Dear Mr. and Mrs. Santos:

    Thank you for contacting me regarding the recent theft of personal information of millions of American veterans. I share your concern about this incident.

    Like you, I was shocked to learn that the personal data of over 26 million veterans had been stolen from the house of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee who had taken personnel files home without authorization. The Department's response - that concerned veterans could contact the agency at its 800 number or visit its website - was entirely inadequate.

    In the wake of such a massive data loss, many of our nation's veterans could be at serious risk of identity theft. I feel that Congress must act to help remedy such a serious security breach - specifically in assisting veterans to safeguard their identity and protect their credit.

    That is why I am co-sponsoring the Veterans Identity Protection Act of 2006. This legislation, which was introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA), would provide one year of free credit monitoring for each affected individual as well as an additional free credit report any time during the following two years.

     Congress must hold the Department of Veterans Affairs accountable for its lax security and see that such lapses are not repeated. In the meantime, we must act swiftly to ensure that veterans' identities are not compromised because of the careless security practices of government employees.

I want to assure you that I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate to protect the identity and security of our veterans. Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to write again with any further concerns.