Defense
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An amendment to the Veterans Affairs appropriations bill would prohibit the agency from awarding performance bonuses to senior executives.
May 04, 2015 -
Veterans Affairs wants to help put an end to veteran homelessness. The department is repurposing its West Los Angeles campus to serve particularly vulnerable veterans, such as women or severely disabled vets, who are also homeless. The campus redesign will help VA implement the White House policy that no veteran should live on the streets. Vince Kane, the director of the VA\'s National Homeless Center, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the plan.
May 01, 2015 -
The Obama administration said Thursday that it not yet ready to express its views on key military compensation issues including health care and retirement, even after two years of study. A key House committee says retirement has been studied enough.
May 01, 2015 -
The military branches have a template that civilian agencies could use to build their workforces for the next decade. Retired Navy Adm. John Harvey is Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He\'s former Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained the tools civilian and uniformed leaders in the military will have to build a workforce for the year 2025, and how both forces will collaborate in the coming decade.
April 30, 2015 -
Retired Navy Adm. John Harvey, a former commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command and currently the secretary of of Veterans and Defense Affairs for the Commonwealth of Virginia, said too much civilian workforce planning is left to chance. A more structured approach and funding would make a huge difference, he said.
April 30, 2015 -
Jacob Haynes, the chief information officer at the Defense Contract Management Agency, said the new innovation lab helps the agency use a disciplined approach to testing technology before making a major investment.
April 30, 2015 -
Reductions to training and modernization funding are already beginning to jeopardize the Army Reserve\'s place as an operational force within the Army, the reserve\'s top officer warned Congress Wednesday, threatening his force\'s ability to deploy in support of active duty troops.
April 30, 2015 -
Congress has introduced lots of bills recently affecting federal agencies and employees. We summarize them for you here.
April 30, 2015 -
A Defense comptroller reported wrongdoing at the Defense Information Systems Agency and was removed from his position. Now, Sens. Chuck Grassley and Mark Warner want Defense Secretary Ash Carter to launch a full investigation. They say Jimaye Sones\' demotion from comptroller to working on accounting software is a clear case of whistleblower retaliation. As part of this week\'s Legal Loop, Lynne Bernabei, a partner at the law firm Bernabei and Watchel, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to further explore this case.
April 30, 2015 -
Nearly 40 defense think-tank experts urge the Pentagon to consider a long list of reforms. They agree that base closures, changes to the DoD civilian workforce and military compensation reform are essential to maintaining a strong national defense over the long term. Todd Harrison is senior fellow for Defense studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He coordinated the latest letter, and joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to elaborate on what\'s inside it.
April 30, 2015 -
Over the last two decades, the Army has made decisions to make its reserve forces \"operational\" ones. The reserves participate in contingencies around the world even in peacetime, instead of having the Army only call them up in emergencies. But the chief of the Army Reserve says funding cuts are already beginning to relegate his force to the \"strategic\" reserve of decades gone by. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the story.
April 29, 2015 -
The House Armed Services Committee might be opening the door to another round of BRAC with next year\'s National Defense Authorization bill. The Military Readiness subcommittee wants DoD to draw up a 20-year plan that compares its expected force structure to its future infrastructure needs. Roger Zakheim is a counsel at Covington and Burling. He\'s former general counsel and deputy staff director for the House Armed Services Committee, and former deputy assistant secretary of Defense. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he offered ways the committee might mark up the 2016 defense authorization bill.
April 29, 2015 -
An early series of pilot programs to translate military skills to private-sector credentials has blossomed into hundreds of projects across the military services, officials said Tuesday.
April 29, 2015 -
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is beefing up its nuclear support mission to meet the expectations of DoD\'s 2014 Nuclear Enterprise Review. A new nuke-focused directorate will tackle oversight, investment, personnel and training, as recommended in the review. Director Kenneth Myers announced the directorate last week at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. It\'ll be fully operational in just a few days. On the Federal Drive, Myers told Federal News Radio\'s Lauren Larson why a nuclear directorate is needed.
April 28, 2015 -
A multi-billion dollar construction portfolio at the Department of Veterans Affairs is suffering from schedule delays and cost overruns. Those issues are now a $1 billion headache for the VA. Mark Goldstein is director of Physical Infrastructure Issues at the Government Accountability Office. On In Depth with Francis Rose and guest co-host Karen Evans, he explained why he told the Senate Veterans\' Affairs committee some of those problems are getting worse.
April 27, 2015