The fact that the stolen computer equipment has been recovered (see above) should not dissuade officials from correcting the “basic deficiencies” that led to this data loss, says Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Buyer adds that his committee’s charge is to “make certain essential changes are made that will ensure this does not happen again.” His counterpart in the Senate, Larry Craig (R-Idaho), would extend the effort because, he says, “serious changes are needed in data protection government-wide.” Craig also has expressed relief that, if the FBI can confirm the security of the data, “we will be able to save taxpayers millions of dollars.” So far, VA has spent more than $14 million and the Administration was poised to request more.
House lawmakers unveiled a new reconciliation package July 15 with $60 billion for defense, $290 billion less than the Pentagon has been seeking, a day after a Senate vote to advance the annual defense policy bill failed—developments that show the perilous state of the Pentagon’s ambitious plans for fiscal 2027.