Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




MILTECH
US Senate confirms new head for scandal-ridden veterans' bureau
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) July 29, 2014


Robert McDonald, President Obama's nominee to be the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, testifies before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee July 22, 2014 in Washington, DC. McDonald, if confirmed, would lead the recently scandal plagued Department of Veterans Affairs. Image courtesy AFP.

The US Senate unanimously confirmed a former army officer and corporate leader as secretary of veterans affairs Tuesday, as lawmakers acknowledged he faces an uphill battle to reform the scandal-plagued department.

Lawmakers closed ranks, 97-0, to approve President Barack Obama's nominee, former Procter & Gamble chief executive Robert McDonald, as head of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

They were keen to fill the void after VA secretary Eric Shinseki resigned amid a string of crises over failures in health care for America's retired warriors.

Obama hailed the bipartisan support for McDonald, a man he described as "deeply committed" to serving US veterans.

"As a country, we have a solemn duty to serve our veterans as well as they have served us," Obama said in a statement.

"I know Bob will help us honor that commitment and make sure every veteran gets the care they deserve, the benefits they've earned, and the chance to pursue the American Dream they've risked so much to protect."

In May, an inspector general found that 1,700 veterans in the Phoenix area alone had been kept off the main waiting list for primary care. Up to 40 patients are said to have died while waiting for treatment.

An internal review concluded that delays and other management failures in care were systemic and nationwide.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray warned that McDonald faces "a truly monumental task" of reforming the agency responsible for treating millions of veterans.

Senate Republican Richard Shelby said McDonald's confirmation should bring "renewed commitment, energy and acumen to address the system problems that we all know exist."

Lawmakers are seeking a legislative fix, and on Monday congressional negotiators agreed on a plan to help veterans get care at non-VA medical providers if wait times at VA hospitals are too long.

The House and Senate could vote on the measure this week before lawmakers leave for August recess.

.


Related Links
The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





MILTECH
Continued Northrop logistic services for Army's NTC
Herndon, Va. (UPI) Jul 28, 2013
Logistics services to the U.S. Army's Fort Irwin's National Training Center are to continue to be provided by Northrop Grumman. The contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee arrangement with a potential value of $205 million, the company said. It has a base performance period of one year and two one-year options. "Our demonstrated superior performance on this contract has provided our va ... read more


MILTECH
China's biggest moon challenge: returning to earth

Lunar Pits Could Shelter Astronauts, Reveal Details of How 'Man in the Moon' Formed

Manned mission to Moon scheduled by Roscosmos for 2020-2031

Landsat Looks to the Moon

MILTECH
NASA Seeks Proposals for Commercial Mars Data Relay Satellites

Emirates paves way for Middle East space program with mission to Mars

Curiosity's images show Earth-like soils on Mars

India could return to Mars as early as 2017

MILTECH
NASA's Next Giant Leap

NASA Awards Construction Contract at Kennedy Space Center

Sierra Nevada Completes Major Dream Chaser NASA CCiCap Milestone

NASA Partners Punctuate Summer with Spacecraft Development Advances

MILTECH
China to launch HD observation satellite this year

Lunar rock collisions behind Yutu damage

China's Fast Track To Circumlunar Mission

Chinese moon rover designer shooting for Mars

MILTECH
Russian Cargo Craft Launches for 6-Hour Trek to ISS

ISS Crew Opens Cargo Ship Hatch, Preps for CubeSat Deployment

Russian cargo craft docks with ISS, science satellite fails

End dawns for Europe's space cargo delivery role

MILTECH
China to launch satellite for Venezuela

SpaceX Soft Lands Falcon 9 Rocket First Stage

SpaceX releases video of rocket splashing into the ocean

SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 Flights Deemed Successful

MILTECH
'Challenges' in quest to find water on Earth-like worlds: study

Transiting Exoplanet with Longest Known Year

Brown Dwarfs May Wreak Havoc on Orbits of Nearby Planets

NASA Mission To Reap Bonanza of Earth-sized Planets

MILTECH
Building 'invisible' materials with light

Laser experiment reveals liquid-like motion of atoms in an ultra-cold cluster

Amazon launches 3D printing store

Carbyne morphs when stretched




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.