House Passes H.R. 5835, �The Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act" to Secure Veterans' Personal Data

I am extremely happy to announce the passage in the House of Representatives of �The Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act� (H.R. 5835.)  As the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives Veterans� Affairs Committee, I joined with Chairman Steve Buyer to introduce this bill in response to the May 3^rd theft, from the home of a VA employee, of computer equipment containing sensitive personal information of 26.5 million veterans.

This legislation tells our nation�s veterans that the VA will safeguard their personal information.  It makes substantive changes in the way the VA protects information technology and, more importantly, provides veterans with the tools they can use immediately to protect themselves in the case of future data breaches.

A provision in the bill allows veterans to request that a fraud alert be placed on their credit files for a period of one year if their data is compromised.  It also mandates that the VA undertake an independent analysis of any data breach and provide a range of remediation services, such as credit reports, credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance.  The bill also creates a scholarship and loan forgiveness program to assist the VA in recruiting the next generation of information technology professionals.

From May through July 2006, the Veterans� Affairs Committee brought 18 witnesses and senior VA officials, including former VA chiefs of information, who answered questions on the data loss and VA�s Information Technology system in five Full Committee and two Subcommittee hearings.  The Committee also brought in experts from top private industry firms to learn how they manage their information and data security.

As soon as we learned of the theft of the personal data of over 26 million veterans, the Committee Members set out to work together and to work quickly to protect our nation�s veterans.  The knowledge gained from the Committee�s investigative hearings was considered in the drafting of this bill and led to an excellent product in a true bi-partisan effort.

I am pleased to announce that the Imperial County Office of Education has been selected to receive funding for the TEAM GEAR UP program, �Together, Expect and Achieve More�.  The grant will be in the amount of $1,579,000 for September 2006 through August 2007.  It is anticipated that additional funding will be granted each year, for a total of six years.  All seventh graders at eleven schools in Imperial Valley will be a part of TEAM GEAR UP, which is designed to increase the number of low-income students who will be prepared to enter and succeed in college. 

A scoring error originally contributed to denial of the grant by the U.S. Department of Education.  I submitted a request for reconsideration, to alert the Department to the error, which led to the subsequent funding of the grant.

I am excited about the possibilities that this large grant will provide--to help our students overcome obstacles that prevent them from entering college.  The larger number of college graduates will energize and contribute to the progress that is beginning to make a difference in Imperial Valley. 

A partnership of Imperial County�s Education Office with San Diego State-Imperial Valley, the University of California, Imperial County Partnership for Higher Education, all school districts in Imperial Valley, and community partners will use the grant funding to change the culture of low college expectations and increase college attendance. A portion of the grant will be used to offer college scholarships.

I appreciate this opportunity to be of service to the Office of Education. The personalized assistance that students and their families will receive through TEAM GEAR UP will enable Imperial Valley�s young people to make good choices about their future.