II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3176 

To protect the privacy of veterans and spouses of veterans affected by the 

security breach at the Department of Veterans Affairs on May 3, 2006, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2006 

Mr. REID (for Mr. ROCKEFELLER) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To protect the privacy of veterans and spouses of veterans 

affected by the security breach at the Department of 

Veterans Affairs on May 3, 2006, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Privacy Pro5 tection Act of 2006’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION PROGRAM FOR VET2 ERANS AN SPOUSES OF VETERANS AT RISK 

3 OF IDENTITY THEFT. 

4 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Federal Trade Com5 mission shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Vet6 erans Affairs, develop and implement a program to pro7 vide financial counseling and support to any veteran or 

8 spouse described in subsection (e). 

9 (b) ACCESS.—The program required by subsection 

10 (a) shall be accessible through a toll-free telephone num11 ber (commonly referred to as an ‘‘800 number’’) estab12 lished and operated by the Federal Trade Commission for 

13 purposes of the program. 

14 (c) ELEMENTS.—Under the program required by 

15 subsection (a), the Federal Trade Commission shall— 

16 (1) provide to veterans and spouses described in 

17 subsection (e) such financial and other counseling as 

18 the Commission considers appropriate relating to 

19 identity theft and the theft of data as described in 

20 that subsection; and 

21 (2) upon request of any veteran or spouse de22 scribed in subsection (e), assist such veteran or 

23 spouse in securing the placement of an extended 

24 fraud alert or credit security freeze under sections 

25 605A(b)(3) and 605C of the Fair Credit Reporting 

26 Act, as added by this Act, respectively. 


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1 (d) VETERANS NOT SUBJECT TO IDENTITY

2 THEFT.— 

3 (1) NOTICE TO FTC OF IDENTIFICATION OF

4 VETERANS NOT SUBJECT TO IDENTITY THEFT.— 

5 Upon conclusively identifying any veteran otherwise 

6 described in subsection (e) as not being at risk of 

7 identity theft as described in that subsection, the 

8 Secretary shall immediately notify the Federal Trade 

9 Commission of such identification. 

10 (2) NOTICE TO VETERANS.—The program re11 quired by subsection (a) shall include mechanisms to 

12 ensure that any veteran who seeks counseling and 

13 support under the program after receipt by the 

14 Commission of notice under paragraph (1) covering 

15 such veteran is informed that such veteran is no 

16 longer subject to identity theft as described in sub17 section (e). 

18 (e) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply with re19 spect to— 

20 (1) any veteran, as defined in section 101 of 

21 title 38, United States Code, who may be a victim 

22 of identity theft as a result of the security breach at 

23 the Department of Veterans Affairs on May 3, 2006; 

24 and 


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1 (2) any spouse (or former spouse) of such vet2 eran who the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has con3 clusively identified as being at risk of identity theft 

4 as a result of that security breach. 

5 SEC. 3. EXTENDED CONSUMER CREDIT FRAUD ALERTS AND 

6 SECURITY FREEZES FOR VETERANS AND 

7 SPOUSES OF VETERANS AFFECTED BY SECU8 RITY BREACH. 

9 (a) AUTOMATIC FRAUD ALERTS.—Section 605A(b) 

10 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c–1(b)) 

11 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) AUTOMATIC EXTENDED FRAUD ALERTS

13 FOR CERTAIN VETERANS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the direct re15 quest of a veteran or spouse described in sub16 paragraph (D), each consumer reporting agency 

17 described in section 603(p)(1) that maintains a 

18 file on the veteran shall take the actions speci19 fied in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of para20 graph (1) with respect to the veteran or spouse. 

21 ‘‘(B) AUTOMATIC ALERTS.—Notwith22 standing the requirements of paragraph (1), a 

23 veteran or spouse described in subparagraph 

24 (D) is not required to submit any identity theft 

25 report, proof of identity, or other documentacchase on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
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1 tion with respect to an extended fraud alert re2 quired by subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(C) VETERANS NOT SUBJECT TO IDEN4 TITY THEFT.—Upon conclusively identifying 

5 any veteran as not being at risk of identity 

6 theft as a result of the security breach de7 scribed in subparagraph (A)— 

8 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

9 shall immediately notify each consumer re10 porting agency and the veteran involved 

11 that such veteran is no longer subject to 

12 identity theft as a result of the security 

13 breach described in subparagraph (A); and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the requirements of subpara15 graph (A) shall no longer apply with re16 spect to any such veteran as of the date of 

17 such notification. 

