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- job opportunities (7)
- JWV (13)
- links (1)
- Uncategorized (20)
- Veterans Business Opportunities (3)
- October 30, 2008: VA hires Navy to build claims processing system
- October 16, 2008: VA suspends prostate cancer treatment programs at four hospitals
- October 16, 2008: Pick of the Day:
- October 16, 2008: Senator urges suspension of Iraq publicity contracts
- October 16, 2008: The Week Ahead
- October 16, 2008: NYC Veterans Day 2008 "Beyond Tribute" Campaign
- September 23, 2008: Clinton, Hall push bill to help disabled veterans
- September 19, 2008: The Week Ahead -
- September 16, 2008: GSA to build panel on service-disabled vets
- September 12, 2008: The Week Ahead
Author Archive
IRS Jobs
September 10, 2008 by admin.
Posted in Veterans Business Opportunities | Print | No Comments »
Updates
August 26, 2008 by admin.
- Rule change to provide more contracting opportunities for vets
By Robert Brodsky
The Veterans Affairs Department wants to put companies owned by veterans at the top of the pecking order for agency contracting opportunities.
VA published a proposed rule change on Wednesday in the Federal Register that would establish a set-aside program for veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
“Supporting service-disabled veterans who own businesses contributes significantly in restoring their quality of life while enhancing transition from active duty to civilian life,” the rule stated. “Such acquisitions maintain the socioeconomic well-being of the nation and carry out VA’s strategic goals.”
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40788&dcn=e_wfw
The White House on Tuesday designated Jim Williams acting administrator of the General Services Administration, effective Aug. 30.
Williams, currently the commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, was nominated to succeed Lurita A. Doan as GSA administrator on June 25, but the Senate has yet to confirm him. After a heated July 25 confirmation hearing in which Williams was grilled on his involvement in a controversial information technology contract, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, blocked the nomination, which cleared the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 30.
Grassley has expressed concern that Williams did not properly protect taxpayers in the renewal of a contract with Sun Microsystems, an IT company with which GSA renewed a contract over the objections of some contracting officers. Doan, and now Williams, had taken heat for allegedly influencing contracting officers to renew the award. The GSA inspector general determined the firm broke an agreement with the government that would have offered the agency discounts based on reductions given to private buyers. The Justice Department later sued Sun for fraud.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40775&dcn=e_wfw
The Veterans Entrepreneurship Task Force signed an agreement on Tuesday with the General Services Administration to help the agency reach its goal of spending 3 percent of contracting dollars with companies owned by service-disabled veterans.
Under the memorandum of agreement, VET-Force will use its network of veterans to expand training and information on federal opportunities for these firms.
VET-Force is composed of more than 200 organizations and affiliates — many small businesses — representing thousands of veterans. It was organized in 1999 to lobby for the Veterans’ Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act, which became law, and provide assistance to veterans who are starting businesses.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40779&dcn=e_wfw
Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain on Monday repeated his pledge to provide veterans with the option of seeking medical care outside the Veterans Affairs health system if they do not have convenient access to a VA facility.
In a speech before the National Convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars in Orlando, Fla., the Arizona senator said a veterans’ care access card is necessary for low-income vets and those with injuries or illnesses incurred during military service.
“This card will provide those without timely access to VA facilities the option of using high-quality health care providers near their homes,” McCain said. “For many veterans, the closest VA facility isn’t close enough.”
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40768&dcn=e_wfw
In late June, the Army announced that it was rewriting the plans for its massive Future Combat Systems program to focus its near-term efforts more heavily on infantry brigades that have been in high demand in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The decision marks a significant shift for the $160 billion FCS program, the most expensive and ambitious technological undertaking in the Army’s history.
Rather than first fielding so-called spinout technologies to heavy brigades, as had been long planned, the Army now wants to get those technologies to deploying infantry brigades beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 –three years earlier than previously scheduled.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40789&dcn=e_wfw
After a rare decrease in travel spending in 2006, agencies got back on track in 2007, with expenditures jumping $700 million to $14.8 billion, according to the Office of Management and Budget. The Defense Department continues to lead the pack in travel spending and was responsible for $543 million of the $745 million spending increase last year.
