Related: Data on 26.5 mln US veterans stolen

    WASHINGTON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The theft of the personal information of 26.5 million U.S. veterans may cost Americans taxpayers as much as 500 million U.S. dollars, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said on Thursday.

    Testifying before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Nicholson said it might cost 100 million dollars and as much as 500 million dollars to prevent and cover potential losses.

    He said there was no sign that the veterans' stolen information, which included their names, Social Security numbers and birth dates, was being used for fraud at the moment. The data related to veterans discharged from the military since 1975.

    The department employee who had taken the data home without authorization and had the information stolen from his residence was placed on administrative leave, he said.

    Nicholson said he was "mad as hell" that he wasn't told about the burglary until May 16, nearly two weeks after it took place on May 3. He told the FBI on May 17 and the incident was made public on May 22. Enditem