18 ‘‘(D) APPLICABILITY.—This paragraph 

19 shall apply to— 

20 ‘‘(i) each veteran, as defined in sec21 tion 101 of title 38, United States Code, 

22 who may be a victim of identity theft as a 

23 result of the security breach at the Depart24 ment of Veterans Affairs on May 3, 2006; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) each spouse (or former spouse) 

2 of such veteran who the Secretary of Vet3 erans Affairs has conclusively identified as 

4 being at risk of identity theft as a result 

5 of that security breach.’’. 

6 (b) SECURITY FREEZES FOR VETERANS.—The Fair 

7 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended 

8 by inserting after section 605B the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 605C. SECURITY FREEZES FOR CERTAIN VETERANS. 

10 ‘‘(a) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply with 

11 respect to— 

12 ‘‘(1) any veteran, as defined in section 101 of 

13 title 38, United States Code, who may be a victim 

14 of identity theft as a result of the security breach at 

15 the Department of Veterans Affairs on May 3, 2006; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) any spouse (or former spouse) of such vet18 eran who the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has con19 clusively identified as being at risk of identity theft 

20 as a result of that security breach. 

21 ‘‘(b) SECURITY FREEZES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) EMPLACEMENT.—A veteran or spouse de23 scribed in subsection (a) may include a security 

24 freeze in the file of that veteran or spouse main25 tained by a consumer reporting agency described in 


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1 section 603(p)(1), by making a request to the con2 sumer reporting agency in writing, by telephone, or 

3 through a secure electronic connection made avail4 able by the consumer reporting agency. 

5 ‘‘(2) CONSUMER DISCLOSURE.—If a veteran or 

6 spouse described in subsection (a) requests a secu7 rity freeze under this section, the consumer report8 ing agency shall disclose to that person the process 

9 of placing and removing the security freeze and ex10 plain to that veteran or spouse the potential con11 sequences of the security freeze. A consumer report12 ing agency may not imply or inform a veteran or 

13 spouse that the placement or presence of a security 

14 freeze on the file of that veteran or spouse may neg15 atively affect their credit score. 

16 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF SECURITY FREEZE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) RELEASE OF INFORMATION BLOCKED.—If 

18 a security freeze is in place in the file of a veteran 

19 or spouse described in subsection (a), a consumer re20 porting agency may not release information from the 

21 file of that veteran or spouse for consumer credit 

22 purposes to a third party without prior express writ23 ten authorization from that veteran or spouse. 

24 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THIRD PAR25 TIES.—Paragraph (2) does not prevent a consumer 


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1 reporting agency from advising a third party that a 

2 security freeze is in effect with respect to the file of 

3 a veteran or spouse described in subsection (a). If a 

4 third party, in connection with an application for 

5 credit, requests access to a consumer file on which 

6 a security freeze is in place under this section, the 

7 third party may treat the application as incomplete. 

8 ‘‘(3) CREDIT SCORE NOT AFFECTED.—The 

9 placement of a security freeze under this section 

10 may not be taken into account for any purpose in 

11 determining the credit score of the veteran or spouse 

12 to whom the security freeze relates. 

13 ‘‘(d) REMOVAL; TEMPORARY SUSPENSION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (4), a security freeze under this section shall 

16 remain in place until the veteran or spouse to whom 

17 it relates requests that the security freeze be re18 moved. A veteran or spouse may remove a security 

19 freeze on his or her credit report by making a re20 quest to the consumer reporting agency in writing, 

21 by telephone, or through a secure electronic connec22 tion made available by the consumer reporting agen23 cy. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS.—A consumer reporting 

2 agency may remove a security freeze placed in the 

3 file of a veteran or spouse under this section only— 

4 ‘‘(A) upon request of that veteran or 

5 spouse, pursuant to paragraph (1); or 

6 ‘‘(B) if the agency determines that the file 

7 of that veteran or spouse was frozen due to a 

8 material misrepresentation of fact by that vet9 eran or spouse. 

10 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION TO CONSUMER.—If a con11 sumer reporting agency intends to remove a security 

12 freeze pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), the consumer 

13 reporting agency shall notify the veteran or spouse 

14 to whom the security freeze relates in writing prior 

15 to removing the freeze. 

