Bush shows support for VA secretary

Nicholson will appear at two hearings today in the House and Senate.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- VA Secretary Jim Nicholson got an endorsement Wednesday from President Bush -- and a summons to Capitol Hill -- after the theft of veterans' personal information that has become one of the nation's largest security breaches.
Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are asking that Nicholson explain how his department handled the theft of sensitive personal data on 26.5 million veterans. They have called the Veterans Affairs secretary to appear in two emergency hearings today in the House and Senate.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said Bush had "full faith and confidence" in Nicholson. Snow originally had declined to issue a statement of support in the president's name but then said he wanted to clarify his remarks.
Lawmakers speak out
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Bush should call Nicholson "into the woodshed" and consider changing the leadership of the VA, particularly after the agency waited until May 22 to inform the public after the May 3 theft.
"Instead of promptly notifying millions of veterans that their personal data was irresponsibly handled and then stolen, VA officials held their breath and crossed their fingers for nearly three weeks," Leahy said.
"It all adds up to a heck of a bad job for America's veterans," he said. "The President should call Secretary Nicholson into the woodshed for a serious shakeup in how the VA is run."
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, chair of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, said he plans to ask Nicholson tough questions on timing, security procedures and who was involved when his panel holds its extraordinary joint hearing today with the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
"Twenty-six million people deserve answers," said Craig.
In a statement, Nicholson said he was outraged by his agency's decision to keep the theft of veterans' data quiet for so long. He said he had asked the agency's inspector general to determine who knew what and when.
Nicholson first learned of the theft late on May 16 and immediately notified the FBI, according to a government official familiar with the timing, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.
"I will not tolerate inaction and poor judgment when it comes to protecting our veterans," Nicholson said in a statement.
"I am outraged at the loss of this veterans' data and the fact an employee would put it at risk by taking it home in violation of our policies," he said. "Upon notification, my first priority was to take all actions necessary to protect veterans from harm."
But some veterans groups on Wednesday were skeptical, saying they were greatly disturbed that some of their most sensitive personal information had been exposed. They cited previous cases in which agency leaders pleaded ignorance after the VA faced billion-dollar budget shortfalls.
"You have to ask after all this, is this a secretary who is in control of his agency? If he is, how did this happen yet one more time?" said Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs at the Vietnam Veterans of America. Nicholson is a Vietnam War veteran and former chairman of the Republican National Committee.
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