Buchanan questions speed of VA’s veteran identification card program roll-out

Following reports that the Veterans Administration (VA) requires another year before it can begin issuing identification cards to veterans, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) said on Thursday that the agency needs to “pick up the pace and move faster.”

“The VA needs to pick up the pace and move faster on issuing identification cards to any veteran who wants one,” Buchanan said. “Another year is too long of a wait as millions of veterans remain vulnerable to identity theft.”

Veterans have a rate of identity theft twice that of the general public, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Buchanan, in a letter to Secretary Robert McDonald, called on the VA to move faster in implementing the Veterans Identification Card Act to protect millions of American veterans who are at risk of identity theft.

Without the ID cards, millions of veterans can only prove their service to the U.S. by physically carry their official DD-214 military service records. The records contain such sensitive personal information as Social Security numbers and service details that place veterans at a higher, unnecessary risk for identity theft.

Buchanan’s legislation, introduced on Jan. 6, 2015, passed the House and Senate unanimously last summer and was endorsed by AMVETS, the Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans for Common Sense and the Association of the U.S. Navy. It was signed into law by President Barack Obama more than six months ago.

The law would also make it easier for employers to verify the service of an applicants and for veterans to take advantage of goods, services and promotional opportunities.