16 ‘‘(4) TEMPORARY SUSPENSION.—A veteran or 

17 spouse described in subsection (a) may have a secu18 rity freeze under this section temporarily suspended 

19 by making a request to the consumer reporting 

20 agency in writing or by telephone and specifying be21 ginning and ending dates for the period during 

22 which the security freeze is not to apply. 

23 ‘‘(e) RESPONSE TIMES; NOTIFICATION OF OTHER

24 ENTITIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting 

2 agency shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) place a security freeze in the file of 

4 a veteran or spouse under subsection (b) not 

5 later than 5 business days after receiving a re6 quest from the veteran or spouse under sub7 section (b)(1); and 

8 ‘‘(B) remove or temporarily suspend a se9 curity freeze not later than 3 business days 

10 after receiving a request for removal or tem11 porary suspension from the veteran or spouse 

12 under subsection (d). 

13 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF OTHER AGENCIES.—A 

14 consumer reporting agency shall notify all other con15 sumer reporting agencies described in section 

16 603(p)(1) of a request under this section not later 

17 than 3 days after placing, removing, or temporarily 

18 suspending a security freeze in the file of the vet19 eran or spouse under subsection (b), (d)(2)(A), or 

20 (d)(4). 

21 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION BY OTHER AGENCIES.— 

22 A consumer reporting agency that is notified of a re23 quest under paragraph (2) to place, remove, or tem24 porarily suspend a security freeze in the file of a vet25 eran or spouse shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) request proper identification from the 

2 veteran or spouse, in accordance with sub3 section (g), not later than 3 business days after 

4 receiving the notification; and 

5 ‘‘(B) place, remove, or temporarily suspend 

6 the security freeze on that credit report not 

7 later than 3 business days after receiving prop8 er identification. 

9 ‘‘(f) CONFIRMATION.—Except as provided in sub10 section (c)(3), whenever a consumer reporting agency 

11 places, removes, or temporarily suspends a security freeze 

12 at the request of a veteran or spouse under subsection (b) 

13 or (d), respectively, it shall send a written confirmation 

14 thereof to the veteran or spouse not later than 10 business 

15 days after placing, removing, or temporarily suspending 

16 the security freeze. This subsection does not apply to the 

17 placement, removal, or temporary suspension of a security 

18 freeze by a consumer reporting agency because of a notifi19 cation received under subsection (e)(2). 

20 ‘‘(g) ID REQUIRED.—A consumer reporting agency 

21 may not place, remove, or temporarily suspend a security 

22 freeze in the file of a veteran or spouse described in sub23 section (a) at the request of the veteran or spouse, unless 

24 the veteran or spouse provides proper identification (withVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:12 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3176.IS S3176

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1 in the meaning of section 610(a)(1)) and the regulations 

2 thereunder. 

3 ‘‘(h) EXCEPTIONS.—This section does not apply to 

4 the use of the file of a veteran or spouse described in sub5 section (a) maintained by a consumer reporting agency by 

6 any of the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) A person or entity, or a subsidiary, affil8 iate, or agent of that person or entity, or an as9 signee of a financial obligation owing by the veteran 

10 or spouse to that person or entity, or a prospective 

11 assignee of a financial obligation owing by the vet12 eran or spouse to that person or entity in conjunc13 tion with the proposed purchase of the financial obli14 gation, with which the veteran or spouse has or had 

15 prior to assignment an account or contract, includ16 ing a demand deposit account, or to whom the vet17 eran or spouse issued a negotiable instrument, for 

18 the purposes of reviewing the account or collecting 

19 the financial obligation owing for the account, con20 tract, or negotiable instrument. 

21 ‘‘(2) Any Federal, State, or local agency, law 

22 enforcement agency, trial court, or private collection 

23 agency acting pursuant to a court order, warrant, 

24 subpoena, or other compulsory process. 


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1 ‘‘(3) A child support agency or its agents or as2 signs acting pursuant to subtitle D of title IV of the 

3 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. et seq.) or similar 

4 State law. 

5 ‘‘(4) The Department of Health and Human 

6 Services, a similar State agency, or the agents or as7 signs of the Federal or State agency acting to inves8 tigate medicare or medicaid fraud. 

9 ‘‘(5) The Internal Revenue Service or a State 

10 or municipal taxing authority, or a State department 

11 of motor vehicles, or any of the agents or assigns of 

12 these Federal, State, or municipal agencies acting to 

13 investigate or collect delinquent taxes or unpaid 

14 court orders or to fulfill any of their other statutory 

15 responsibilities. 

