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The White House, Congress and the Department of Justice laid out to-do lists to address problems plaguing the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as legislation to provide veterans with resources for education, economic opportunities, health care and to end homelessness.
A group of lawmakers are backing legislation to make it easier for veterans to get approved for business contracts under the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA is also in the midst of taking public comment on proposed changes to its verification guidelines.
VA's Veterans First contracting program is making progress since a critical 2013 accountability report, but lawmakers say the agency could be doing more.
Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Rob Wittman (R-VA) introduced the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act, which would secure retroactive pay for all federal employees during a government shutdown, regardless of furlough status.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Wednesday asked a Republican lawmaker who served in both Iraq wars, "What have you done?" as the two men sparred over huge cost overruns at a troubled Denver VA hospital.
Reps. Jackie Walorski and Mike Coffman wrote separate letters to VA Secretary Bob McDonald asking for details about how the agency is addressing ongoing cyber challenges. Walorski asked VA to answer four questions about how it's protecting the identity of veterans using the eBenefits site.
The chairman of the Veterans Affairs subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations wrote a letter to Veterans Affairs Department Secretary Bob McDonald wanting more details on the actions it will take in light of the inspector general report involving the deputy chief procurement officer at the Veterans Health Administration and FedBid.
Nearly all of the Defense Department's civilians are now working, despite the government shutdown. Many members of Congress believe none of those civilians should have been furloughed to begin with. DoD remains unsure how to address contractors under the Pay Our Military Act.
House Small Business and Veterans Affairs committee members plan to introduce a bill Thursday to make the service-disabled veteran-owned small business program less cumbersome, confusing and more transparent.
The Veterans Affairs Department has been compromised by at least eight different nation state organizations that stole data from its systems, House lawmakers and other experts say. VA officials say there always are risks, but their computer security is better than ever before.
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Tex.) is a certified public accountant who chaired a year-long series of hearings on DoD audit readiness for the House Armed Services Committee. He spoke with Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu for this week's On DoD.
Army officials told Congress Thursday that they had made progress in reforming management at Arlington National Cemetery, an institution they said lacked a management foundation when a new management team took over in the wake of a scandal involving mismarked grave sites and other problems. Some members still are unhappy with the changes.
With all this talk about furloughs and layoffs Senior Correspondent Mike Causey has a timely reminder for politicians: while their target may be waste, red tape and duplication in Washington, people hurt most by government cutbacks live, work and VOTE way outside the beltway.
WFED\'s Mike Causey responds to the introduction of a bill that mandates two weeks of furlough for federal employees.