Berman Joins Congressional Colleagues in Calling on President to Help Service Members and Veterans Threatened by Data Theft

Berman Joins Congressional Colleagues in Calling on President to Help Service Members and Veterans Threatened by Data Theft

With each day bringing new disclosures on the severity of the Veterans' Administration's data breach, Congressman Howard Berman has joined nearly 150 House Members in calling on the President to provide emergency funding to aid the service members impacted by data theft.

"This Administration continues to fail our veterans and military families," said Berman. "The last month has been an embarrassing display of the VA failing to provide timely information about the severity of the data theft. The delays and misinformation hurts veterans and military families at a time when we should be taking aggressive steps to protect their identities and financial standing."

Continued Berman, "The President needs to make clear that such bungled bureaucracy will not be tolerated. He needs to take real steps toward reform and provide immediate aid to the affected service members."

Said the Members in the letter: "The federal government has a duty to ensure that the financial health of our nation's veterans and military families is not harmed as a result of this most unfortunate event. Any credit reporting assistance provided must not come from previously appropriated or budgeted dollars for the Department of Veterans' Affairs. It is not fair, nor is it right, to risk access to services within the VA because of the theft of personal data."

http://www.house.gov/list/press/ca28_berman/Veterans_Data_Theft.html