WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bill Delahunt today urged area veterans to carefully review their financial records for this month after the announcement by the US Veterans Affairs Department that the personal information of more than 26 million veterans was stolen from an analyst’s home.

“The fact that an employee of the VA, or any government agency, can simply walk away with this information is unacceptable,” Delahunt said. “Someone needs to be fired.”

Today, the VA announced that the names, social security numbers and dates of birth of 26.5 million veterans who have been discharged since 1976 were on a disk that was stolen from a VA employee’s home earlier this month.  Department policy forbids employees from taking this type of information out of the office.  The employee in question has been suspended pending an investigation.

Delahunt suggested that area veterans and their families review bank and credit card statements for the month of May for any suspicious charges.  If any are found, veterans and their families should call a toll-free number – 800-FED-INFO (333-4646) between 8 am – 9 pm Monday thru Saturday – to immediately report the activity. For those with internet access, they can go to www.firstgov.gov to report any misuse of their information. 

Area veterans should also call their financial institutions and credit card companies.  Delahunt said he supports calls for legislation that will provide a free credit report to the 26.5 million affected veterans.

Calls for Strengthening Federal Privacy Officers Role

Last week, the Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee voted on HR 2840, the Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act, a Delahunt-authored measure that would specifically require federal agencies to take into account the impact of their rules on the privacy of individuals.

The Privacy Act of 1974 regulates how federal agencies may use private information they collect from individuals.  These agencies are generally prohibited from disclosing personally identifiable information to other federal or state agencies or to any other person subject to specific exceptions.  However, a recent GAO study found that federal agencies' practices for handling personal information were "uneven."

During the hearing, Rep. Delahunt said, "The Administration needs to weigh in on this in a very significant way. We have not seen evidence of the Administration making this the priority that I think it deserves."

The bill would require any federal agency proposing a rule that involves use of personal information to prepare an assessment of the rule’s impact on individual privacy – and assure that affected individuals have a chance to participate in the rulemaking process.

HR 2840 now goes to the full Judiciary Committee where it is expected to pass.  It will then be up to the House Rules Committee and Speaker Hastert to decide when, or if, the bill will be voted on by the entire House of Representatives.

Similar legislation was introduced during the 2002 and 2004 congressional sessions.

Rep. Delahunt is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

 -30-