Latest news with #DepartmentofVeteransAffairs'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Veterans Affairs' health, benefits app passes 3 million downloads
June 6 (UPI) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs' Health and Benefits mobile app has achieved more than 3 million downloads, or nearly 20% of all veterans, since its launch in 2021. The app has 1.4 million active users, according to an agency news release Friday on the 81st anniversary of D-Day, which was the Allies' amphibious invasion of German-occupied France. The app provides veterans access to healthcare and benefits information from their mobile phones, and features fingerprint and face recognition. Users can refill and track VA prescriptions, review appointments, review claims and appeals status, submit evidence for claims and appeals, review VA payment and direct deposit information, locate the closest VA facilities, access the Veterans Crisis Line and show proof of veteran status. "We encourage all VA-enrolled Veterans to stay connected and informed by downloading the app," Eddie Pool, acting assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and acting chief information officer, said in a news release. In all, there are 15.8 million veterans, which represents 6.1% of the civilian population 18 year and older. Of those, 7.8 million served in the Gulf War era between 1990 and now, 5.6 million during the Vietnam era from 1950 to 1073, 767,000 during the Korean conflict in the 1940s and 1950s, and less than 120,000 World War II veterans, according to Pew Research in 2023. As of 2023, 78% of veterans served during wartime. The Department of Veterans Affairs employs approximately 482,000 people, including 500,000 workers at 170 hospitals and 1,200 local clinics in the nation's largest health care system. Like with other agencies, the agency is being downsized with plans to cut 83,000 jobs.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Beto O'Rourke to host Amarillo town hall, says Panhandle must be taken seriously
Former U.S. Congressman Beto O'Rourke will hold a town hall meeting Saturday at the Amarillo Civic Center as part of a statewide tour aimed at encouraging civic engagement, highlighting key policy issues, and showing up for communities often overlooked by political campaigns. 'This thing is open to everybody — and I mean everybody,' O'Rourke said in an interview ahead of the event. 'We've been coming to Amarillo for a really long time, but it's important that we show up for each other not just when our name's on the ballot.' The town hall is scheduled for 1 p.m. and is free to attend. O'Rourke emphasized that people of all political ideologies are encouraged to come, ask questions and participate in the discussion. 'We've had Republicans, Democrats, independents — folks of all kinds — showing up to these events,' he said. 'It's not about party. It's about listening, understanding, and realizing we're going through many of the same challenges together.' He cited public school vouchers, rural hospital closures, and proposed cuts to veterans' services as top concerns he's heard from Texans in recent months. 'We're going through some really big changes as a country, and I would argue communities in and around Potter and Randall counties are seeing some of the biggest impacts,' he said. O'Rourke pointed to the school voucher bill advancing through the Texas Legislature now signed into law, warning it will harm rural communities that already lack educational alternatives. Many Panhandle counties — including those in Texas' 13th Congressional District — have few or no private schools. Students in rural areas may be forced to travel long distances to urban centers like Amarillo to even attempt to use the proposed education savings accounts, and only if private institutions agree to accept them. 'This voucher program doesn't expand choice for rural Texans — it just pulls public funds away from their local schools,' O'Rourke said. In a February 2025 post, O'Rourke warned that the legislation would lead to 'fewer teachers, more school closures, and higher property taxes' as districts are forced to make cuts to compensate for reduced funding. The funding problem is already hitting home in Amarillo. Amarillo ISD already announced it will close three elementary schools at the end of the current school year. District officials cited declining enrollment and long-term budget pressures as key reasons. O'Rourke said voucher-driven divestment could force more difficult decisions in the future. He also warned that proposed cuts to Medicaid could accelerate rural hospital closures. One in four rural hospitals in Texas is currently at risk of closing, he said, and the state already leads the nation in closures. O'Rourke expressed concern over the Department of Veterans Affairs' plan to cut approximately 83,000 jobs, noting that about one-quarter of VA employees are veterans themselves. 'These aren't partisan issues,' he said. 'They're issues that hurt people — and we need to come together to talk about them.' O'Rourke criticized the Democratic Party's failure to run candidates in deeply Republican areas, saying it leaves voters without a real choice and undermines the democratic process. 'In the last election, nobody even ran against Ronny Jackson,' he said, referring to the Republican congressman who ran unopposed in 2024 for re-election to represent Texas' 13th Congressional District, which includes Amarillo. 