Management

GovExec Daily: Managing Performance at the Veterans Benefit Administration

Dr. Paul R. Lawrence joins the podcast to discuss his new book on his time at VA.

Workforce

COVID-19 Vaccination Deadline Arrives for 380K VA Employees. 45K Still Haven’t Said They’ve Gotten Shots.

The department is giving those employees 10 more days to prove they have been vaccinated or seek an exception before discipline begins.

Oversight

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Buddies Tried to Get the VA to Sell Access to Veterans’ Medical Records

A congressional investigation prompted by ProPublica’s reporting found Trump’s “Mar-a-Lago crowd,” wealthy civilians with no U.S. government or military experience, pursued a plan to monetize veterans’ medical data.

Defense

30,177 Military Members Have Died by Suicide since 9/11. Why?

In the past 20 years, 30,177 active military and veterans of post-9/11 wars have committed suicide. That's four times as many deaths as those killed in action.

Management

House Panel Approves Spending Surge to Fix and Upgrade VA Buildings

Funding would preempt a commission that will determine what VA's footprint should look like going forward.

Defense

This May Be First Step In Curing PTSD With A Pill

A start-up, funded in part by the U.S. Army, could be on track to revolutionizing what we know about PTSD.

Workforce

GovExec Daily: The 2017 VA Accountability Law and the Courts

Attorney Conor Dirks joins the podcast to discuss two cases that knock down the agency's interpretation of the rule.

Defense

Afghanistan Veterans Struggling With News of Taliban Takeover

Advocates encourage veterans to use VA, veteran service organization resources for help.

Defense

Some Veterans Say Republicans are Blocking Their Ability to Vote

Democrats and veterans groups say the bill would expand access to early and mail-in voting, which can make voting easier for disabled veterans

Defense

Veterans Push for Medical Marijuana in Conservative South

North Carolina claims to be the “Nation’s Most Military Friendly State.” Now veterans are trying to capitalize on this dedication to the troops to persuade lawmakers to pass medical marijuana legislation. It’s an advocacy model that has led to success for pro-cannabis efforts elsewhere.

Workforce

Court Deals Yet Another Blow to Firing Reform Law

Thousands of workers may now have a new avenue to getting their jobs back.

Workforce

VA Adds 245K Employees to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

The vast majority of Veterans Health Administration staff must receive the shots or risk being fired.

Defense

GovExec Daily: The Gaps in Veteran Student Data

Wesley Wilson joins the podcast to discuss one way colleges and universities can use information to combat fraud.

Oversight

To Combat Fraud, Colleges and Universities Must Report Student Veteran Outcome Data

Veterans continually bear the brunt of deceptive advertising and fraud from schools seeking to exploit them for their hard-earned GI Bill benefits.

Management

VA Mandates Vaccines for Health Care Workers

“It’s the best way to keep veterans safe, especially as the Delta variant spreads across the country,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough.

Workforce

AFGE, VA Reach Settlement to 'Reset' Labor Relations

The Veterans Affairs Department has agreed to reverse actions taken to crack down on unions during the Trump administration, including compensating union officials for leave they took in the absence of official time and reimbursing the union for past office space and equipment rentals.