day weekend, Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (D-Westchester/Rockland) discussed with members of the American Legion Post 8, the efforts she is taking in Congress to protect veterans’ credit and personal information that was stolen from the VA

Earlier this week, Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson announced that sensitive data collected by the government for approximately 26.5 million veterans -- names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth as well as some disability ratings -- were stolen from the home of a VA official who had removed this data from the VA offices. 

“The revelation that the private and personal records of all of these veterans had been taken home by a VA employee and then stolen is appalling.  Our veterans and their families deserve better,” said Congresswoman Lowey.  “This is an outrageous, unacceptable violation of the privacy of 1,171,900 brave men and women in New York who served our country proudly.”

Congresswoman Lowey is a cosponsor of the “Veterans’ Identity Protection Act of 2006” (H.R. 5455), legislation aimed at helping veterans whose personal data was stolen.  This legislation would protect veterans from identity theft by requiring the VA to provide them with one year of free credit monitoring to alert them of changes in their credit and stop theft before it gets out of control.  The bill would also provide veterans with one free credit report each year for two years after the end of credit monitoring, in addition to the free credit report available under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as well as authorize $1.25 billion in emergency funds for the first year of implementation.

“The government must take responsibility for this egregious breach of security that could potentially affect the lives of millions of veterans,” added Lowey.  “Passing the “Veterans’ Identity Protection Act” is the first step toward correcting this huge problem that should have never happened in the first place.  Protecting the brave Americans who have served against identity theft is the least we can do to ensure they are not left vulnerable as a result of government negligence.”

As part of the event, Congresswoman Lowey also presented service medals to World War II veteran Carl Howard.  Howard, a resident of New Rochelle served in the Army from 1941-1945. During World War II, he served in Europe in Ardennes, Central Europe, and Rhineland.