Department of Veterans Affairs
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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 -
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 -
Cabinet secretaries, many of whom are newcomers to government, say they're impressed by the dedication and hard work they've seen from colleagues at the career levels of their agencies within the first 100 days of the Trump administration. They offered their congratulations to the 26 finalists of the Partnership for Public Service's prestigious Service to America Medals.
May 09, 2017 -
VA's facilities planning processes leave it with millions of square feet of empty and decaying space.
May 09, 2017 -
VA says it wants to significantly expand the health care services it offers through telehealth technologies — voice, video, instantaneous record-sharing — but it's hampered by state laws that require providers to be licensed in the same states as their patients.
May 08, 2017 -
Tomas Okeefe and Chris Wiedemann, market research consultants at immixGroup, join host Mark Amtower on this week's Amtower Off Center to federal tech spending during the rest of fiscal year 2017. May 8, 2017
May 07, 2017 -
The Trump administration’s first 100 days concludes with several policy initiatives and agreeing to a budget plan to avoid a government shutdown.
April 27, 2017 -
In the aftermath of the federal hiring freeze, the Veterans Affairs Department says hiring managers are free to fill most positions. But there are still thousands of exceptions requiring approval from senior VA officials.
April 27, 2017 -
The executive order establishes the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protections as a new entity within VA. The new office will identify barriers and duplicative processes and resources to quickly disciplining and firing VA employees for poor performance or misconduct.
April 27, 2017 -
President Trump issued an executive order for federal agencies to review their policies and procedures for buying American. He suspect loopholes in buy-American laws are too often used when the government buys. Agencies are to forward their legal and procedural reviews to Commerce Secretary Wilber Ross, who will in turn deliver a draft set of recommendations by the end of the year.
April 20, 2017 -
The Veterans Affairs Department soft-launched a new online tool that lets veterans search for VA medical facilities and their average wait times within a specific mile radius. VA said it's a significant step in showing accountability and transparency efforts three years after wait time scandals in Phoenix shook up the agency's leadership and organization.
April 13, 2017 -
In one case, medical staff had to borrow bone cement from a vendor to finish two knee replacements.
April 13, 2017 -
DJ Kachman, the Veterans Affairs’ director of mobile and security technology transformation lead in the Office of Information and Technology, said the agency will pilot derived credentials later this year.
April 07, 2017 -
The federal cloud policy makes it easier for agencies to begin replacing legacy systems with commercial applications.
April 06, 2017