Jon Tester
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A new bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to produce a single list of all ongoing IT projects at the agency, as well as a prioritized ranking of initiatives that are currently unfunded.
March 16, 2021 -
The Veterans Health Administration also said it will not require the COVID-19 vaccine as a requirement of employment at the department. VHA has vaccinated 73% of its workforce and 90% of its clinical staff.
February 25, 2021 -
The Veterans Health Administration is marking its 75th year. Now that Denis McDonough is confirmed as the new veterans affairs secretary, what will his overseers on Capitol Hill be most concerned with?
February 12, 2021 -
Denis McDonough, the president's pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, said he'll bring his deep knowledge of government operations to the agency, which he and several senators said will be helpful in a complex bureaucracy like VA.
January 28, 2021 -
Democrats had hoped to quickly confirm Alejandro Mayorkas, a Obama-era veteran of the Department of Homeland Security, as the new DHS secretary under President-elect Joe Biden. But Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has said he will place a hold on Mayorkas' nomination.
January 19, 2021 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs ordered 73,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and is preparing to distribute them whenever the Food and Drug Administration grants emergency-use authorization. But VA's top healthcare leader said the amount isn't "adequate" to reach its employees and veterans, especially those in remote locations.
December 09, 2020 -
The appointment of Dan Sitterly, a former career executive and political appointee, as a new leader at the Department of Veterans Affairs' accountability office, shows just how complex personnel moves during a presidential transition can be.
December 04, 2020 -
In today's Federal Newscast, top Democrats on the House and Senate VA Committees say Secretary Robert Wilkie is using government time and taxpayer money to take politically motivated trips to states key to the upcoming presidential and Senate races.
October 14, 2020 -
Democrats on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee say roughly 17,000 community care providers were also potential victims of the VA data breach, which the department made public earlier this week. VA on Friday said just 13 of those providers were truly impacted by the breach, and six had payments diverted.
September 17, 2020 -
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) suggested giving the IRS $2 billion under the Technology Modernization Fund and then letting agencies use the savings from the tax agency for other projects.
August 03, 2020 -
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told employees it would delay the possibility of furloughs until the end of August. Employees will receive another furlough notice in the coming days reflecting the new potential date, the agency said.
July 27, 2020 -
After struggling to fill tens of thousands of vacancies for years, the Veterans Health Administration has hired more than 23,000 new employees in three-to-four months. Senators are impressed with the results but wished it didn't take a pandemic to make much-needed changes to VA hiring and onboarding procedures.
July 02, 2020 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs said it needs a six-month supply of personal protective equipment and other medical supplies to adequately handle a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, but it has a 30-day supply on hand today.
June 10, 2020 -
Though the Department of Veterans Affairs over-projected the impact the coronavirus pandemic would have on the veterans population, the agency said it's preparing for potential "rebound" in the fall.
June 04, 2020 -
In today's Federal Newscast, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's inspector general says the agency was generally well prepared for the change to mandatory telework.
June 04, 2020