Veterans Affairs
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The Veterans Affairs Department once again needs congressional authority to transfer funds from one account to another to keep the Veterans Choice Program running for the rest of fiscal 2017. VA Secretary David Shulkin says the issue emphasizes the need to redesign the program, yet Congress has its concerns about the viability of Choice in the near and long term future.
June 14, 2017 -
The House will pass the VA Accountability First and Whistleblower Protection Act, clearing the way for the President to sign the bill later this week. Some lawmakers and veterans service organizations see the bill's passage as a major win after years of debate over new accountability legislation. But federal employee groups say the bill would do more harm than good.
June 13, 2017 -
The VA is shortening the time it takes for student veterans to get the payments they need to attend school through the G.I. bill. Lawmakers still think the time is too long, however.
June 09, 2017 -
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin offered the first glimpse of his plan to redesign the current Veterans Choice Program. He's calling it the Veterans' Coordinated Access Rewarding Experience (CARE) Program, and under the new initiative, veterans would no longer access community providers based on a set of arbitrary, administrative rules.
June 08, 2017 -
Dr. David Shulkin has either made a dramatic and long-overdue change, or he's stomped on a hornet's nest and unleashed furies that'll eat him alive.
June 06, 2017 -
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin announced his intention to drop VistA and move the department to a commercial, off-the-shelf electronic health record.
June 05, 2017 -
The Veterans Affairs Department has director for human resources and administration. Long-time HR veteran Peter Shelby will oversee human resources, diversity and inclusion initiatives, labor-management relations, senior executive management, conflict-resolution and veterans employment.
June 05, 2017 -
While much of the recent attention has fallen on the president’s proposed budget, Congress has still been introducing and passing legislation. Here are a few bills worth knowing about that might have slipped through the cracks.
June 02, 2017 -
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin delivered his diagnosis of the department in a "State of the VA" briefing before reporters Wednesday morning. He outlined 13 areas where the department needs to improve and the legislative and administrative fixes it needs in order to see progress.
May 31, 2017 -
In today's Federal Newscast, data discovered by the Associated Press reveals the Veterans Affairs Department Office of Inspector General is looking into over 100 cases of employees accused of stealing drugs from VA Health facilities.
May 31, 2017 -
Have you read so much about the proposed 2018 budget that you feel like your head will explode? Do you just want to know which provisions would affect you, but are having trouble separating it from all the rest? Federal News Radio has boiled it all down to some key takeaways all federal employees need to know. If you read nothing else about the budget, read this.
May 30, 2017 -
The Veterans Affairs Department may get a big budget boost in fiscal 2018 under the president's proposal. Most of the additional funding will go toward health care, both in and outside the department. But the budget proposal does suggest cuts, and lawmakers said they're concerned by possible spending reductions to VA information technology and medical research.
May 24, 2017 -
The Senate is tied up with the 2018 budget and probing whether Russia influenced the 2016 election. But members still remain interested in the Veterans Affairs Department. The committee is marking up the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act. If enacted, this bill could help the department attract the talent management says it needs. Kristine Simmons, vice president of government affairs at the Partnership for Public Service, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more.
May 24, 2017 -
In the 100 years since the U.S. entered World War I, more than 4,000 Americans remain missing in action. Defense Department MIA efforts only go as far back as World War II. Historian and author Robert Laplander heads up the Doughboy MIA Team for the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission. He joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk about locating these earlier MIAs.
May 22, 2017 -
The Government Accountability Office found that the Veterans Affairs Department doesn't have a very effective process for aligning facilities and capital investments. Debra Draper, director of health care issues at the GAO, shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
May 18, 2017