I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5577 
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. 
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 Vet-
erans Affairs containing personal identifying information 
that is required by law to be confidential and privileged 
from disclosure except as authorized by law. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Identity Pro-
tection Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
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(1) the Department of Veterans Affairs is re-
sponsible by law for safeguarding and holding con-
fidential the records of the Department that contain 
personal identifying information about present and 
former members of the Armed Forces and their fam-
ily members; and 
(2) it is the responsibility of the Department 
when such identifying information is lost or com-
promised 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. 
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF IDENTITY PROTECTION IN DEPART-
MENT 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 per-
sonal 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 re-
quired by section 5701 of title 38, United States 
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Code, or any other provision of law to be held con-
fidential and privileged and protected from disclo-
sure except as authorized by law; and 
(2) to assist any person whose personal identi-
fying 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 sub-
section (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 recipi-
ent, to any individual whose personal identifying in-
formation held by the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs is or may have compromised due to the care-
lessness of the Department or its employees in viola-
tion of section 5701 of title 38, United States Code, 
or any other provision of law; 
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(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 cred-
it reporting services; and 
(5) make available to present and former mem-
bers 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 imme-
diately when the Department of Veterans Affairs knows 
or suspects that personal data in the records of the De-
partment have been compromised. 
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SEC. 4. INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON DATA SECURITY 
PRACTICES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS. 
(a) STUDY.—The Inspector General of the Depart-
ment 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 re-
moving 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 pro-
viding the results of the study under subsection (a). 
SEC. 5. CRIMINAL PENALTY. 
Any officer or employee of the Department of Vet-
erans 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 Af-
fairs 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. 
Æ 
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