Veterans Affairs

  • 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
  • Both the Veterans Affairs and Justice departments believe they can easily resolve some concerns with the constitutionality of the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. DoJ is concerned, however, that VA will run into the same issues that ultimately rendered a controversial provision on firing senior executives unconstitutional.

    May 18, 2017
  • The Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, which senators introduced last week, may have more momentum than previous bills. It now has 12 co-sponsors, including four Democrats and VA Secretary David Shulkin himself. Yet some federal employee groups and experts question whether the new bill has the teeth to truly tackle long entrenched cultural problems at the department.

    May 16, 2017
  • Amy Eastman, director of fundraising for Objective Zero, discusses a new mobile app aimed at eliminated veterans' suicides.

    May 15, 2017
  • Members of the Senate have reached a long awaited agreement on new accountability procedures for senior executives and employees within the Veterans Affairs Department. A bipartisan group of senators introduced the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act Thursday morning. It would change current disciplinary appeals rights for both SES and rank-and-file employees.

    May 11, 2017
  • The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld an appeal from Sharon Helman, the former director of the beleaguered Veterans Affairs medical center in Phoenix, Arizona, who was fired in 2014. The court said a key provision that lets VA more quickly fire and discipline senior executives is unconstitutional. The Merit Systems Protection Board will review the original decision an administrative judge made regarding Helman's removal.

    May 09, 2017
  • VA's facilities planning processes leave it with millions of square feet of empty and decaying space.

    May 09, 2017
  • One Veterans Affairs Department cybersecurity manager developed a program to reduce turnover and attrition. In fact she's a finalist in this year's Government Information Security Leadership Awards. Barbara Smith, information security director for VA's Pacific District, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more.

    May 08, 2017