'I understand the odds are long, but it's not about winning every race — it's about giving people a choice. If there's no contest, there's no conversation about ideas, no debate, no accountability.' He said communities like Amarillo deserve attention, resources, and viable candidates from all sides of the political spectrum. 'Democrats aren't going to win states like Texas until they start taking places like Amarillo seriously,' O'Rourke said. 'And that means showing up, listening, and supporting local leaders year-round — not just in election season.' O'Rourke said he's held about a half-dozen similar town halls in recent weeks in places like Mansfield, Wichita Falls and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with more scheduled across Texas. Although O'Rourke has not formally announced any future campaign plans, he said he's committed to being present in every part of the state and helping where he can. 'If the answer is holding town halls, running voter registration drives, or just listening — then that's what I'm going to do,' he said. 'And if it turns out the best way I can help is by running for office again, then I'll do that too.' O'Rourke said he hopes Saturday's town hall will empower attendees to take action — whether by voting, volunteering, or even considering a run for office. 'Amarillo always shows up,' he said. 'And I always leave more optimistic than when I came.' This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Beto O'Rourke brings town hall to Amarillo to discuss education, rural issues
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Thousands of Vets' Disability Claims Linked to the PACT Act Included Wrong Dates, Resulting in Mispayments
A sampling of disability claims filed under the 2022 PACT Act found that roughly one-quarter listed incorrect start dates, resulting in improper payouts of about $6.8 million to some veterans and shortchanging an estimated 2,300 others, the Department of Veterans Affairs' internal watchdog found. In a report released Tuesday, the Veterans Affairs Officer of Inspector General concluded that the legislation's complexity, along with inadequate guidance from the Veterans Benefits Administration, led claims adjudicators to assign the wrong "effective date" to an estimated 26,000 claims, resulting in overpayment by the government in the first year of the legislation. An estimated 2,300 additional claims had erroneous dates -- including some that should have been made retroactive to a date before the law was signed, increasing compensation for veterans -- but the watchdog agency said it "could not determine their monetary impact" on any affected veterans. Read Next: Military to Take Over Federal Land Along Border Under New Trump Order The landmark PACT Act, signed into law Aug. 10, 2022, expanded health care and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to environmental pollutants while serving overseas in specified combat zones across decades, including the Middle East and Afghanistan. According to the VA, it has received 2.44 million PACT Act-related claims since the law went into effect. It has adjudicated 2.14 million claims and approved 1.59 million and, as of May 2024, had awarded $5.7 billion in related benefits to veterans or survivors. The VA OIG estimated that the VA will have made an estimated $20.4 million in improper payments in the first three years of the law, representing about 0.36% of payouts. Veterans who develop an illness related to the hazardous exposures or their survivors are able to file a claim at any time. However, in the first year following passage, beneficiaries could submit a claim or intent to file to receive any approved benefits backdated to Aug. 10, 2022. Some veterans who had diagnosed conditions covered by the PACT Act prior to its passage were eligible for retroactive benefits back to their date of diagnosis. After Aug. 10, 2023, any approvals under the act would have the date of application as a start date for benefits or, in the case of intentions filed before that date, to Aug. 10, 2022. The complexity of determining the correct start date led the VA OIG to review claims for accuracy. To figure out whether the VA was assigning effective dates correctly, the watchdog examined a statistical sampling of 100 claims filed in the law's first year. Based on that analysis, the OIG estimated that the VBA assigned an incorrect effective date to roughly 26,100 of 131,000 claims, and it found it likely that an additional 2,300 should have been assigned a date that may have awarded veterans and their families more money. "Errors that had the potential to affect veterans' compensation benefits payments occurred when claims processors decided claims before taking all the necessary steps, such as gathering additional evidence, to determine whether a more advantageous effective date applied," wrote Larry Reinkemeyer, the VA's assistant inspector general for audits and evaluations, in the report. "As a result, some veterans did not receive their correct benefit payments." The OIG found that mistakes were made because claims processors were not adequately prepared to determine correct effective dates. The team added that the automated tools created to provide assistance in determining a date "were unreliable." The team also noted that claims processors had made the VBA aware of the complexities, and the administration had taken steps to include updated training and conduct reviews to ensure accuracy. Nonetheless, Reinkemeyer and the investigators made several recommendations for the VBA to implement, including for the VA to: create an effective tool to help processors determine the right date and remove ineffective date builders from the system; continue