VA To Begin Distributing Emergency GI Bill Payments On Friday.  In continuing coverage, CNN's Newsroom (9/28, 9:42 a.m. ET) broadcast, "The Veterans Affairs Department will begin issuing emergency checks for up to $3,000 to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans whose payments under the new GI Bill have been delayed. Those checks will be distributed at VA regional offices beginning Friday." The agency "says it does not know how many students will request emergency funds, but it has approximately 25,000 claims pending." Fox News' Live Desk (9/28, 2:32 p.m. ET) also aired a report on the emergency payments, as did numerous local TV stations in various parts of the country, including WLTZ-TV Columbus, GA (9/28, 7:08 p.m. ET) and KTBS-TV Shreveport (9/28, 5:15 p.m. CT), while KFOX-TV El Paso, TX (9/28, 6:11 p.m. MT) broadcast that as "far as the delay time in funds for those who do use the GI Bill, the VA has said they are calling for mandatory overtime as well as the hiring" of more employees.
      NextGov (9/26, Brewin), meanwhile, noted that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki recently commented on the need for the payments, saying, "Students should be focusing on their studies, not worrying about financial difficulties." NextGov added, "VA officials said after the special payment, students can expect to receive education payments on a normal schedule, at the beginning of the month following the period for which they are reimbursed." The Fox News (9/28, Holliday) website and the seventh item in the Federal New Radio (9/28, Gomez, Norris) website's "Monday Morning Federal Newscast" also noted that the VA will be distributing emergency payments.
Impact: G.I. Bill payments

VHA One Of The "Best Employers For Workers Over Fifty."  On its website, Federal News Radio (9/28, Kubota) said that despite a "predicted 'retirement tsunami,'" Federal employees "are staying, rather than leaving, in droves. Experts point to a down economy as one possible reason, but another may well" be that the Federal "government is a great place to work." Deborah Russell, AARP's director of workforce issues, "told FederalNewsRadio that two agencies in particular have been singled out for recognition on the AARP's annual 'Best Employers for Workers over Fifty' list: the National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Health Administration."
Impact: VHA employment