Credit Monitoring
The next day, Wednesday, June 21, the VA made the announcement all veterans were waiting to hear. The VA would provide free credit monitoring for one year. There would be no cost to anyone on the list of names on the stolen laptop. The VA is now soliciting bids from companies who wish to provide the service. Veterans will be notified of the "opt-in" credit monitoring program by mid-August.
Back on Capitol Hill, Senator Craig's amendment had been rewritten to make it plain that veterans would not have to pay for the credit monitoring service. Craig made that clear by stating, "But it won't be free to taxpayers. It will cost millions of dollars to continue this effort." Craig's press release-of-the-day stated: "...the final cost will be paid for in-full by the federal government and not by individual veterans."
Unfunded Mandate
But, is that really true? Not if you read Senator Craig's amendment. Craig has offered no funding to pay for the credit monitoring. So, the Craig amendment is nothing more than an unfunded mandate. The VA would be directed to provide a year of free credit monitoring but given no funds to carry out the program.
Senator Craig is not known as a free-spender when it comes to the VA. Earlier this year, speaking on the Senate floor, Craig fought emergency funding for the VA by stating that the agency had too much money. In opposing more VA funding Craig said, "It means that over $600 million they [VA] thought they would spend they are now not spending...This money, if it were allocated, will not get spent." Craig never documented his claim that the VA had money it wasn't spending. And, the concept seems unbelievable given the number of veterans waiting months and even years for necessary healthcare.
VA's Non-plan
Where will the money for the credit monitoring come from? As of now, the VA has spent more than $14 million to run a call center and do a mass mailing. That meter is running to the tune of over $200,000 a day. VA Secretary Jim Nicholson told Congress that the funds were coming from carry-over money in the budget and, in the future there will be administrative "belt-tightening" at the VA.
Secretary Nicholson has not asked for any additional funding to pay for the credit monitoring program and seems content to use funds currently allocated to other VA programs. In other words, veterans will end up paying for the credit monitoring program. By taking money out of the existing VA budget, healthcare and other benefits will have to be reduced or delayed.
A Responsible Solution
There may be a happy ending to all of this. On Thursday, June 22, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Robert Byrd (D-WV) pushed $160 million in funding dedicated to the VA's credit monitoring program through the Senate Appropriations Committee. This would guarantee that the VA does not have to use currently budgeted funds for the program.
Hope Yen, reporting for the Associated Press, wrote of the vote: "...some Republicans objected because the VA has said it can use existing funds to pay for credit checks."
Senator Murray said, "If we don't provide emergency funding, the VA will take that money out of the services and benefits our veterans rely on." Murray added, "It's not acceptable to tell veterans 'We lost your personal information and by the way, we're going to cut your healthcare and benefits to pay for this mess that we created.'" The Murray/Byrd funding was tacked onto the Agriculture Appropriations Act which will go before the full Senate.
Now, millions of veterans are waiting. Free credit monitoring is assured. But, will veterans end up paying for it through reduced healthcare and benefits? Or, will Congress do the right thing and provide additional funding to pay for the credit monitoring program? A date has not been set for the full Senate vote.
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