updating the system to ensure it follows claims-related laws; evaluate PACT Act training; and correct all processing errors found by the OIG team. Michael Frueh, the VA's acting under secretary for benefits, concurred with the recommendations in a written statement and said fixes had already been made that weren't covered by the report. Frueh said that the VA would implement all recommendations by May 31 at the latest, and for the 24 claims of the statistical sampling that were erroneous, would complete the review and corrections by April 30. Since the start of the second Trump administration, lawmakers have expressed concerns about the scope of the PACT Act and the impact a proposed reduction in force at the VA would have on VA health benefits and claims processing. Some Republican lawmakers say that increased scrutiny by a GOP-led White House and Congress could help hone the legislation, which they have described as being rushed through the legislative process. "A lot of things have gone wrong because we didn't have the ability to finish that bill," said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., one of 11 senators who voted against the PACT Act. "Hopefully, we'll look into that ... and see how we can help because the PACT Act could be good if done the right way." Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., noted in a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing March 11 that veterans will feel the impact on services if roughly 80,000 VA employees lose their jobs. "Not only does this contradict the clear intent of Congress, it really does a disservice to our veterans. When you fire VA employees, veterans suffer," Hassan said. Related: VA's PACT Act Management Could Use Lessons from 9/11 First Responders Legislation, Rand Says
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Governors to laid-off federal workers: We'll hire you.
A person walks into the Department of Veterans Affairs' headquarters in Washington, D.C. The department, with offices in every state, announced it is cutting about 80,000 jobs, part of a large-scale effort to reduce the federal workforce. States are stepping up to hire laid-off workers. () Among the thousands of federal workers who've been forced out or taken buyouts in the past month, surely some would be perfect fits for the many vacancies in Pennsylvania's state government. That, at least, is the thinking of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who recently directed his state to not only offer aid to laid-off constituents, but also to repost some job openings. He's catching up to governors in other states — from Hawaii to Maryland — who see opportunity, even as they're scrambling to help panicked residents. The Trump administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency task force have been culling federal workers across agencies while also threatening anyone who doesn't list in an email how they're making good use of their time. The number of announced terminations tracked by global data company Statista exceeded 16,000 as of Feb. 25. That's in addition to the 75,000 federal employees who accepted buyouts offered by the administration in its earliest days. And President Donald Trump has directed Cabinet agencies to continue mass layoffs. States are looking to hire those workers, though officials face challenges, such as offering lower salaries and having slower hiring processes. In Maryland alone, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore estimates about 10,000 of his constituents could lose work in the shake-up. There are more than 5,000 openings in state government. Pennsylvania has some 5,600 critical openings, from accountants to registered nurses, now described on a newly created website tailored to federal employees. 'This is an act of self-interest for the people of Pennsylvania, because I believe the commonwealth can benefit from the experience and expertise of these federal workers who have been forced out of their jobs,' Shapiro said. Officials in New Mexico, New York and Virginia — among the states with the highest numbers of federal workers — say they're offering a silver lining for all that displaced talent, providing ways to streamline the transition from federal government to jobs at the state and local level. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, made her recruitment pitch clear, stating, 'The federal government might say, 'You're fired,' but here in New York, we say, 'You're hired.'' Hawaii's Operation Hire Hawai'i is working to fast-track former federal employees into state agency jobs. Washington state lawmakers have introduced legislation to prioritize these displaced workers in hiring processes. In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, launched the Virginia Has Jobs program — a website designed to help laid-off federal workers quickly connect with available state jobs. Despite these efforts, states face significant hurdles in matching federal workers to state jobs. There are differing skill sets, mismatches in salaries, and the time it takes for a job application to wind its way through a state bureaucracy. For workers, though, a lot of the difficulty is about coming to terms with the mind-boggling turn of events. For Victoria, who asked that she be identified by her middle name out of fear of retaliation, working for the federal government wasn't just a job — it was a commitment to nonpartisan public service. She worked for three years as a contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration before being hired last year to a permanent federal position. 