The relatively stable spending at Defense in 2007 belies the pendulum swings of the past few years. A $2.2 billion rise in Defense travel expenditures in 2005 was followed by a $1.8 billion drop in 2006. This year’s upswing was caused more by moderate increases across agencies than by major changes in the military sector. The Homeland Security Department, the distant second in travel spending, saw expenditures rise $121 million. The third-place Justice Department spent $18 million more on travel in 2007 than in 2006. The State Department increased spending by $34 million to edge into the top five, nudging out the Agriculture Department, which spent $12 million less than it did in 2006.
Agencies spent $3.5 billion on flights in 2007, up about $200 million from 2006, according to the General Services Administration. They spent $2.5 billion on hotel rooms, also up $200 million. Spending on car rentals dipped $11.6 million to about $411 million.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40760&dcn=e_wfw
The Air Force is finding itself on an unsteady course as it recovers from a string of public embarrassments surrounding the security of its nuclear arsenal that led to the ousting of its top civilian and military leaders in June.
While it tries to correct deficiencies in the handling of its nuclear weapons, the service is grappling with other problems and is facing uncertainty as it charts its path for the future.
For one, Air Force officials are clinging to the hope that the next administration keeps alive its prized F-22 Raptor fighter jet program for the foreseeable future. The service has made no bones about wanting to buy 381 of the fighter jets — nearly 200 more than currently planned.
Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40790&dcn=e_wfw
“You won’t see any more traffic lights in government after January 20, 2009.”
– Paul Light, Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, on the fate of the Bush administration’s traffic-light scoring system measuring agencies’ compliance with the president’s management agenda.
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My HealtheVet releases a new Healthy Living Center
August 25, 2008 by admin.
NEW FEATURE!
My HealtheVet released a new Healthy Living Center, Separation from Active Duty. This Center is designed for service members who are leaving active duty, to include veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
Understanding that moving from military to civilian life can be difficult, this Separation from Active Duty Center offers information that can help the new veteran adjust to the changes. Included is a section which provides specific information for the care giver, and tips on how family and friends can provide support to returning soldiers. The information found on My HealtheVet and the new Separation from Active Duty Center encourages healthy living by learning to adopt healthier
behaviors that can last a life time! You can access this new Separation from Active Duty center by logging into My HealtheVet, go to RESEARCH HEALTH, to HEALTHY LIVING CENTERS then click on the SEPARATION FROM ACTIVE DUTY center. It’s convenient, informative and just for our youngest Veterans, or those Transitioning from Active Duty to civilian life! Check it out today at :
https://www.myhealth.va.gov/
pageLabel=healthyLiving&
Log on today and access VA’s award-winning Personal Health Record at www.myhealth.va.gov
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VA teams with jobs Web site
July 25, 2008 by admin.
The Veterans Affairs Department has struck a deal with a job-search Web site to help disabled veterans find employment.
The VA is working with Monster Government Solutions, a division of Monster Worldwide, which runs the Monster.com site for employers and job seekers.
Under the agreement, Monster and VA’s Center for Veterans Enterprise lets veteran-owned small businesses post job openings for veterans, including service-disabled veterans, at a discounted rate. The job openings will be posted for 60 days, twice as long as for other employers.
“The program should make it easier for employers to find qualified job candidates as well as veteran suppliers and service contractors,” said Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake.
To participate in program, veteran business owners must be listed in VA’s online Vendor Information Pages maintained by the Department’s Center for Veterans Enterprise at www.VetBiz.gov.
Those pages will give Monster a source for purchasing services itself and VA will refer appropriate, listed suppliers to Monster.
The agreement is for two years with extension options.
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Veterans Affairs further streamlines benefits application process
July 17, 2008 by admin.
By Bob Brewin, bbrewin@govexec.com 07/16/08
The Veterans Affairs Department announced on Wednesday that its online benefits application process now is completely paperless. VA no longer will require veterans to submit a signed paper copy of a benefit application in addition to the electronic version.
The department will process applications received through its Veterans Online Applications Web site without a signature as the electronic application will be sufficient authentication. Veterans, their survivors and beneficiaries will be able to file electronic applications for disability compensation, pension, education, and vocational rehabilitation and employment benefits without submitting a signed paper copy, according to VA.
