More than two dozen Democratic senators sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins urging him to revoke tech billionaire Elon Musk’s access to the personal information of veterans stored on computers at the VA and other federal agencies. (Linda Hersey/Stars & Stripes)
WASHINGTON — More than two dozen Democratic senators sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins asking that he stop tech billionaire Elon Musk and his associates from accessing and collecting veterans’ personal information from the federal government’s computers.
The letter urges Collins to instruct Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to permanently delete any information obtained on veterans’ health services and benefits from the VA and other government agencies.
“Our nation’s veterans have entrusted their health records, including genetic samples, disability data, bank information and other private information to VA,” the letter states.
The VA stores veteran casework, files on whistleblowers and investigative records that contain identifying information on veterans and federal employees, according to the letter.
The senators sent the letter Thursday following reports that Musk and his associates from DOGE had accessed computers at the VA and the U.S. Treasury payment system, according to the office of Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who signed the letter.
Confidential records stored in VA computers include prescriptions, medical diagnoses and procedures, and genomic data on veterans who participated in research programs, among other data, Blumenthal’s office said.
The Treasury Department’s payment system stores financial information on veterans, their surviving spouses and dependents, to deliver their benefits. The payment system has data on veterans’ monthly disability checks, bank account numbers and veterans’ contact information, including their home addresses, Blumenthal’s office said.
Other senators signing the letter are Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Sen. Tim Kaine, D.-Va., Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Michael Bennet, D.-Colo., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.
