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President Bush announced that a new task force headed by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson will be launched to help streamline the paperwork and other processes combat veterans must go through to receive benefits.

Nicholson is a Republican partisan who served as the RNC’s national chair from 1997 through 2000. Despite never being elected to office, he has held numerous leadership positions, including an ambassadorship to The Vatican. The 69 year old Iowan is a West Point alum who served in the Army for thirty years, including combat duty in Vietnam, where he won a Bronze Star among numerous other medals.

The task force’s mandate is to accomplish the following in 45 days:

* Identify and examine existing federal services that currently are provided to returning Global War on Terror service members;*
* Identify existing gaps in such services;
* Seek recommendations from appropriate federal agencies on ways to fill those gaps; and
* Ensure that appropriate federal agencies are communicating and cooperating effectively.

Public perception of the care combat veterans is receiving has fallen in recent weeks in the wake of a scandal at well known Army hospital Walter Reed Medical Center. Brigadier General Michael Tucker was transferred yesterday from Fort Knox to lead the embattled healthcare facility. Tucker, who served in Iraq, will oversee all operations of the military hospital, which is scheduled to be merged with Bethesda (MD) National Naval Medical Center in 2011 as part of the costutting base closure bill signed in 2005.

Posted under Customer Service, Finance

On the heels of a government program designed to educate and protect consumers against identity theft, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that a data analyst took home a disc with personally identifying information for 26.5 million veterans and some spouses. While the disc was at the employee’s home, the house was allegedly burgarlarized and the information was taken. The VA claims that the data includes names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth in addition to “some disability ratings”.

“It is incomprehensible that any one single employee could remove the entire roster of veteran’s information without more elaborate protection,” said Consumer Help Web President Joan Bounacos. “How a government employee, no matter how high ranking, can be permitted to hold this information in a transportable medium is something that the government must review. This represents critical data for nearly 1 out of every 10 Americans,” she added.

The VA has set up a manned call center that veterans may call to get information about this situation and learn more about consumer identity protections. That toll-free number is 1-800-FED INFO (333-4636). The call center will be open beginning today, and will operate from 8 am to 9 pm (EDT), Monday-Saturday as long as it is needed. The call center will be able to handle up to 20,000 calls per hour (260,000 calls per day).

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson has briefed the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, co-chairs of the President’s Identity Theft Task Force. Task Force members have already taken actions to protect the affected veterans, including working with the credit bureaus to help ensure that veterans receive the free credit report they are entitled to under the law. Additionally, the Task Force will meet today to coordinate the comprehensive Federal response, recommend further ways to protect affected veterans, and increase safeguards to prevent the reoccurrence of such incidents.

Posted under Privacy