Calls Deluge VA, Lawmakers React:

The Veterans Affairs call center set up in the wake of the devastating news that up to 26.5 million veterans have been exposed to identity theft had received more than 84,000 calls, as of 10 p.m. May 23—one day after the VA went public, reports Government Executive. Lawmakers quickly granted authority to the VA to shift $25 million from existing accounts to pay for the call center. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) already has introduced legislation to provide free credit monitoring for affected veterans. Kerry joins the Veterans of Foreign Wars in calling for the VA to fire the person or persons involved. And, VFW wrote in a letter to Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, that the Administration should “accept responsibility for any losses that result.”