Veterans Affairs
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Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-Okla.) investigation into Veterans Affairs hospitals reveals widespread manipulation, criminal activity and poor management.
June 25, 2014 -
The House and Senate have appointed members to a conference committee on legislation to revamp the Veterans Affairs health care system. Regardless of how Congress ends up changing the structure to address long wait times for patients, the system will need more money for emergencies. That is one request from the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents many front-line VA employees. J. David Cox is the union's president and a former VA nurse. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss how the problems at the VA are affecting the front-line employees.
June 23, 2014 -
Despite reports of delayed patient treatments, falsified records and preventable veteran deaths, the Department of Veterans Affairs said all of its 470 senior executives have been rated "successful" over the past four fiscal years. The ratings have sparked outrage among members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, whose chairman called the performance rating and bonus system at the VA "outlandish."
June 20, 2014 -
Legislation in the Senate would allow the Veterans Affairs secretary to dismiss members of the Senior Executive Service on the grounds of performance, and that could mean more appeal cases for the already-swamped Merit Systems Protection Board.
June 19, 2014 -
The director of the Phoenix VA hospital and two other employees are on administrative leave following allegations that the hospital delayed medical treatment to veterans. Note: they have not been fired. Legislation moving through Congress would make it easier for the VA secretary to give the boot to senior executives. Susan Tsui Grundmann is chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which hears appeals from federal employees on personnel issues. She joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to explain how the law could change. Read related article by Federal News Radio's Shefali Kapadia.
June 18, 2014 -
The problems at the Veteran Affairs Department continue to unfold. Meanwhile, the largest civilian agency lacks a Senate confirmed leader. We've seen this pattern before: troubled agency, departed leadership. Some come roaring back, some limp along. John Palguta is the vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service. He joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss how the VA can shape a more promising future.
June 17, 2014 -
The House and Senate have both passed bills to shore up the Veterans Affairs Department. Now they are in conference to reconcile. The final bill would give veterans more opportunities to seek care outside of VA hospitals, while beefing up the VA's own medical staff. The Congressional Budget Office has scored the VA bill and estimates the expense of the additional care would be about $50 billion. Yevgeniy Feyman, fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss whether all the money will help.
June 13, 2014 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
Eighteen more people are dead after they were left off the official waiting list for health care at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs hospital. The VA Inspector General will investigate to see if long wait times caused the deaths. Phil Carter, senior fellow, counsel and director of the Military, Veterans and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security, writes about six ways to reform the VA healthcare system and restore public trust in Slate.
June 06, 2014 -
What implications will the VA scandal have on other federal agencies? Many feds and management groups are asking that question as Congress considers legislation that would allow the VA to fire poor-performing employees. Federal News Radio's Web Manager Julia Ziegler joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive to discuss why the Senate might not pass its version of the bill today.
June 06, 2014 -
The House has approved a bill to give the Veterans Affairs secretary the right to fire senior executives almost at will. It's understandable — members of Congress are outraged over long waiting times and falsification of records at VA hospitals, compounded by the fact that VA managers have received millions of dollars in bonuses. But it's not clear whether the proposal is legal. In our weekly legal loop segment, federal employment attorney John Mahoney spoke with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive. He explained exactly what the House approved and who the bill affects.
June 05, 2014 -
Investigators have yet to get to the bottom of care delays and falsified records at Veterans Affairs. Yet at least four reform bills are percolating in Congress. Anthony Principi has some ideas for how Congress and the department might proceed for the long term. He is a former Veterans Affairs secretary and now a consultant with a long career in the public and private sectors, and spoke with Tom Temin on Federal Drive.
June 05, 2014