16 charged with taking advantage of VA reimbursement program

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

• Sixteen people have been charged with bilking the Veterans Affairs Department through fraudulent travel reimbursements. The Justice Department says the suspects exaggerated the distance they traveled to receive medical treatment at the Charles George VA Medical Center in North Carolina. Two of them received more than $15,000 in fraudulent claims. (Justice Department)

• The Homeland Security Department (DHS) said its recent authority to hire a thousand new cyber professionals provides an opportunity to change the way it recruits and retains new talent. DHS Chief Human Capital Officer Angela Bailey said the agency is looking into ways it can more easily let its employees go back and forth between the public and private sector. The Office of Personnel Management signed off on the authority last fall.  (Federal News Radio)

• The White House has asked for public input on artificial intelligence. The administration’s Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a request for information on AI, to get a better idea of opportunities, challenges, risks and rewards of the developing technology. It said it wants to know about the safety and potential social and economic impacts of AI. The request stems from the administration’s early May announcement that it was looking at ways artificial intelligence can help society as well as make government more efficient. (Federal Register)

• The White House has suggested the Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2016 would weaken Federal employee rights and require impractical rules to implement. In a policy statement, the administration said the legislation’s approach to accountability is misguided in certain areas like speeding up the removal process of senior executives. (White House)

• Congress has a packed two weeks ahead before it recesses again for its summer break. The House and Senate need to reconcile the Defense Authorization bill and the Defense Appropriations bill. Passing both before the recess is an ambitious goal, but the House and Senate have measures in place to work on both the bills. They need to be passed by the fall or the Defense Department and military services will not be funded for next year. Senate Armed Services Committee chair John McCain previously said he wants to finish up the Defense Authorization bill before summer recess.

• The Army has punished 10 out of 12 civilian and military personnel it says are responsible for accidentally shipping anthrax to 50 states and nine foreign countries last year. USA Today reported the branch did not disclose the nature of the punishments, citing privacy concerns. It said a culture of complacency at the Dugway Proving Grounds lab in Utah was to blame. (USA Today)

• Thomas.gov is no more. The Library of Congress yesterday officially retired the 21-year-old portal that long provided the main access point to find bills, laws and everything else about Congress. Over the last four years, the Library has been enhancing the Congress.gov portal to be a one-stop shop for all things Congress. The new website featured a more mobile-friendly approach to displaying information. It also provided bill status and summary information in XML format. The Library of Congress had been working through the Congress.gov portal since 2012. (Library of Congress)

• Burrowing is for ground hogs, not administration appointees. In a pre-election phenomenon, some appointed officials try to convert to civil service status and the protections it brings. Congress and career employees frown on the practice. It potentially embeds political partisans into the bureaucracy. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House oversight committee, has given acting OPM director Beth Cobert until next Thursday to produce a list of burrowing appointees since last September, and how they were justified. (House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.