APRIL 3, 2009
Gould Confirmed But Duckworth's Nomination Delayed
In continuing coverage, CQ (4/3, Johnson) reports Sen.
Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the ranking Republican on the
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "has held up until after the
spring recess the nomination of Tammy Duckworth to be assistant
secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs at the Veterans
Affairs Department." Burr "has reservations about inconsistent
answers she provided to pre-confirmation hearing questionnaires."
But the Senate did vote Thursday "to confirm W. Scott Gould for
deputy secretary at the VA." Gould "said April 1 that the key to
modernizing the department will be to establish better lines of
communication and feedback with hospital employees, improve training
opportunities, improve the electronic claims-processing system and
streamline unnecessarily bureaucratic rules." The
Federal Times (4/3, Maze)
publishes a similar story, which also runs in the
Air Force Times (4/3).
Gould Said To Have Done Important Work At Treasury, Commerce
Departments.
In the second-to-last story in his
Washington Post (4/2) "Federal
Eye" blog, Ed O'Keefe says Gould "credited with transforming
bureaucracies at the Treasury and Commerce departments and at IBM,
shared his secrets to success with senators on Wednesday, reports
the
Federal Times' Rick Maze."
Questionnaire Confusion Cited As Reason For Delay.
The
Chicago (IL) Daily Herald (4/3,
Donovan) reports, "The delay in Duckworth's appointment has to do
with the fact that Burr had received three questionnaires with three
different versions of the answers from her," according to David
Ward, Burr's press secretary, who said, "We are waiting on one
definitive answer from...Duckworth," whom we "have no complaint
against." But the Herald says that the "delay in approving
Duckworth's appointment...sparked anger from a veterans group called
VoteVets.org. The main problem is that" VA Secretary Eric Shinseki
will "have difficulty changing the department into a 21st century
organization without having assistants on board, said Brian McGough,
legislative adviser for the group."
Duckworth Says VA Must Use New Media To Reach Vets.
The
Honolulu Advertiser (4/3, Yaukey)
says Duckworth told lawmakers on the Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee this week "that the government needs to be more modern in
its approach to helping veterans." Duckworth said that if the VA is
to "become a 21st-century organization," it can no longer be "enough
to hand out brochures at demobilization ceremonies. We must develop
social networking strategies, use nontraditional outlets such as
blogs, and employ the wide variety of new media available to get the
message of available benefits to our veterans." The Advertiser adds,
"If confirmed by the Senate, Duckworth would become part of a
reformation of the VA led by retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki, who,"
like Duckworth, "is from Hawai'i."
Impact:
Nominees/Appointees, VA Information Technology
Mullen: Iraq, Afghanistan Vets Face Many Years Of Suffering
The AP (4/3, Burns) reports, "Homelessness, family strains and psychological problems among returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will persist" in the US "for generations to come, the top" US military officer "said Thursday. 'This is not a 10-year problem. It is a 50- or 60- or 70-year problem,' Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a lunchtime audience at the Hudson Union Society, a group that promotes nonpartisan debate." The AP notes that at a "White House news conference last week, President Barack Obama said that some of the funding increases in his proposed" Veterans Affairs budget "are directed at alleviating the problem of homelessness among veterans."Rehbein Pleased With VA Budget But Still Concerned About Private Insurance Plan. The Bemidji (MN) Pioneer (4/2, Miron) said American Legion National Commander David Rehbein, who "is spending a few days traveling in Minnesota to inform veterans of how their concerns are being handled" in Washington, DC, "included Bemidji's Ralph Gracie American Legion Post in his northern Minnesota circuit." While there, Rehbein "said American Legion members are pleased with" the increased funding in Obama's VA budget. But he also "said there was general disagreement" with the President's "plan to require that private health insurers pay for service-connected treatment. The opposition of the American Legion to that plan resulted in the president's withdrawal of the measure," and Rehbein said veterans "have to make sure it stays withdrawn."
Impact: OEF/OIF issues