Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., sent a sharply worded letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins urging him to report to lawmakers any software installed on employees’ computers for monitoring their online activity. Takano is shown speaking on April 8, 2025, during a discussion on toxic exposures at U.S. military bases. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee is demanding to know whether artificial intelligence tools, voice recording software or any other spyware are installed on computers at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Rep. Mark Takano of California sent a sharply worded letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins urging him to identify any software installed on employees’ computers for monitoring their online activity.
Spyware is designed to track users without their knowledge or consent.
Takano also seeks information on whether the VA introduced a digital artificial intelligence tool called OpenHands that can modify computer codes, run commands and browse the web without human intervention.
The congressman accused Collins of “evasiveness” for not responding to prior requests from Democratic lawmakers for similar information.
“Your lack of candor and transparency to Congress is troubling,” Takano wrote in the letter dated June 25.
The congressman is also trying to determine the level of involvement of the Department of Government Efficiency at the VA.
“We have received reports from whistleblowers regarding the implementation of new tracking tools under the DOGE initiative to monitor employee activity and efficiency,” according to Meagan Whalen, communications director for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
These include keystroke monitors and online tools that store information from calls, chats and emails.
Collins acknowledged at a recent hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subpanel on military construction, veterans affairs and related agencies that the agency employs three members from DOGE, the group that tech billionaire Elon Musk formed to examine federal agencies for waste and abuse.
But he did not directly answer questions from lawmakers on whether DOGE has access to veterans’ health records.
“They’re advisers. They’re looking through our contracts and stuff like that,” Collins said Tuesday. “They are acting in their role as a normal VA employee would do and are authorized to do anything that they’re currently doing.”
Musk, as a former senior adviser to President Donald Trump, sent DOGE operatives into federal agencies at the behest of the Trump administration to assist in downsizing the federal government and reducing personnel.
Takano’s letter asks whether DOGE is accessing and looking at veterans’ medical files.
VA is required by several federal laws to protect veterans health information, he wrote.
Laws include the E-Government Act of 2022 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA, Takano said.
“Veterans deserve transparency, and you are required by law to provide it,” he wrote in the letter.
