VBA sees automation tools as ‘game-changer’ to keep up with record workload

The Department of Veterans Affairs broke a productivity record for processing benefits claims last year. But that’s just the start of what it needs to do. The VA needs to keep breaking new records for claims processed, if it hopes to keep pace with a workload surge under the burn-pit toxic exposure legislation signed into law last summer. The Veterans Benefits Administration completed a record high of 1.7 million total claims in fiscal 2022. VBA processed over 390,000 total claims for benefits in fiscal 2023 so far, about a 13%…

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Radio Atlantic: This Is Not Your Parents’ Cold War

During the Cold War, NATO had nightmares of hundreds of thousands of Moscow’s troops pouring across international borders and igniting a major ground war with a democracy in Europe. Western governments feared that such a move by the Kremlin would lead to escalation—first to a world war and perhaps even to a nuclear conflict. That was then; this is now. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is nearly a year old, and the Ukrainians are holding on. The Russians, so far, not only have been pushed back, but are taking immense casualties…

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How to Make Journalism Less Trustworthy—in One Problematically Easy Lesson

Journalism is on a suicide mission. As America’s mistrust of media lies near all-time lows, my profession’s powers-that-be are doubling down on the partisan, activist reporting that has poisoned our business and the nation’s politics. In a sign of how out of touch these industry bigwigs are with objective reality, they are doing it all in the name of restoring trust. The latest sign of this dangerous trend is a new report, “Beyond Objectivity: Producing trustworthy news in today’s newsrooms.” Written by two prominent journalists now teaching at Arizona State University – former…

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Get to Know Nikki: Nikki Haley Is Just as MAGA as the MAGA Right Wing

Today, former Trump administration Cabinet official Nikki Haley announced her run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. As she launches her campaign, Haley is talking about her personal background and attempting to distinguish herself from what promises to be a Republican field that is slanted to the far right.  But a look at the evidence suggests that Nikki Haley is just another MAGA hardliner masquerading as a mainstream Republican to try to appeal to more-moderate primary voters. Here’s a look at just three of Haley’s most defiant “just as MAGA”…

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Democrats revive anti-Schedule F bill, with a few tweaks and a new name

Congressional Democrats renewed their push to prevent any future version of the Trump administration’s Schedule F executive order. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the Saving the Civil Service Act on Tuesday. The legislation aims to block presidential administrations from ordering agencies to reclassify federal positions outside merit system principles, unless given Congressional approval. “Our federal employees should be loyal to constituents, they should be loyal to serving American citizens,” Kaine said in an interview with Federal News Network. “They shouldn’t be looking over their shoulder and feel like their livelihood…

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