Veterans Affairs
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The Department of Veterans Affairs promises Congress Thursday it will fix longstanding problems involving delayed payments to private-sector medical providers. The VA says a recent overhaul of its reimbursement system is already producing results. But health care providers tell a different story. They say they\'re still trying to bill the department for services they provided years ago. More from Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu.
June 04, 2015 -
Two senior Veterans Affairs officials in the Philadelphia office are suspended. The move comes after an audit found they charged subordinates money to attend a work-related party featuring psychic readings. Both are on the VA payroll while an internal review determines any disciplinary action. Cheri Cannon is a partner at the law firm Tully Rinckey. In this week\'s Legal Loop, she joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on this case.
June 04, 2015 -
The latest example of mismanagement at the Veterans Affairs Department comes once again from the Philadelphia regional office. Two senior officials charged their employees to attend a work party and gave their profits to one of the official\'s wives. But the VA\'s mission should be the one incentive all of its employees can agree on. Stewart Liff, a fellow at the Performance Institute, is a former director of the Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Regional Office. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose about two approaches managers can take to leave a lasting impact on their employees.
June 01, 2015 -
Federal jobs are not the easiest or the best-paid, but at least they're secure. Or so the thinking went. That long-held belief is less prevalent today than it once was, particularly among Senior Executive Service members. A 2014 law that gave Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald more leeway to fire SES members has taken a toll on members' morale government-wide. Many are questioning their career choices. That finding comes from a Senior Executives Association survey on the possibility of at-will employment. SEA President Carol Bonosaro discussed it with Federal News Radio's Emily Kopp.
April 01, 2015 -
In this week's edition of Inside the Reporter's Notebook, Executive Editor Jason Miller examines the unintended consequences of 1990s procurement reform and how OFPP plans to address them. Plus, multiple congressmen crack down on duplication issues at the Department of Homeland Security. Also in this edition, what's behind the retirement of a long-time CIO at Education and a procurement executive at Veterans Affairs?
March 30, 2015 -
House lawmakers and Veterans Affairs' IT officials continue to spar over the data security of millions of veterans. In the latest episode, VA Committee lawmakers say the agency suffered another nation state cyber attack. But IT officials say they have seen no evidence of such an attack. Federal News Radio's Executive editor Jason Miller joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with details on this ongoing cybersecurity drama.
March 20, 2015 -
Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) said the Veterans Affairs Department fell victim to another breach by a nation state in September 2014, putting veterans' data at risk. But VA CIO Steph Warren said internal and external reviews found no evidence of a breach.
March 19, 2015 -
President Barack Obama nominated two people for key administration posts at the Veterans Affairs Department.
March 19, 2015 -
The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Monday accused the inspector general and other officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs of withholding reports from his panel, despite pledges to be transparent.
March 16, 2015 -
The Treasury Department's inspector general reviewed a recent Veterans Affairs IG report and concluded the actions of a former VA acquisitions official "did not violate applicable law."
March 16, 2015 -
Veterans Affairs' Warriors to Workforce program seems to work. It was one of the 124 programs recently honored by Harvard University's Ash Center with a Bright Ideas award. The VA program is designed to help wounded veterans transition into a new career. David Sella, the program manager of the Warriors to Workforce program, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the program.
March 13, 2015 -
Ever since the Veterans Affairs scheduling scandal broke, Congress has been heckling the department to fire more people. Robespierre might have resorted to the guillotine to secure the French Revolution. But is simply rolling heads the best strategy for getting the performance you want from your staff? John Palguta is vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with why firing is just one small piece of the performance puzzle.
March 10, 2015 -
Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald seems to be closing the deal several secretaries of Defense and at least one postmaster general couldn't, says Federal News Radio's Francis Rose in a new commentary.
March 10, 2015 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it has a similar problem to the Defense Department: too many underutilized facilities in its inventory and a lot of dilapidated structures it can't afford to tear down. As Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports, VA is asking Congress for its own version of a BRAC.
March 05, 2015 -
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.
March 03, 2015