109 HR 5577 IH: Veterans Identity Protection Act of U.S. House of Representatives 2006-06-09 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5577 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 9, 2006 Mrs. Capito introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs A BILL To enhance protection of records of the Department of Veterans Affairs containing personal identifying information that is required by law to be confidential and privileged from disclosure except as authorized by law.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Veterans Identity Protection Act of 2006.

2.

Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that— (1)the Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible by law for safeguarding and holding confidential the records of the Department that contain personal identifying information about present and former members of the Armed Forces and their family members; and (2)it is the responsibility of the Department when such identifying information is lost or compromised due to the carelessness of the Department or its employees to assist those individuals whose identifying information is affected in mitigating any affect of that loss or compromise.

3.

Office of Identity Protection in Department of Veterans Affairs

(a)

Establishment

There is established within the Department of Veterans Affairs an Office of Identity Protection. The Office shall be administered by a Director who shall be appointed by the Secretary. (b)

Purpose

The purpose of the Office shall be— (1)to prevent the loss or compromise of personal identifying information (including name, social security number, financial records, and health records) about present and former members of the Armed Forces and their family members that is required by section 5701 of title 38, United States Code, or any other provision of law to be held confidential and privileged and protected from disclosure except as authorized by law; and (2)to assist any person whose personal identifying information referred to in paragraph (1) is or may have been compromised by the Department or a Department employee in mitigating the effect of any such compromise. (c)

Responsibilities

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, acting through the Office of Veterans Identity Protection, shall— (1)whenever there is a loss or compromise of personal identifying information described in subsection (b)(1), notify each individual whose personal identifying information was lost or compromised of that loss or compromise; (2)contract with national credit reporting agencies to provide one credit report every six months for three years, without charge to the recipient, to any individual whose personal identifying information held by the Department of Veterans Affairs is or may have compromised due to the carelessness of the Department or its employees in violation of section 5701 of title 38, United States Code, or any other provision of law; (3)offer a 24-hour toll-free telephone number and a website for individuals described in paragraph (2) to provide them information regarding access to credit reporting services; (4)work in coordination with the Department of Defense and the Federal Trade Commission to ensure that active-duty military personnel, especially those deployed in combat zones, have access to credit reporting services; and (5)make available to present and former members of the Armed Forces and their family members, through internet web pages, outreach activities, and other appropriate means, information on possible fraudulent consumer credit or reporting services that may be aimed at present or former members of the Armed Forces. (d)

Agencies to be notified

The Office shall be responsible for ensuring that the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are notified immediately when the Department of Veterans Affairs knows or suspects that personal data in the records of the Department have been compromised.

4.

Inspector General report on data security practices of Department of Veterans Affairs

(a)

Study

The Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a study of the data security practices of the Department, including practices relating to access to personal identifying information held by the Department and the authorization process for removing such data from secure custody in the files of the Department. (b)

Report

Not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report providing the results of the study under subsection (a).

5.

Criminal penalty

Any officer or employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who, except as authorized by law or by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, removes from the custody of the Department of Veterans Affairs any file, record, report, or document of the Department of Veterans Affairs that is subject to section 5701 of title 38, United States Code, shall be fined as provided in title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.