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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 11, 2006
CONTACT: Geoffrey Collver @ 202/225-9756
Statement of Rep. Lane Evans in Response to VA IG
Report on Issues
Related to the Loss of VA Information Involving the Identities of Millions
of Veterans
There was a series of failures in this tragic event: ambiguous or
non-existent policy governing access, transporting and use of data with
personal identifiers; departmental indifference to five years of warnings
from its own Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office
regarding its information technology deficiencies; and, in my view, the
most egregious – utterly dysfunctional leadership, a total communications
breakdown and an alarming lack of urgency within the department in
reporting a serious-by-all-measures data breach up the line.
When the employee from whom the data is stolen reports it to VA managers
and law enforcement within an hour, yet higher-ups, in a disastrous
sequence of bungles and indifference take one week to elevate it seven
floors in the same building and another week to walk it a few steps over
to the Secretary – not to mention an additional six days to inform
Congress and the public – then it becomes clear there was and is within VA
a bigger crisis than even the theft of such a massive amount of data.
The Secretary testified before our Committee that he is ‘mad as hell’
about the data breach. He should be. His actions in light of these IG
findings will tell us if those words were deeply felt or simply meant to
engender sympathy under intense pressure. His next steps must include a
serious and detailed review of why his managers and advisors botched it
and failed to report the matter to him. He must also follow up with bold
and decisive administrative action. His failure to do so would compound
his agency’s gross failures in this matter. I am pleased to see that the
Secretary has indicated to the IG his intentions to convene four separate
administrative investigations in this regard.
The full IG report can be viewed at:
http://www.va.gov/oig/51/FY2006rpts/VAOIG-06-02238-163.pdf
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Larry Scott
