WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson Thursday told a congressional hearing he's "outraged" a VA employee could take home data on 26.5 million veterans.
"As a veteran, I am outraged," Nicholson said during testimony before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. "I'm outraged that this employee would do this so recklessly, and I'm outraged that I wasn't notified sooner."
Nicholson said he was "mad as hell" that he didn't learn of the theft of personal data on 26.5 million U.S. veterans until two weeks after the May 3 burglary of the analysts' home in Maryland.
The employee told the VA's inspector general he had been taking sensitive data home for three years without it being encrypted, a violation of department policies, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The White House said President George W. Bush had "full faith and confidence" in Nicholson despite growing calls for his resignation.
Nicholson said he had not decided whether the government would pay for credit monitoring services to help notify veterans if they become victims of identity theft.