“We applaud the Department of Veterans Affairs for making the online application process simpler and more users friendly,” said Gerald Manar, deputy director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ National Veterans Service. He added the paper-copy signature requirement along with the electronic application often resulted in “substantial delays in processing claims.” A VA spokeswoman did not respond in time for publication to a question on how long the department has operated its online application system.
In addition to expediting the claims process, Manar said eliminating the paper signature would lower the risk of denying a claimant simply for failing to submit a piece of paper. “This is a positive step,” he said. “We hope that VA makes the most of this new procedure.”
VA said its online application system already reduces the number of incomplete applications it receives, which decreases the need for additional work by claims processors.
VA provides compensation and pension benefits to more than 3.7 million veterans and beneficiaries, and approximately 523,000 students receive education benefits. About 90,000 disabled veterans participate in the department’s vocational rehabilitation and employment program.
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Ruling expands veterans’ access to federal jobs
July 16, 2008 by admin.
A recent decision from the Merit Systems Protection Board could open hundreds of law enforcement and other jobs to veterans who previously bumped up against age restrictions during the application process.
MSPB ruled on July 2 that the State Department must waive maximum entry age requirements for veterans applying to become special agents at the Diplomatic Security Service.
The case, Isabella v. Department of State, stems from a claim filed by Robert Isabella, a preference-eligible veteran who applied for a special agent position at the department. The job description called for someone 37 or younger; Isabella was 36 when he applied and when he turned 37, the agency stopped processing his application. The reasoning was that he was too close to the cutoff age.
But MSPB found that this violated Isabella’s rights under the 1944 Veterans Preference Act, the 1998 Veterans Employment Opportunities Act, and the 1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The ruling pointed to a section of the Veterans Preference Act that requires federal agencies to waive maximum age rules for preference-eligible applicants unless the age requirement is essential to the performance of the work.
The board determined that in this case the sole purpose of the age restriction was to allow agents to enjoy a full career before reaching the mandatory retirement age, which is normally 57, but can be extended three years to 60 if the agency has a particular need.
“Being 37 is not critical to the job,” said Mathew Tully, the attorney who represented Isabella, on Tuesday. “[State] has special agents up to age 60, and if you could be 60 and a special agent, it’s not a critical element of the job.”
MSPB ordered State to waive the age requirement for Isabella and finish processing his application.
Tully said the ruling opens up to veterans 280 federal law enforcement and firefighter jobs that used to have age restrictions. The only other field that is not covered by the ruling is air traffic control, which has a maximum entry age of 30. But Tully said the ruling for law enforcement positions would make winning a second case for air traffic control “relatively easy.”
“It’s crucial that veterans are knowledgeable about the laws that can help them get an edge in federal employment,” Tully said. “The more who know, the more who will become federal employees.”
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New GI Bill Becomes a Reality
July 10, 2008 by admin.
By Bryant Jordan, Military.com
On Monday, June 30, 2008, President Bush signed legislation ushering in
a new era in GI Bill benefits. The legislation, which the Senate passed
overwhelmingly, is part of a $162 billion war spending bill.
The new GI Bill was framed by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who has long argued
that veterans deserve benefits that match those given to World War II
vets. Then, returning GIs were covered for the full cost of tuition and
books for whatever college they entered; in addition they were paid a
monthly stipend.
Under the new GI Bill, payment rates will go up, but will be based on
the college or university costs in the service member’s state of
residence. Eligible students also will receive a monthly stipend for
books of up to $1,000 per year and a monthly housing allowance of about
$1,000. The housing stipend will be tied to the Pentagon’s basic
allowance for housing rates.
The new education benefits are forecasted to go into effect in mid-2009
and will be available to all service members and veterans - including
members of the Guard and Reserve - who have served on active duty for at
least 90 consecutive days since Sept. 11, 2001.
The benefits are paid in increments which are determined by the amount
of time served on active duty.
To view a list of FAQs for the new GI Bill, visit:
http://www.gibill2008.org/faq.
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VA Seeking OEF/OIF Veterans
Combat veterans are eligible for free medical care from the Veterans
Administration (VA) for most conditions for five years after they
separate from active duty. The VA is reaching out to veterans of
Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) who
have been discharged but have not contacted the VA about their benefits.
In addition to health care, other possible benefits include home loan
guarantees, education, training and life insurance. If you are - or if
you know - an OEF-OIF combat veteran who has not contacted the VA to
learn about these benefits, please contact the nearest VA facility or
visit: http://www.oefoif.va.gov/ for more information.
