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National & World Headlines
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The Veterans Affairs Department will try to address one major aspect of its patient scheduling scandal by looking to industry for help. VA is planning two major acquisitions in the coming months. Federal News Radio's Executive Editor Jason Miller joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to discuss what VA is trying to do. Read Jason's related article.
June 11, 2014 -
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The first solicitation will address near-term fixes for the current application. The second one will look to commercial technology for a wholesale replacement of the scheduling application. VA says it will build off the contest it ran in 2013 where it awarded $3 million to competitors to develop VISTA-friendly scheduling software.
June 11, 2014 -
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Billionaire entrepreneur and founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, is breaking a major unwritten rule in government contracting. He's suing his customer. SpaceX is suing the Air Force after the department awarded a satellite launch contract to a joint business between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Brett Lambert is former assistant secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy. He spoke on In Depth with Francis Rose about how common this is within the defense contracting community.
June 10, 2014 -
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Leaders of both the House and Senate pledge to move quickly on legislation to help the Veterans Affairs Department treat the more than 100,000 vets who are either waiting months for medical appointments or have been unable to see a doctor. At a House hearing late last night, a top VA official apologized for the delays, calling them indefensible. Martin Matishak, staff writer at The Hill, joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss prospects for legislation and VA's future.
June 10, 2014 -
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After long delays, four former guards from the security firm Blackwater Worldwide are going to trial for the killings of 14 Iraqi civilians and the wounding of 18 others that fueled anti-American sentiment around the world. Associated Press reporter Pete Yost writes, "whether the shootings were self-defense or an unprovoked attack, the carnage of Sept. 16, 2007, was seen by critics of the George W. Bush administration as an illustration of a war gone horribly wrong."
June 10, 2014 -
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The Veterans Affairs Department now says more than 57,000 veterans have waited at least 90 days for their first medical appointments. An additional 64,000 appear to have never gotten appointments at all. One solution Congress is considering entails giving the VA more money to close the gap. Robert Levinson is a senior defense analyst with Bloomberg Government. He joined Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to take a closer look at VA spending.
June 10, 2014 -
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You've heard about movie directors studying the military to make true-to-life films, but the military is also using Hollywood to prepare for battle. Active shooter situations, improvised explosive devices and car crashes are all a part of the Intensive Surgical Skills course at Strategic Operations, Inc. Backed by the Defense Department, the company has trained more than 750,000 military personnel. Navy veteran and Executive Vice President Kit Lavell joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss the course.
June 10, 2014 -
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The Pentagon says the Chinese military threat is growing because China steals intellectual property from the United States in giant quantities. DoD's new congressional report on China details violations of U.S. copyright and export laws by Chinese intelligence programs stealing national security technology. Gordon Chang, a contributor to Forbes.com, writes their New Asia column.
June 09, 2014 -
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The United States needs a national certification program for cybersecurity professionals, according to some cyber experts. Sean Kern, assistant professor of cybersecurity at the National Defense University, writes about what a cyber certification would include.
June 09, 2014 -
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The electronic wait system for keeping track of and monitoring initial primary-care appointments for new patients at Veterans Affairs medical facilities is not the only scheduling system at VA that's now under scrutiny. A separate system for monitoring VA patients' access to outpatient specialty care -- such as cardiologists, gastroenterologists and physical therapists — is also "unreliable," according to GAO's Debra Draper, who testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee Monday evening.
June 09, 2014 -
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The Naval History and Heritage Command is rolling up its sleeves to rediscover the Navy's hidden treasures. The small staff is in the middle of an effort to catalog, photograph and rehouse its popular weapons collection that dates back to the 17th century. Julie Kowalsky, curator with the Naval History and Heritage Command, spoke with Jason Miller on the Federal Drive about the collection.
June 09, 2014 -
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It's the elephant in the room: military pay and benefits are overwhelming the Defense Department's budget. But Congress doesn't want to cut them, so it appoints an independent commission to do it by next February. Alphonso Maldon is chairman of the commission. He told Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive, the nine members have reviewed everything from recruitment to retirement, paychecks and housing allowance to health care.
June 09, 2014 -
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Maryland Transportation Secretary James Smith is joining other state, local and Fort Meade officials in breaking ground for a $180 million development to serve the growing number of people using MARC commuter rail service near the Army installation.
June 09, 2014 -
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Scandal-rocked federal agencies could, probably should, take survival training from Detroit auto-makers, who know how to handle little — and sometimes not so little — problems, Senior Correspondent Mike Causey says.
June 09, 2014
