The discovery of a hidden camera in the room of a brain-damaged veteran at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center last year has led to new legislation in Congress filed Thursday.
The chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Jeff Miller of Florida, introduced the Veterans’ Privacy Act.
“This type of behavior is as bizarre as it is outrageous. To think that some VA employees actually thought it a good idea to covertly record a patient with a video camera disguised as a smoke detector really just boggles the mind," Miller said in a written press release.
"What’s worse is that when we questioned VA regarding the legality of these actions, department officials contended they had done nothing wrong. The Veterans Privacy Act will keep covert, Big Brother tactics out of VA medical centers and protect the sacred trust that should exist between VA and veteran patients and their families.”
Miller's bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to obtain the personal consent of patients before installing cameras in VA medical center treatment rooms.
