December 13, 2006
Buyer: VA information technology centralization helps veterans and families
Washington, D.C. — House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) today hailed the decision by Veterans Affairs Secretary R. James Nicholson to fully centralize management of information technology (IT) systems and security at the department.
The decision complements S. 3421, a bill recently passed in the House and Senate that directs VA to provide breach notification to individuals, reports to Congress, fraud alerts, data breach analysis, credit monitoring services and identity theft insurance, among other provisions.
Nicholson has directed the establishment of a departmental IT management system under the authority of VA’s assistant secretary for information and technology, also designated as the department’s chief information officer (CIO).
“Nearly a decade of committee oversight, including 16 hearings, is paying off with Secretary Nicholson’s commendable decision to centralize the management of VA’s information technology and security systems,” Buyer said.
Under the plan, more than 5,000 IT personnel are being reassigned to the CIO from VA’s health, benefits, and memorial affairs administrations, where they have proliferated in a decentralized approach. Operations and maintenance personnel were permanently reassigned in October; development personnel will be permanently reassigned by April 2007. Decentralization was widely condemned by the Congress and private-sector experts after a massive data compromise in May.
“Over the past several months, VA has made measurable progress in centralizing control of our information technology systems and bolstering cyber and information security,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson said. “As reform and reorganization continues, the result will be a system that is more accountable and better serves veterans. I thank Congressman Buyer for his partnership in helping VA move closer to its goal of becoming the ‘gold standard’ in data security. Congressman Buyer shares VA’s commitment to making our systems more effective and efficient, and his leadership is appreciated.”
The plan addresses most of the committee’s concerns, which peaked this summer after a laptop and hard drive containing sensitive personal data belonging to 26.5 million veterans and their family members, and 2.2 million active-duty servicemembers and their family members was stolen from a VA employee’s home. The equipment was recovered and an FBI investigation determined no data had been stolen. Nonetheless, the loss helped crystallize resolve to conduct reforms along the lines championed by Buyer and the committee.
The centralization decision also supports a presidential executive order to federal agencies requiring them to improve the quality and efficient delivery of health care by, in part, better use of IT resources. VA’s existing decentralized system could not fulfill the president’s intent.
“Secretary Nicholson has responded to the concerns and recommendations of Congress, best practices of private-sector technology firms and government agencies, and the president’s intent to improve government efficiency. His bold action will significantly improve the ability of VA to provide veterans with safer, quality care and quicker benefits delivery,” Buyer said.
“The VA under Secretary Nicholson’s leadership and foresight will lead the federal government by being the IT benchmark for all other departments and agencies,” Buyer said. “Veterans and their families will be better served by the secretary’s good managerial sense.”