Bob McDonald, former Procter & Gamble chief executive and presidential nominee to the post of Department of Veterans Affairs secretary, plans to establish corporate management practices at the agency if he is confirmed, Reuters reported Tuesday. David Lawder writes that McDonald intends to foster discipline and accountability and reorganize VA following recent …
Read More »Sloan Gibson Named Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary
Sloan Gibson, deputy veterans affairs secretary for nearly three months, will take over leadership of the VA on an acting basis following the resignation of Secretary Eric Shinseki, President Barack Obama announced Friday morning. Gibson served as president and CEO of the United Services Organizations for five years prior to his …
Read More »Eric Shinseki: VA Seeks to Adopt Commercial Software for EHR Architecture
The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking to upgrade its existing electronic health record system as the Defense Department holds a competition to upgrade the Pentagon’s EHR system, Nextgov reported Thursday. Bob Brewin writes VA Secretary Eric Shinseki told the House Veterans Affairs Committee that the agency plans to upgrade its Veterans …
Read More »VA to Provide $600M in Grants for Low-Income Veteran Families; Eric Shinseki Comments
The Veterans Affairs Department has made available $600 million in grants for nonprofit organizations that serve low-income veteran families, according to an American Forces Press Service article. The grants will be made available through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program which was designed to help veteran families who are homeless or close to …
Read More »Eric Shinseki: VBA Shutdown Furloughs Could Exceed 17K
The Veterans Benefits Administration could furlough more than 10,000 employees if it runs out of money from its mandatory spending accounts, Federal News Radio reported Thursday. Jared Serbu writes these furloughs would come on top of the agency already having to send 7,800 workers home because of the government shutdown. “At that …
Read More »Eric Shinseki: $6B in Veterans Benefits At Risk if Shutdown Continues
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has warned that more than $6 billion in disability pay and survivor benefits will be affected if the shutdown continues past the end of the month, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday. Kevin Freking writes that Shinseki told Congress in a written testimony that a protracted …
Read More »VA Offices Receive Digital Medical File Mgmt System
The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs completed a $105 million project last week to provide an electronic database to 56 regional offices for storing, organizing and updating disability claims, Nextgov reported Monday. Bob Brewin writes the VA enlisted the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic in January to complete the …
Read More »VA Trims Disability Claims Backlog by 74K; Bernie Sanders Comments
The Veterans Affairs Department has reduced the number of backlogged disability claims by 74,000 since it began the verification process in March, Nextgov.com reported Wednesday. Bob Brewin writes Thomas Murphy, director of VA’s compensation and pension service, told a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing the automated veterans benefits management system …
Read More »Eric Shinseki: VA Integrated EHR Project to Go Forward
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has told Senate lawmakers the agency will go ahead in developing an integrated electronic health record system with the Defense Department. During testimony before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Shinseki said the VA will need $344 million in fiscal year 2014 funds for iEHR, including …
Read More »WH 2014 Budget Request Includes 4% VA Funding Boost; Eric Shineski Comments
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has received a 4 percent funding increase in the White House’s budget request for fiscal year 2014, pending congressional approval. The additional $2.5 billion would go to the agency’s discretionary budget for addressing the VA’s growing disability claims backlog, totaling close to 600,000 cases, …
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