(Washington, DC) - U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) today began circulating the following Dear Colleague letter to his colleagues in Congress, urging them to sign the enclosed letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson concerning the theft of personal data of as many as 26.5 million veterans. The letter demands that Nicholson answer for his department's failure to notify veterans and the FBI in a timely manner that veterans’ names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, as well as some disability ratings, were stolen from the home of a Veterans Affairs (VA) official who had removed the information from his office and took it home. The employee was not authorized to possess this material outside the VA. Secretary Nicholson announced the theft this week after VA officials had waited two weeks to notify authorities and 19 days to inform veterans.

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May 25, 2006

26.5 MILLION VETERANS’ RECORDS COMPROMISED!
2 WEEKS BEFORE TELLING THE FBI!
2 ½ WEEKS BEFORE TELLING VETERANS!
WHY THE DELAY!?!

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR VA INCOMPETENCE!

DEADLINE FRIDAY, MAY 26TH, 2006

Dear Colleague:

 The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) revealed on Monday that as many as 26.5 million veterans’ names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers were lost as a result of a VA employee having this data stolen from their home on May 3, 2006.  The VA employee was not authorized to possess this information outside of his office. 

 To make matters worse, the VA and its officials waited TWO WEEKS to notify the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), losing valuable time to commence recovery efforts and perhaps losing important leads in the investigation.  Even more inexcusable is the failure to notify veterans, men and women who have served our country, of the risk of possible identity theft for 19 DAYS after the incident took place.

 Please join me in telling VA Secretary Jim Nicholson that his performance and that of the VA is totally unacceptable.  If you would like to sign on to the attached letter, please contact me at 5-2601 by close of business on Friday, May 26th.  Thank you.

      Sincerely,

      
      Gary L. Ackerman
      Member of Congress

Honorable R. James Nicholson
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave., NW (00)
Washington, DC  20420

May XX, 2006

Dear Secretary Nicholson:

 We write today to express our outrage about how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) handled the loss of 26.5 million veterans’ personal data on May 3, 2006.   On Monday, May 22, 2006, the VA finally revealed the theft of veterans’ names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers from the home of a VA employee who was not authorized to possess the data outside of his office. 

Media reports indicate the VA waited TWO WEEKS to notify the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the May 3, 2006 theft.  Even more inexcusable, the victims of this crime, our veterans, were not notified for 19 DAYS- almost three weeks- that this theft occurred.  When it comes to the largest loss of personal data in U.S. government history, and perhaps what may be the second largest theft of personal data in U.S. history, it is unconscionable that the VA did not immediately notify the DOJ and the FBI.  It is simply unfathomable the VA did not move as aggressively as possible to recover the stolen data.  Surely, notifying the DOJ and FBI would be the obvious first step in any effort to track down the stolen information.  This two-week delay has almost certainly hampered DOJ and FBI efforts and we will never know what leads or clues might have been discovered had federal law enforcement officials been contacted immediately.

Moreover, for 19 days our veterans were left totally exposed, unaware that their personal information had been compromised.  Veterans were vulnerable to identity theft for almost three weeks, unable to take the necessary steps to protect themselves.  In light of the severity of identity theft and the difficulty in correcting the problems associated with it, every day matters.  The VA has done an enormous disservice to our veterans by not notifying them once the VA knew that their personal data had been compromised.

We demand the VA fully explain the aforementioned delays and lapses in judgment.  The VA needs to clarify immediately what remedial actions are underway and what steps are being taken to avoid another similar disclosure in the future.  The VA must both fully account to Congress, veterans, and the American people, how this awful failure occurred, and ensure it never happens again.  We thank you in advance for your prompt reply to our concerns.

     Sincerely,

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