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Veterans Affairs News 
Top News
- VA chipping away at oldest disability claims in backlog
- What's the latest on phased retirement?
- New mobile tools gives agencies ‘giant innovation permission slip'
- Congress pressures agencies to speed up office consolidations
- Furlough Friday: Multiple agencies took advantage of holiday weekend
- Data breach puts DHS employees at risk of ID theft
- IRS replaces official in Tea Party controversy
- Commerce nominee sails through hearing
- Obama nominates Archuleta as next OPM director
- FedRAMP achieves another cloud security milestone
- Tangherlini to be nominated as permanent GSA chief
- House GOP panel moves on deep budget cuts
- OMB reworking financial system requirements
- Federal retirement funds temporarily tapped
- Friday federal headlines - May 24, 2013
VA registers 'GI Bill' as a trademark
The GI Bill is now a registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced it is now the sole owner of the phrase.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Dec. 4, 2012
USPS' Tony Vegliante talks about veterans working at the Postal Service. Attorney Joseph Petrillo discusses the government's many procurement rules. Jerry Brito of George Mason University launched a site to encourage greater transparency at the World Conference on International Telecommunications. Bob Litan discusses a new Bloomberg Government report on reducing the deficit. DoD's Stephen King talks about the Pentagon honoring standout workers with disabilities.
Vietnam veterans sue military in Conn. over PTSD
The military has failed to correct the wrongful discharges of thousands of Vietnam veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, an advocacy group says in a federal lawsuit.
Federal Drive Interviews -- Dec. 3, 2012
Jim Bradley of the GPO talks about The Plum Book. Administrator John Pistole discusses new security measures at the Transportation Security Administration. Dr. Patricia Hayes wants female vets to know VA is the right place for their healthcare needs. The Potomac Institute's Mike Sweetnam says the government's hodgepodge approach to cybersecurity is no way to prepare for a cyberwar.
Veterans' gun rights sticky issue in defense bill
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) sought to amend the bill to stop the Veterans Affairs Department from putting the names of veterans deemed too mentally incompetent to handle their finances into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which prohibits them from buying or owning firearms.
Senate directs VA to work with state agencies to clear up claims backlog
The Senate unanimously approved a measure requiring the Veterans Affairs Department to work more closely with state agencies to reduce a longstanding and growing backlog of disability claims. The measure, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) was included as an amendment to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act.
House Republicans deride VA for non-answers on conference spending
The Veterans' Affairs Committee is turning up its oversight heat after Veterans Affairs officials "stonewalled" their questions. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) said there are 66 outstanding questions on conference spending that the committee has been waiting for answers from VA since August. VA pushed back saying it has responded as quickly and as accurately as possible.
House panel promises more aggressive VA oversight
The House Veterans' Affairs Committee warned the VA Wednesday to expect much more aggressive oversight in the coming months as lawmakers review the department's conference and travel spending.
9 more Iraq, Afghan war veterans joining Congress
As Tammy Duckworth sees it, her path to Congress began when she awoke in the fall of 2004 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She was missing both of her legs and faced the prospect of losing her right arm.
Senate passes bill boosting payments to veterans
The Senate sent the White House a bill on Tuesday giving nearly 4 million veterans and survivors a 1.7 percent increase in their monthly benefit payments next year.
VA contract moves 600,000 email users to the cloud
The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a five- year, $36 million contract to HP Enterprise Services to move 600,000 VA users to the cloud for email and calendar use.
Major hurdles remain to end veteran homelessness
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki made a bold promise in 2009: The administration would end homelessness among veterans by 2015. The former four-star general says now they're "on target" to meet the goal.
Vets say late pay from VA cripples their finances
Exasperated veterans who work part-time for the Veterans Administration while attending college say their paychecks are sometimes weeks late, leaving them in trouble with bill collectors or having to borrow money to avoid eviction.
Arlington Cemetery debuts new interactive map
Arlington National Cemetery on Monday made available to the public a massive electronic database detailing the gravesites of the roughly 400,000 people buried there.
TBI treatment improves after 10 years of war
Dr. Andrew Ritcheson of DRC spoke the to Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp about what medical professionals have learned from 10 years of war about treating traumatic brain injuries.
VA gears up to standardize ratings for exceptional employees
The Veterans Affairs Department's National Cemetery Administration is testing the new employee appraisal system, called GEAR, to better define and measure employee performance. The Coast Guard also is preparing a pilot of the approached designed by the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations.
DoD bans entertainment, swag at conferences
No more motivational speakers, musicians or promotional swag. The Defense Department is banning entertainment-related expenses at its conferences, according to a new memo from Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.
Collins wants to know why VA conference planners received bonuses
In an Oct. 9 letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinskei, Sen. Susan Collins requested the agency disclose whether employees responsible for planning the two conferences held in Orlando, Fla., last summer, also worked on other conferences. In addition, Collins said she wants to know how much conference planners earned in bonuses and other awards for their work.
Republican lawmakers call for ouster of VA official who approved conferences
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the ranking member of the Senate committee, called on VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to fire his chief of staff, John Gingrich after an inspector general report said he failed to ask the right questions before approving two training conferences. The conferences costs $6.1 million, with as much as $762,000 in questionable spending.
Where's Fido? VA may prevent funding for PTSD service dogs
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to not follow through on a directive that will go into effect on Friday that would prevent funding for service dogs to help veterans with mental disabilities.
