Budzinski, Barrett Introduce Legislation to Protect Veterans’ Data

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization and Congressman Tom Barrett (MI-07), Chair of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization introduced the Veteran Data Accountability for Third-party Actors Act (DATA) Act during National Data Privacy Week. This bipartisan legislation would prevent third-party vendors that work with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from monetizing or misusing veterans' data.

"Veterans should be able to trust that their personal data will be kept safe when they go to VA to receive health care or access their benefits," said Congresswoman Budzinski. "VA is responsible for significant amounts of information on America's veterans, and as data breaches, scams, and identity theft become all the more common, we need to put guardrails in place. As leaders of the Technology Modernization Subcommittee, I'm proud to introduce this legislation alongside Congressman Barrett to protect veterans' data."

"Data privacy is critical in our increasingly digital age," said Congressman Barrett. "This is especially true for our veterans who share sensitive personal information every time they fill out a form to receive care or benefits from the VA. Our veterans deserve to know their data isn't being sold or stolen by bad actors looking to take advantage of them, which is why I'm proud to lead this legislation with Congresswoman Budzinski to put the necessary safeguards in place to prevent that from happening."

Specifically, the Veteran DATA Act would:

• Require VA to update contracts with a clause prohibiting covered information from being monetized, sold, or otherwise misused by any contractor
• Require VA to issue a directive or policy with guidance to employees and contractors on how to identify the monetization, sale, or misuse of protected veteran information
• Require VA to report to Congress on contract updates and guidance disseminated

You can find the full text of the Veteran DATA Act HERE.

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