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The New GI Bill Signed by the President - Highlights
July 2, 2008 by admin.
The New GI Bill Signed by the President - Highlights
· President Bush signed the bill June 30, 2008
· The new GI Bill assures young veterans a chance at a free four-year public college or university degree, starting August 2009.
· Spouses and children will see benefits, too. Reservists will see more money for college. Even vets who have served after 9/11 and who got out years ago could get a free college education.
· Bill was truly a bi-partisan effort. Sen. Jim Webb introduced the historic legislation. House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid did a great job of bringing both parties and Houses together. Republicans improved the Bill by adding the option of being able to transfer benefits to family members.
· The American Legion is extremely pleased that the president signed a GI Bill worthy of its name.
· Servicemembers work very hard and make great sacrifices everyday to earn this benefit. The rising costs of college have far outpaced the previous educational benefits available to our military. This GI Bill is much closer to the spirit of the 1944 Servicemen’s Readjustment Act. It will make a real difference to many military veterans and their families.
Provisions of the bill
For Active Duty Troops:
· The bill gets rid of the current enrollment requirements, replacing them with language mandating at least three months’ active duty service in the military since Sept. 11, 2001, for partial GI Bill benefits.
· Anyone who has served at least three years on active duty since then is eligible for four years of tuition costs at their home state’s universities, plus a monthly stipend for housing and living expenses which averages about $1100 nationwide, depending on where the veteran attends college.
· Each year, the veterans will also be eligible for $1,200 in tutoring services and $1,000 more to cover books. Altogether, the benefit could top more than $25,000 a year in the most expensive states.
· If troops or veterans attend state schools that are less expensive, they won’t get to pocket the difference – the benefit only covers what veterans are actually charged by their school. If they decide to go to a private school or out-of-state college, they’ll have to cover the difference between their higher tuition bill and the state-assigned reimbursement figure.
· The benefit lasts for 15 years now, instead of 10, giving troops extra time after leaving the military to either use their benefit or pass it along.
For Spouses and dependents:
· Under a provision backed by the Pentagon, troops who served at least 10 years on active duty will be able to transfer their benefit to a spouse or dependent child. Spouses can receive the money even sooner, if their servicemember has served at least six years and agrees to another four-year contract.
· Families can divide the benefit up however it benefits them most, as long as they don’t exceed those 36 months of college classes. For example, a retired soldier can use two years of benefits to pay for a two-year degree program, then transfer the last two years to a spouse or child.
· For long-serving servicemembers, the changes mean that their college-age children could get a free college education starting fall 2009, provided they attend a state-backed school.
For Reservists and Veterans:
· Guardsmen and reservists who served at least three years on active duty in the past seven years automatically qualify for the full tuition benefit just like other troops. Those who served less active time, but at least three months, will receive between 40 and 90 percent of the tuition benefit, based on a sliding scale.
· More importantly, the benefit can be used within 15 years of their separation from the service, instead of the current requirement that they remain in the Guard or Reserve to receive the money.
· For those veterans who have already used all of their GI Bill benefits, the changes don’t offer any new money. Many of the most vocal supporters of the bill, veterans upset over how little they received for college, acknowledged the changes will help the next generation of young servicemembers more than themselves.
· But veterans who have not yet used up their education benefits, or those who never signed up for the GI Bill when they were serving, can take advantage of the new rules.
· As long as they served at least three years on active duty after Sept. 11, 2001, they’re eligible for the same free tuition.
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Mental Wounds Said To Raise War Casualties Tenfold
June 24, 2008 by admin.
Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, charged Bush administration officials Wednesday with continuing to downplay the mental trauma and brain injuries suffered by veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Filner said an April RAND Corp. study, “Invisible Wounds of War — Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery,” justifies a tenfold jump in the U.S. casualty count versus the figure of 33,000 American dead and wounded used by the Pentagon.
RAND researchers extrapolated from a survey they conducted of 1,965 veterans to conclude that nearly 300,000 service members and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars are suffering from post-traumatic stress or major depression. Filner told the pair of researchers, who had summarized their findings for his committee, that their work probably understates the problem.
