White House: No Need for Military Credit Monitoring Services

Bush Administration officials feel good about withdrawing the $160.5 million pledged to cover credit reports for veterans who had their personal data compromised when a VA laptop was stolen out of an analyst?s home.

?The FBI has a high degree of confidence ? based on the results of the forensic tests and other information gathered during the investigation ? that the sensitive data files were not access or compromised,? OMB director Rob Portman said in a letter sent Tuesday morning. ?On the basis of the FBI?s analysis, the administration has concluded that credit monitoring services and the associated funding will no longer be necessary.?

Veterans who are concerned about their credit and the integrity of their identity can get a free copy of their credit report once a year. This solution was proposed by VA Deputy Secretary Gordon H. Mansfield, who, along with the VA, has been fairly vocal in his opposition to legislation that would provide free credit reports to veterans and strengthen laws that would protect veterans from identity theft.

It might be interesting to remember, however, that it wasn?t Mansfield?s personal data that was compromised.

Related Articles:

VA Releases More Info On Data Loss, Hires Independent Team

Free Monitoring of Credit Proposed for Nation’s Veteran

Equifax to Offer Discount to Veterans Whose Identities Might have been Compromised

Personal Data on Veterans is Stolen