In a driving rainstorm at the Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oklahoma, refuge manager Darrin Unruh worried that his flood-prone house nearby would be underwater. So he directed four of his employees to fill hundreds of bags with sand from the banks of the Deep Fork River, load them on the back of a government-owned Ford truck and […]
Hunt for terror suspect stymied by DHS confusion
The Department of Homeland Security was created from 22 federal agencies the year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to create a “unified, integrated department” for “a more secure America.” But a terrorist attack 14 years later showed that more work needs to be done before that description is fully realized. Following the Dec. 2 […]
DOJ won’t defend measure that facilitates VA firings
When Attorney General Loretta Lynch decided not to defend a statute that makes it easier to fire Department of Veterans Affairs senior executives, attention quickly focused on Sharon Helman. The former Phoenix VA director and admitted felon was fired during the department’s scandal over the cover-up of long wait times at VA facilities. Yet, while […]
The government is trying —again—to bring its paper-based retirement system into the 21st century.
After five costly attempts, the most paper-bound system in the federal government looks like it will be getting another shot at entering the modern age. But the effort to automate the retirement systems of millions of people who worked for the government is still… years away, with no start or completion date. The Office of Personnel […]
Top VA doc: If there aren’t enough doctors, have nurses treat our vets
In the week since the Department of Veterans Affairs proposed a regulation that would dramatically expand the authority of nurses to treat patients without a doctor’s supervision, supporters and opponents of the change have weighed in with more than 10,000 comments. And the public has 53 more days to tell VA what it thinks. David J. Shulkin, who […]
Senate report hits ‘inferior’ FBI whistleblower procedures, citing ‘numerous deficiencies’
The irony is the FBI relies on informants to fight crime. Yet when it comes to in-house wrongdoing, the nation’s most celebrated law enforcement agency too often punishes its own whistleblowers. Legislation approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee aims to fix that. A committee report issued last week outlines how an agency charged with capturing […]
Park Service chief apologizes for unethical behavior
It came a little late, but National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis has apologized for unethical behavior that he was investigated for last year. The behavior was connected to a book about national parks he wrote for a nonprofit organization that has a cooperating agreement with the agency. The Interior Department’s Office of Inspector […]
Access to care ‘my No. 1 imperative,’ top VA doctor says
In the week since the Department of Veterans Affairs proposed a regulation that would dramatically expand the authority of nurses to treat patients without a doctor’s supervision, supporters and opponents of the change have weighed in with more than 10,000 comments. And the public has 53 more days to tell VA what it thinks. David J. Shulkin, who […]
Reports: Homeless, foster kids face enormous hurdles in trying to get to college
While the path from kindergarten through college can be tough for anyone, two government reports released this month outline the particular difficulties facing poor black and Hispanic students, as well as the higher education hurdles confronting homeless and foster youth. One Government Accountability Office (GAO) study shows increasing isolation of poor students of color in […]
Former Guantanamo prosecutor settles free speech case for $100,000
The Library of Congress will pay the former chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay $100,000 and correct his personnel file to settle his claim that he was wrongly fired for criticizing military commissions for detainees. The deal announced Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented retired Air Force colonel Morris Davis, marks the end […]
Memorial Day provides respite from VA controversies, even as new issue brews
Memorial Day is a time to remember those who gave their lives to protect this country. It is a day when the focus on those sacrifices will be through commemorations with bugle calls and wreath layings instead of the controversies that have dogged the Department of Veterans Affairs. Yet, even as the ceremonies get underway, another debate […]
41 Secret Service agents disciplined after leaking GOP congressman’s personnel file
Secret Service agents involved in prying into and leaking information from an old personnel file of a top GOP congressman face discipline for improperly accessing what are private agency records, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced late Thursday. Johnson said in a statement that he was “appalled by the episode” as he announced that 41 agents […]
Vet, one of 4,200 mistakenly declared dead by VA, feels ‘resurrected’
Uncle Sam is generally so considerate of veterans – but not when he declares the alive to be dead. That was the case with Joseph D. Kane Jr., an Air Force vet in St. Petersburg, Fla. A 2014 letter from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service to his wife said the agency was “sincerely sorry […]
To cut wait times, VA wants nurses to act like doctors. Doctors say veterans will be harmed.
The Department of Veterans Affairs would dramatically expand the authority of nurses to treat patients without a doctor’s supervision in a controversial proposal by the country’s largest health-care system. The plan, which would allow nurses with advanced training to broaden their responsibilities for patients, is drawing attention to a bitter debate over the relative roles of doctors and nurses. […]
More questions raised about OPM’s response to breaches of background, personnel records
A year after the government disclosed that personal information on millions of current and former federal employees and others had been stolen from two Office of Personnel Management databases, auditors remain skeptical of OPM’s steps to shut the cyber barn door. “We continue to believe that there is a very high risk that the project […]
For many poor families, housing costs are ‘out of reach’
Even as the federal government provides housing assistance for 5.5 million households, 7.2 million housing units are needed for more than 10 million extremely low-income families. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro delivered this bad news in a report on housing for low-income renters that is “Out of Reach,” which is the name […]
Report finds federal prisons held 157 inmates too long, one by almost three years
Government folks have such a way with words. Case in point: A federal watchdog report published Tuesday exposes the “untimely release” of inmates from federal prisons. “Untimely” probably seems a bit mild to the individual who was released 928 days late, almost three years, because of an error by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Then, […]
Five arrested for impersonating IRS agents in phone scam
Authorities said Tuesday that they have arrested five people in Miami who are accused of tricking 1,500 victims into paying a total of $2 million to the IRS they didn’t owe, part of a far-flung tax scam that so far has netted criminals $36.5 million. The suspects, all Cuban nationals who were arrested Monday, were […]
Senator calls for VA chief to resign over Disney remark
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) has called on Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald to resign because of his remarks comparing wait lines at a Disney park to VA health care. “Secretary McDonald’s preposterous statement is right out of Never Never Land,” Blunt said Tuesday. “I call on him to resign because it’s clear he cannot […]
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