“I personally think these are low estimates, just from my own studies,” Filner said. “But if you take even the 300,000, [it’s] 10 times the official casualty statistics from the Pentagon. Shouldn’t this 300,000 be included?”
Lisa H. Jaycox, a senior behavioral scientist and clinical psychologist who co-directed the RAND study, embraced Filner’s argument.
“Well, they are [suffering] an injury condition resulting from combat deployment, and so it’s a different kind of casualty,” Jaycox said. “But, yes, they are very important numbers.”
At the same hearing, Michael L. Dominguez, principal deputy under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said RAND had gathered solid data from its survey but then drew the wrong conclusions. The study, Dominguez said, “did not, and cannot, definitively say that there are 300,000 cases of clinically diagnosed cases” of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression among veterans who served in the two theaters of war.
Filner angrily interrupted him, telling Dominguez that RAND didn’t claim to show 300,000 clinically diagnosed cases of PTSD or depression. “It was an extrapolation to the possibility” of 300,000 cases, Filner said.
With over 1.6 million U.S. service members having served in Iraq or Afghanistan, Dominguez said, a finding that 300,000 veterans “have experienced some kind of mental health stress is very consistent with our data. And those people do need to be discovered [and] to get help.”
But, he continued, “many of them will, with very little counseling or assistance, resolve those combat stress issues themselves. A few — a few – will in fact manifest a clinical diagnosis of PTSD and they’ll need much more sustained intervention by medical health care professionals.”
“How many is a few?” Filner snapped.
The results so far, Dominguez said, show “less than one percent will actually have clinical PTSD that will need treatment over…”
“You believe that?” said Filner, cutting him off with sarcasm. “You believe that there are less than one percent of these deployed soldiers will have PTSD as a clinical diagnosis?”
Dominguez was stunned into silence momentarily but finally managed, “So far this is the number that we are seeing.”
“That shows why you don’t do anything,” Filner said, “because you think there’s only a few.”
Another purpose of the three-hour hearing, which included testimony from retired Navy Rear Adm. Patrick W. Dunne, assistant secretary for policy and planning for the Veterans Benefits Administration, was to assess progress by DoD and VA in implementing Wounded Warrior legislation passed in January in response to the Walter Reed scandal last year.
Dominguez and Dunne conceded that some congressional deadlines haven’t been met, including a late April target for establishing a Wounded Warrior Resource Center to give recovering service members, their families and primary caregivers a single point of contact for assistance.
But Dr. Terri L. Tanielian, co-director of the RAND study, acknowledged to Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) that the Wounded Warrior initiatives have set the Departments of Defense and VA “on the right track” for addressing most war-related mental health challenges.
The big hurdle now to proper care for many mentally wounded veterans is clinical capacity nationwide, Tanielian said. The pipeline for training mental healthcare providers in the most effective therapies for PTSD used by VA needs widening, she said, and that requires “transformation and system-level changes across the entire U.S. health care system.”
Filner, meanwhile, wants every servicemember and veteran who has served in Iraq or Afghanistan to receive a mandatory examination, which should include at least an hour with a clinician trained to detect the symptoms of PTSD, depression and even mild cases of traumatic brain injury.
In his tirade at Dominguez and Dunne, Filner said that, between the two of them, “I think there’s been a contest to see who can suck the humanity out of this issue better…I mean, we’re talking about our children! We’re talking about life and death! We’re talking about suicides…homelessness…a lifetime of dealing with brain injuries! And you guys sit there without anything to say. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
He asked Dominguez if he also disagreed with RAND that 320,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have a probable traumatic brain injury.
“Again,” said Dominguez, “you don’t have 320,000 brain injuries. You have 320,000 people who have been in or around a concussive event. Again, it’s a spectrum of experience [versus] a spectrum of need that manifests itself. So, no, there is not 320,000 people out there with brain injuries.”
That attitude, Filner charged, encourages clinicians to misdiagnose conditions so veterans are denied the care they need and the compensation they deserve. Dominguez took strong exception to those remarks.
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National Defense Week 6/19/08
June 19, 2008 by admin.
- GAO upholds Boeing protest of tanker award
From CongressDaily
The Government Accountability Office Wednesday sustained a protest filed by Boeing Co. over the Air Force’s decision to award a lucrative contract for 179 aerial refueling tankers to a team led by Northrop Grumman and EADS, the Europea