'The reason I wanted to be a federal employee in the first place is because it's supposed to be nonpartisan work,' she said. 'We're supposed to serve the public in pursuit of a mission, and for the FAA, that mission is aerospace safety.' Her probation was to end in April. She didn't make it. 'I got a call from our office manager at 6 p.m. on a Friday night, telling me I was being let go,' Victoria recalled. She got her official termination email hours later, minutes before midnight. It included a list of resources she couldn't access because they were, for her, suddenly behind a government firewall. For people trying to assist workers such as Victoria, the scale and speed of the firings outpaced even what they figured was coming. Caitlin Lewis is executive director at Work for America, a nonprofit that runs the new Civic Match initiative to help state governments recruit former federal workers. She foresaw a need for the project following the 2024 election. 'When we launched Civic Match in November, we anticipated about 4,000 political appointees and campaign staff seeking new jobs after the election. But what we've seen in the new year is a massive surge in laid-off civil servants looking for work,' said Lewis. One of the biggest obstacles? State hiring is slow. 'The average time to hire in state government is 90 days. In local government, it's 136 days. That's a long process for workers who need jobs now.' If states don't act quickly, they risk losing experienced talent to the private sector, which moves faster in recruitment, she said. Many former federal workers are already transitioning into corporate roles, nonprofits and consulting firms rather than waiting for state job openings. Beyond slow hiring, another challenge is that not all laid-off federal employees want to stay in government. 'I'm not actually 100% sure that every single one of those workers who may be impacted is looking for another job in government,' said Nicole Overley, commissioner of Virginia Works, a state agency focused on reemployment. 'Virginia has over 4,500 open state jobs. But I'm not sure every individual who is transitioning from the federal workforce is necessarily looking for a state job.' Overley added that many federal employees may not even be aware of state job resources available to them. 'In the last 48 hours, we've had over 1,000 job seekers register for the March 5th virtual job fair,' she said early this month. 'I don't know if all federal workers who are impacted know about the resources that are out there — and that's where workforce development comes in.' Some states are working to speed up the process. Hawaii, for instance, has expedited its state hiring process through an executive order from Democratic Gov. Josh Green. In Pennsylvania, Shapiro has told the state's hiring office to compare federal work favorably to state work for the purposes of notching experience. Maryland's schools desperately need substitute teachers now, Moore said in announcing resources recently, and anyone with an associate's degree can apply. New Mexico is launching statewide initiatives that include a resource webpage, recruitment events and access to education and training programs. In Washington, D.C., Mayor Murial Bowser has encouraged laid-off workers to consider district job openings, but she also wants to ensure they have access to unemployment benefits and housing support. The federal government is the district's largest employer, and the layoffs could devastate the city's economy. Another key hurdle is pay disparities between federal and state jobs. In many states, federal workers make, on average, significantly more than state employees. They include Maryland, where federal workers earn 183% of state worker salaries, Virginia (175%), West Virginia (163%) and Idaho (157%), according to a Stateline review of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. In states where federal workers earn less than state employees, such as New York (77% of state workers' salaries) and California (97%), the transitions might be easier, though the costs of living in those states are among the highest in the nation. For Hawaii, the challenge is particularly stark. The state has one of the highest concentrations of federal employment outside the District of Columbia and Maryland — and federal jobs in Hawaii pay about three times more than state government positions. To ensure laid-off federal employees can move quickly into state roles, Hawaii has set up an expedited timeline of 14 days from job application to hiring. That means, for example, passing along résumés from human resources to hiring departments on a daily basis and cutting some processes down to hours or days, Brenna Hashimoto, director of the state's Department of Human Resources Development, wrote in an email to Stateline. It's too early to say how the system is going, Hashimoto wrote, but the state will collect data and report to the governor's office. Despite the hurdles, there are signs of success in transitioning federal employees into state jobs. Shane Evangelist, CEO of Neogov, which manages hiring software for state and local governments, said the potential scale of transitions is significant. Evangelist shared examples of successful federal-to-state career transitions, including a former IRS employee to a state internal auditor, a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employee to a state epidemiologist, and a Census Bureau employee to an IT support analyst. However, he warned that states risk losing the most skilled workers to the private sector unless they hire right away. 