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The Veterans Affairs Department says it is spending $24 million per year to maintain facility space it can't use. Some of the restrictions on closing them are political, some are local, so VA thinks it needs a BRAC of its own.
After two years of operating under sequestration level funding, the Army now faces a $3 billion maintenance backlog and 5,500 work orders, said Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment.
Air Force Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Roberto Guerrero cites new efficiencies, public/private partnerships as keys to reduced energy use.
Ashton Carter, the new Defense secretary, told lawmakers this week that most of DoD's civilian workforce is performing mission-critical functions. But large budgets over the past decade have let the department do a lot of hiring without much thought toward cutting outdated positions, he said.
Jennifer Mattingley, director of government affairs with Shaw Bransford and Roth, will discuss the federal pay raise, changes to the retirees cost of living program and other issues affected feds, and Federal Times Senior Writer Andy Medici will talk about phased retirement and possible changes in defense per diem rates. March 4, 2015
Troubled by a lack of women and minorities at the Air Force's higher levels, its leaders are rolling out nine initiatives focusing on recruitment, promotions and retention. "This is not just about how we look. It's about our readiness and capabilities today and in the future," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said.
The Defense Department will close 15 sites in Europe over the next two years. The Department expects the European Infrastructure Consolidation to save $500 million a year. Katherine Hammack is assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she shared the details on this and DoD's other cost-saving plans.
Nearly a quarter of the military's facilities are rated as in "poor" condition; another 7 percent are failing. Officials say their 2016 budget would begin to dig out of billions of dollars in backlogged maintenance needs.
The budget the Defense Department is pushing for in 2016 will help the agency start to dig out of a big backlog of deferred maintenance on military bases. But Pentagon officials say even their own plan isn't a complete solution to deteriorating facilities, and if sequestration returns next year, things will likely get much worse. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the details.
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are fighting back against the Pentagon's cost-cutting plan for employees who travel for work.
The State Department hopes to tap into veterans' overseas experiences with a new program. The Veterans Innovation Partnership launched last month. The goal is to apply service members' skills to foreign policy and international affairs. Drew O'Brien is the Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the State Department. He joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to explain more about the program.
All morning we've been talking about acquisition, and how to improve and modernize it. Sometimes it's easy to forget that acquisitions aren't just for their own sake; they support programs. So good program management is part of the mix of success. Paul Gregory, the vice chancellor of the Program Management School at the Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy, joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive from the ACT-IAC Acquisition Excellence Conference with more on that perspective.
The House on Monday approved a bill allowing the Veterans Affairs secretary to force senior executives to repay bonuses if the employees engaged in misconduct.
The list of recommendations to change DoD's benefits system from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission have been getting their first hearings on Capitol Hill over the last few weeks. That list details a new healthcare system and a hybrid retirement plan for the four out of five troops who don't serve at least 20 years. The panel's ideas haven't sparked an open revolt in Congress so far, but some outside groups are warning that some of the changes might do more harm than good. Retired Navy Vice Adm. Norb Ryan is president of the Military Officers Association of America. MOAA's doing its own analysis of the recommendations, and shared some ways they could hurt retention with Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu on In Depth with Francis Rose.