Veterans Choice

The Department of Veterans Affairs said it’s ready for MISSION Act implementation by June 6, despite concerns from Congress, the U.S. Digital Service and at least one veterans service organization who have suggested otherwise.

As Congress piles on new initiatives for the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement, the agency is struggling to keep up with the IT updates that those new or enhanced programs demand.

As the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to implement a new version of its community care program, lawmakers will also debate whether VA is spending too much on private care at the expense of other agency priorities.

Congressional appropriators are concerned about the Department of Veterans Affairs’ plans to implement and pay for the VA MISSION Act, which may likely place more veterans in the hands of more costly private providers.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has six months to consolidate disparate community care programs into one, revamped veterans choice program. But lawmakers are concerned VA won’t successfully meet its deadlines amid a “constant churn” of agency leadership.

Lawmakers have struck a deal to give the Veterans Affairs Department its biggest budget yet but still lack a long-term plan to fund the agency’s new community care program under the VA MISSION Act.

Lawmakers are still trying to find a permanent funding source for the VA MISSION Act, as the president publicly expressed his disagreement with some of the new law’s finer points.

President Donald Trump signed the VA MISSION Act into law, but Senate appropriators say the Veterans Affairs Department will still face funding shortfalls without further action.

In today’s Federal Newscast, the Justice Department says a former Defense Intelligence Officer received at least $800,000 to act as an agent of China.

In today’s Federal Newscast, bipartisan legislation in the Senate would shorten the deadline for the Defense department to pay defense contractors who work with small businesses.