16 ‘‘(6) The use of consumer credit information for 

17 the purposes of prescreening, as provided for under 

18 this title. 

19 ‘‘(7) Any person or entity administering a cred20 it file monitoring subscription to which the veteran 

21 or spouse has subscribed. 

22 ‘‘(8) Any person or entity for the purpose of 

23 providing a veteran or spouse with a copy of his or 

24 her credit report or credit score upon request of the 

25 veteran or spouse. 


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1 ‘‘(i) FEES.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), a consumer reporting agency may charge 

4 a reasonable fee, for placing, removing, or tempo5 rarily suspending a security freeze in the file of the 

6 veteran or spouse described in subsection (a), which 

7 cost shall be submitted to and paid by the Depart8 ment of Veterans Affairs, pursuant to procedures es9 tablished by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

10 ‘‘(2) ID THEFT VICTIMS.—A consumer report11 ing agency may not charge a fee for placing, remov12 ing, or temporarily suspending a security freeze in 

13 the file of a veteran or spouse described in sub14 section (a), if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the veteran or spouse is a victim of 

16 identity theft; 

17 ‘‘(B) the veteran or spouse requests the se18 curity freeze in writing; 

19 ‘‘(C) the veteran or spouse has filed a po20 lice report with respect to the theft, or an iden21 tity theft report (as defined in section 

22 603(q)(4), within 90 days after the date on 

23 which the theft occurred or was discovered by 

24 the veteran or spouse; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the veteran or spouse provides a copy 

2 of the report to the reporting agency. 

3 ‘‘(j) LIMITATION ON INFORMATION CHANGES IN

4 FROZEN REPORTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a security freeze is in 

6 place in the file of a veteran or spouse described in 

7 subsection (a), the consumer reporting agency may 

8 not change any of the following official information 

9 in that file without sending a written confirmation 

10 of the change to the veteran or spouse within 30 

11 days after the date on which the change is made: 

12 ‘‘(A) Name. 

13 ‘‘(B) Date of birth. 

14 ‘‘(C) Social Security number. 

15 ‘‘(D) Address. 

16 ‘‘(2) CONFIRMATION.—Paragraph (1) does not 

17 require written confirmation for technical modifica18 tions of the official information of a veteran or 

19 spouse, including name and street abbreviations, 

20 complete spellings, or transposition of numbers or 

21 letters. In the case of an address change, the written 

22 confirmation shall be sent to both the new address 

23 and to the former address of the veteran or spouse. 

24 ‘‘(k) CERTAIN ENTITY EXEMPTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) AGGREGATORS AND OTHER AGENCIES.— 

2 The provisions of this section do not apply to a con3 sumer reporting agency that acts only as a reseller 

4 of credit information by assembling and merging in5 formation contained in the data base of another con6 sumer reporting agency or multiple consumer report7 ing agencies, and does not maintain a permanent 

8 data base of credit information from which new con9 sumer credit reports are produced. 

10 ‘‘(2) OTHER EXEMPTED ENTITIES.—The fol11 lowing entities are not required to place a security 

12 freeze in the file of a veteran or spouse described in 

13 subsection (a) in accordance with this section: 

14 ‘‘(A) A check services or fraud prevention 

15 services company, which issues reports on inci16 dents of fraud or authorizations for the purpose 

17 of approving or processing negotiable instru18 ments, electronic fund transfers, or similar 

19 methods of payments. 

20 ‘‘(B) A deposit account information service 

21 company, which issues reports regarding ac22 count closures due to fraud, substantial over23 drafts, ATM abuse, or similar negative informa24 tion regarding such veteran or spouse, to in25 quiring banks or other financial institutions for 


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1 use only in reviewing the request of such vet2 eran or spouse for a deposit account at the in3 quiring bank or financial institution.’’. 

4 (c) FEES.—Any fee associated with an extended 

5 fraud alert or security freeze required by the amendments 

6 made by this section that would otherwise be required to 

7 be paid by the consumer shall be paid by the Department 

8 of Veterans Affairs. 

9 SEC. 4. PENALTIES FOR IDENTITY THEFT OF VETERANS. 

10 Section 1028 of title 18, United States Code, is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The punish13 ment for’’ and inserting the following ‘‘Except as 

14 provided in subsection (j), the punishment for’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(j) IDENTITY THEFT OF VETERANS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In determining the punish18 ment applicable under subsection (b), if the offense 

19 is an offense described in paragraph (2), the fine 

20 and term of imprisonment otherwise applicable 

21 under subsection (b) shall be doubled. 

