Tag Archives: Veterans Affairs

NBC News reports: Changes this year to Tricare, the military’s health care program, have brought cascading disruptions to millions of service members, their families and network providers nationwide. About 16,000 health care providers on the East Coast alone have not been paid for months, forcing many to drop Tricare patients, reduce their hours or consider closing their clinics. On the …

Government Executive reports: The Veterans Affairs Department is planning to lay off tens of thousands of employees throughout its organization later this year, according to an internal memorandum distributed to top staff on Tuesday. VA will soon kick off a departmentwide review of its mission, organization and structure, according to the memo, which was obtained by Government Executive. It will …

The Military Times reports: Veterans Affairs leaders dismissed more than 1,400 additional probationary employees on Monday evening, the second round of mass layoffs at the department this month. Monday’s dismissals included bargaining-unit employees who have served less than two years in their posts. Officials said the moves did not impact any mission critical jobs, but did not provide any specifics …

The Military Times reports: Veterans Affairs officials this week unveiled new rules banning LGBTQ Pride flags and other unofficial banners at department offices and spaces, saying the move will bring “consistency” to agency messaging. VA Secretary Doug Collins said the new policy would limit the display of all flags except for the American flag at all VA facilities. Exceptions include …

Via press release from Veterans Affairs: The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced the dismissal of more than 1,000 employees. Those dismissed today include non-bargaining unit probationary employees who have served less than a year in a competitive service appointment or who have served less than two years in an excepted service appointment. The personnel moves will save the department more …

The Military Times reports: President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday announced former Georgia congressman Doug Collins as his pick to be the next Veterans Affairs Secretary, filling another key Cabinet post with a military veteran. The announcement of Collins, 58, came as a surprise to many within the veterans community, since he had not been mentioned in recent reports for candidates …

Politico reports: A businessman facing federal charges over an alleged plot to trade political donations for help obtaining marijuana licenses around the country was working on a medical cannabis research deal with the Department of Veterans Affairs just weeks before his indictment. Andrey Kukushkin, a Ukraine-born cannabis investor whose multi-state marijuana projects and political donations were allegedly illegally funded by …

Politico reports: Emails from senior Veterans Affairs staff released Thursday reveal the frustration and scorn they felt at having to deal with the intrusion of three wealthy members of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in the agency’s plans to create a new digital health platform. The 2017 and 2018 emails, which Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington obtained through …