Veterans
VA aims to house 41,000 homeless veterans in 2024
The goal is slightly reduced from the total it achieved in 2023, when the department set an all-time record.
Veterans Affairs expands IVF access to unmarried and same-sex veterans
Up to now, the VA has only provided IVF care for married veterans who were able to use their own eggs or sperm during the process, but the new announcement allows veterans to use donor eggs, sperm and embryos.
House Committee wants to interview 8 VA officials in harassment probe
House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost, R-Ill., sent a letter asking for interviews with several senior leaders as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into sexual harassment allegations in one of the department’s offices.
Senator wants USPS to address veteran medication delays
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mt., wants answers from the Postmaster General about ongoing issues veterans have had receiving VA-prescribed medications by mail.
GAO: Severe complications for pregnant veterans nearly doubled in the last decade
The report, which notes that Black women have a higher rate of complication, recommends that the VA collect more data on mental health, race and ethnicity to understand the reasons for the disparity.
Lawmakers urge VA to tread carefully with AI
The Department of Veteran Affairs’ 2023 inventory of AI use cases listed 100 instances where VA is working to use emerging technologies, with at least 40 of those examples in an operational phase.
VA secretary says he ‘failed’ in recognizing office harassment allegations
Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough candidly admitted fault during a House committee hearing for not discerning more quickly whistleblower complaints of sexual harassment within a department office.
10 years on, OPM keeps its pay freeze in place for senior officials
With budget negotiations ongoing, OPM officials said that the pay rates for the vice president and other senior political officials will remain frozen until at least the expiration of the latest continuing resolution.
VA lacks the emergency budget modeling to prepare for health crises like COVID, GAO says
The watchdog said that the Veterans Health Administration does not have the modeling capability to predict how much supplemental funding would be needed to address a black swan event like the pandemic.
Vet centers need better systems, data to enhance support services
Watchdog officials warned lawmakers that the community-based counseling centers for returning veterans use a platform for identifying those at high risk of suicide that is “neither effectively nor consistently utilized.”
How advanced and emerging technology can help VA save lives
COMMENTARY | Veterans remain at an elevated risk of suicide. Here’s how we can fix that.
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