22 ‘‘(2) TYPE OF OFFENSE.—An offense described 

23 in this paragraph is an offense under subsection (a) 

24 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) involves any document or other infor2 mation— 

3 ‘‘(i) relating to a veteran (as defined 

4 in section 101 of title 38) or a spouse of 

5 a veteran; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) obtained as a direct or indirect 

7 result of the security breach at the Depart8 ment of Veterans Affairs on May 3, 2006; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) was committed after the date of en11 actment of this subsection.’’. 

12 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

13 (a) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 

14 Affairs shall reimburse the Federal Trade Commission for 

15 any costs incurred by the Commission in carrying out this 

16 Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

17 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro18 priated to the Secretary and available for obligation may 

19 be utilized for purposes of reimbursement of the Federal 

20 Trade Commission under subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 6. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDIES ON DATA PRO22 TECTION AND OTHER MATTERS. 

23 (a) STUDY ON DATA PROTECTION BY DEPARTMENT

24 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

2 the United States shall conduct a study of the data 

3 protection procedures of the Department of Veterans 

4 Affairs. 

5 (2) ELEMENTS.—The study required by para6 graph (1) shall include the following: 

7 (A) A review and assessment of the data 

8 protection procedures of the Department of 

9 Veterans Affairs in effect before May 3, 2006. 

10 (B) A review and assessment of any modi11 fications of the data protection procedures of 

12 the Department of Veterans Affairs adopted as 

13 a result of the loss of data resulting from the 

14 security breach at the Department on May 3, 

15 2006. 

16 (b) STUDY ON SECURITY BREACH INVESTIGATION BY

17 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

19 the United States shall conduct a review and assess20 ment of the investigation carried out by the Depart21 ment of Veterans Affairs with respect to the security 

22 breach at the Department on May 3, 2006. 

23 (2) COOPERATION.—The Secretary of Veterans 

24 Affairs shall ensure that the personnel of the De25 partment of Veterans Affairs cooperate fully with 


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1 the Comptroller General in the conduct of the review 

2 and assessment required by paragraph (1). 

3 (c) STUDY ON FTC PROGRAM FOR VETERANS AND

4 SPOUSES AT RISK OF IDENTITY THEFT.—The Comp5 troller General of the United States shall conduct a study 

6 of the program of the Federal Trade Commission for vet7 erans and spouses of veterans at risk of identity theft re8 quired by section 2. The study shall include an assessment 

9 of the effectiveness of the program in meeting the financial 

10 counseling and similar needs of individuals seeking coun11 seling and support through the program. 

12 (d) STUDY ON COMPLIANCE OF FEDERAL AGENCIES

13 WITH REQUIREMENTS ON PERSONAL DATA.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

15 the United States shall conduct a study of the com16 pliance of the departments and agencies of the Fed17 eral Government with applicable requirements relat18 ing to the preservation of the confidentiality of per19 sonal data. 

20 (2) ELEMENTS.—The study required by para21 graph (1) shall include the following: 

22 (A) A review and assessment of the cur23 rent procedures and practices of the depart24 ments and agencies of the Federal Government 


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1 regarding the preservation of the confidentiality 

2 of personal data. 

3 (B) A comparative analysis of the proce4 dures practices referred to in subparagraph (A) 

5 with current standards of the Federal Trade 

6 Commission for the preservation of the con7 fidentiality of personal data by commercial and 

8 non-commercial private entities. 

9 (C) A review and assessment of the modi10 fications of the data protection procedures 

11 adopted by the Department of Veterans Affairs 

12 as a result of the loss of data resulting from the 

13 security breach on May 3, 2006, including an 

14 assessment of the feasibility and advisability of 

15 the adoption of any such modifications by other 

16 departments and agencies of the Federal Gov17 ernment. 

18 (D) An identification of recommendations 

19 for improvements to the procedures and prac20 tices of the departments and agencies of the 

21 Federal Government regarding the preservation 

22 of the confidentiality of personal data. 

23 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

25 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 


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1 setting forth the results of each study conducted under 

2 this section. The report shall set forth the results of each 

3 study separately, and shall include such recommendations 

4 for legislative and administrative action as the Comp5 troller General considers appropriate in light of the stud6 ies. 

7 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec9 retary of Veterans Affairs, such sums as may be necessary 

10 to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this 

11 Act. 

Æ 


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