A Return to Serial Numbers for Vets?

The chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), is pleased that investigative agencies have recovered the computer equipment containing personal data of more than 26 million veterans, but he may still move ahead with plans that might include directing DOD and VA to stop using Social Security numbers as personal identifiers. Government Executive reports that is one of several proposals Buyer is considering as part of legislation to try to prevent a recurrence of the VA nightmare. Buyer said Thursday that he was “optimistic” that no data has been compromised, however, he does not intend to relinquish his committee’s “clear” charge—ensuring the clean up of VA information management problems.