VA went $875 million over budget for Denver hospital

In Today's Top Federal Headlines, Congress wants the Justice Department to investigate further after a new report from Veterans Affairs' Inspector General.

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

In Today’s Top Federal Headlines, Congress wants the Justice Department to investigate further after a new report from Veterans Affairs’ Inspector General.

  • Lawmakers are calling for a federal perjury investigation in the wake of new revelations about the most expensive hospital project in the VA’s history. A report by the Veterans Affairs inspector general found the now-infamous construction project in Denver, Colorado was clearly headed toward huge cost overruns — $1.7 billion, all told, compared with the original estimate of $600 million — and that senior VA officials knew about the problems as early as 2013. The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee called for a Justice Department investigation into testimony by Glenn Haggstrom, one of the former VA officials lawmakers accuse of hiding problems from Congress. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) said other VA officials responsible for the failure are still working for the department and need to be fired. (Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General)
  • The military services are increasingly alarmed about the number of pilots leaving. A Department of Defense study found the Army, Navy and Air Force have a hard time keeping pilots after their initial service. Part of the problem may be that pilot bonus pay has not increased since 1999. (Federal News Radio)
  • Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody will be retiring next year. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein made the announcement at the Air Force Association Air, Space, and Cyber Conference. Cody has served as the service’s senior enlisted leader since 2013. He’s been with the Air Force since 1984. (Air Force)
  • The Office of Management and Budget wants the federal accounting community to focus on getting the numbers right. The government issued $137 billion in improper payments last year and the legitimacy of agencies’ financial audits is in question as well. OMB said agencies aren’t necessarily getting sloppy but are being asked to do more with less. OMB Deputy Controller Mark Reger said agency accountants will play a big role as their organizations adopt enterprise risk management programs. (Federal News Radio)
  • OMB will give the next administration a head start on its IT planning, though. Federal CIO Tony Scott is trying to make it easier for his successor. Scott is developing a State of Federal IT report as part of the Obama administration’s presidential transition planning efforts. The report will have two parts. The first section focuses on the cutting edge technologies that could impact the federal government. The second section is an agency-by-agency review of IT challenges and opportunities. The State of Federal IT report is expected to be ready by December. (Federal News Radio)
  • A new bill aims to hold agency secretaries more accountable for cybersecurity. Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.) introduced the Cybersecurity Responsibility and Accountability Act. It would require mandatory annual security training and certification specifically for the agency head. They could even be punished if it’s found they’re negligence is to blame when their agency suffers a cyber attack. (Representative Ralph Abraham)
  • Cyber incidents at federal agencies have increased about 1300 percent since 2006. The Government Accountability Office said implementation of the laws and policies to provide security and oversight has been inconsistent. It said agencies need to apply stronger detection practices and hire more cyber personnel to slow the upward trend of incidents. (Government Accountability Office)
  • Federal chief information officers have mixed feelings about how Congress would fund updates to old agency technology. Bills in the House and Senate would provide revolving funds for modernizing IT. A survey by Grant Thornton shows CIOs worry about payback mechanisms. The acting deputy federal CIO, Margie Graves, said postponing system upgrades will lead to outages and mission interruptions. The White House proposes a single revolving fund of $3 billion. Congress is leaning toward individual agency funds. (Federal News Radio)
  • The chairman of the House oversight committee said if he can’t impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, he’ll try for a censure. But Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said it’s full steam ahead on the impeachment over alleged obstruction of a congressional investigation. Koskinen testified yesterday to the House Judiciary Committee. (Federal News Radio)

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