VA suspends prostate cancer treatment programs at four hospitals

1. VA suspends prostate cancer treatment programs at four hospitals
   By Katherine McIntire PetersAfter a months-long inquiry into why dozens of prostate cancer treatment patients at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia received lower-than-prescribed radiation doses, VA has suspended similar treatment programs at three other hospitals.

   The three additional VA hospitals to suspend brachytherapy programs, in which radioactive seeds are implanted into the prostate, are in Cincinnati; Jackson, Miss.; and Washington. Those hospitals were found to have similar problems as those in Philadelphia, where the treatment program was suspended this summer.

   News of the suspensions came from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has launched a special inspection of VA’s radiation treatment program. VA spokeswoman Laurie Tranter said she could not say when the programs were suspended, how patients were notified, or why the problems might have occurred.

   Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41201&dcn=e_ndw

   
   

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2. Bush signs defense authorization bill
   From CongressDailyPresident Bush Tuesday signed into law a $531.4 billion defense authorization bill for fiscal 2009 that authorizes a 3.9 percent military pay raise and also includes $68.6 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The final defense bill, which passed both chambers in late September, had wide bipartisan support in Congress and was named for retiring House Armed Services ranking member Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who served as chairman of the committee from 2003 through 2005.

   Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41187&dcn=e_ndw

   
   

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3. Senator urges suspension of Iraq publicity contracts 
   From CongressDailySen. Jim Webb, D-Va., on Thursday sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking him to suspend $300 million in contracts for civilians to produce pro-American news stories, entertainment programs and public service ads in Iraq until the Senate Armed Services Committee and the next administration review the contracts.

   Webb’s letter follows a Washington Post story detailing the Pentagon’s decision to award four firms a combined $300 million for public information campaigns in Iraq.

   “At a time when this country is facing such a grave economic crisis, and at a time when the government of Iraq now shows at least a $79 billion surplus from recent oil revenues, in my view it makes little sense for the U.S. Department of Defense to be spending hundreds of millions of dollars to propagandize the Iraqi people,” Webb wrote.

   Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41170&dcn=e_ndw

   
   

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4. From Nextgov.com: Lockheed hires former DISA director
   By Bob BrewinLockheed Martin Corp. has hired retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Croom, former director of the Defense Information Systems Agency.

   Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41191&dcn=e_ndw

   
   

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5. Top officer says military should wean itself off supplementals
   By Otto Kreisher, CongressDailyThe nation’s top military officer on Thursday acknowledged the deepening economic crisis will put great pressure on future defense budgets. And he said the Pentagon leadership understands the emergency supplemental spending bills that pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and support the growth of the Army and Marine Corps could come to an end.

   “By and large, we need to get off the supplementals,” said Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “My strategic approach is to start to implant things that are in the supplementals, that we think we have to have in the long term, into the mainline budget. We need to start doing that.”

   Mullen also said the trends in Afghanistan “are not going in the right direction,” with violence increasing for three years. He predicted the fighting there “will be tougher next year.” The growing problems in Afghanistan, particularly the ability of insurgents to cross the border from Pakistan’s largely ungoverned tribal areas, “raise my level of concern,” Mullen said.

   Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41167&dcn=e_ndw

   
   

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6. From Nextgov.com: Air Force to place cyber operations under Space Command
   By Bob BrewinThe Air Force says it will back off its ambitious plan to set up a separate command for cyber space and has opted to place those operations within an existing organization.

   Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41163&dcn=e_ndw

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