David Shulkin
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The Veterans Affairs Department will immediately get rid of 71 vacant or nearly empty facilities. VA will eliminate another 71 buildings within the next six months. It's part of the department's long term effort to trim its inventory of outdated, underutilized or vacant buildings within the next two years.
June 21, 2017 -
In today’s Federal Newscast, the Defense Department is targeting procurement rules in response to President Trump's executive order to evaluate existing regulations and recommend their repeal, replacement or modification.
June 21, 2017 -
It's been a busy couple of months for the Veterans Affairs Department. But VA Secretary David Shulkin said he wouldn't have it any other way. He's pushing the VA workforce to embrace risk and begin making bold, fundamental changes to the way it does business. He said he sees the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act as one bold change that will improve the department's employee morale and recruitment efforts.
June 20, 2017 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
In today's Federal Newscast, the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general explains to Congress how the agency might have been taken for over a billion dollars.
June 01, 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 -
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 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 -
The Veterans Affairs Department will hold the second annual Brain Trust conference this week. The conference is devoted to the latest in treating head trauma and traumatic brain injury while bringing together people from the VA and several private sector organizations. Matt Collier, senior advisor to VA Secretary David Shulkin, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to provide further details.
May 16, 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 -
It's Public Service Recognition Week, and some agencies are taking the time to say "Thank you" to the federal workforce that makes it all happen.
May 10, 2017