'The most talented workers move first,' said Evangelist. 'The ones who are smart, experienced and articulate — the kind of employees the government needs most — will be the first to go.' There are thousands of potential new job applicants. On Jan. 19, federal civil servants made up only 8% of Civic Match's candidate pool. By late February, that skyrocketed to 45.1%. More than 3,300 former federal workers have signed up for Civic Match in just weeks, according to Lewis. 'These are not entry-level employees,' Lewis said. 'Many of them have spent over a decade in government roles, gaining deep expertise in policy, finance, environmental management and IT.' Despite state efforts, some former federal employees say they are struggling to find equivalent jobs in both government and the private sector. We're your neighbors, your friends, and the people you see walking down the street. We got into government because we wanted to serve. – Victoria, a laid-off Federal Aviation Administration worker 'I've heard from people with 20 years in government who are being told their experience isn't transferable,' said Victoria, the laid-off FAA worker. 'It's a nice gesture that the states are saying all of them want us to work for them, but how many state or private sector jobs actually have an equivalent to what I was doing at the federal level?' she said. 'It's not a one-to-one match.' Some private-sector employers are undervaluing federal work experience, she noted, forcing federal employees to start at lower levels. 'I've heard from people with 20 years in federal government who were told they'd have to start three or four steps behind where they were,' she said. 'These companies know we're desperate, and they're using it to devalue our skills and pay us less.' For Victoria and others like her, the hardest part isn't just losing a job — it's the way federal employees have been portrayed. 'We're not some faceless deep-state bureaucrats,' she said. 'We're your neighbors, your friends, and the people you see walking down the street. We got into government because we wanted to serve. 'And if we were in it for the money, we wouldn't have chosen public service in the first place.' Stateline reporter Tim Henderson contributed to this report. Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at rsequeira@ Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@ SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. King demands answers about latest round of Veterans Affairs cuts
Mar. 11—Sen. Angus King is demanding answers about the Department of Veterans Affairs' move to cut 585 contracted employees nationwide, and whether those contracts include critical jobs at the Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta. Among other questions, King said he has been unable to find out if the cuts include a key radiation safety officer position at Togus. Cutting that position "may force Togus to close their radiology department," King said in the March 6 letter to Doug Collins, secretary of Veterans Affairs. The topic is expected to come up during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs in Washington Tuesday. King, I-Maine, is a member of the VA committee, and several top VA administrators will be testifying. In addition to the contract cuts, the VA secretary has called for widespread layoffs, with 80,000 job cuts expected by June among the 470,000 employees at the agency. The VA reductions are part of the Trump administration's sweeping efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce. The decision to trim 585 contracted employees nationwide is separate from the seven firings of probationary employees that occurred at Togus in February. The elimination of seven positions — including a police dispatcher and a logistics worker — were part of an earlier round in the ongoing nationwide cutbacks at VA. The VA initially announced in February that a total of 875 contracted positions would be eliminated. That list included Togus' radiation safety officer. While the number of cuts has been reduced to 585 positions, the VA has not yet shared a list of the affected jobs. It's unknown whether the new list of 585 positions also includes the Augusta medical center's sole radiation safety officer, "Hospitals like Togus are required by multiple state and federal regulations to have an RSO," King wrote. "The RSO is responsible for overseeing radiation safety programs." King said the VA is not being forthcoming with information about cutbacks that could hamper the operations of VA services. "Despite committing to transparency to Congress in your nomination process, your department has refused to answer even the most basic questions," King wrote to Collins. The VA did not respond to the Press Herald's questions on Monday afternoon. King and other members of Maine's congressional delegation, as well as some leaders of Maine veterans' groups, condemned the firings of seven employees at Togus last month. The firings were "arbitrary and (made) without any strategic thinking," King said in a written statement at the time. The seven included five military veterans, King said. They included at least one police dispatcher, a member of the veterans experience office and members of the logistics team, King said. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, said the VA firings, like others by the federal government, were "reckless" and "without clear justification." Sen. Susan Collins said the people operating Togus know their needs better than those in Washington and should have been consulted before the cuts were announced. Copy the Story Link
