Following the loss of some 464,000 loan and grant records at a Department of Veterans Affairs office in Cleveland, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is pressing VA secretary Erik Shinseki for answers and assurances that the mistake won’t be repeated.
A database administrator at the VA office reportedly deleted the loan, grant and application records of Ohio veterans and the department has since taken steps to remedy the situation.
However, Portman wrote to Shinseki that, "limited communication and delayed incident reporting are particularly concerning," given recent scrutiny because of the sizable 860,000 claims backlog. The deleted records are expected to result in minor delays in about 70 percent of cases.
Portman is seeking clarification on when applicants were notified, what steps have been taken to prevent a repeat, and the department’s plan to address the 30 percent of loan and grant applications that are not with major lenders.