Topic: GAO

Demand Action For Our Veterans

October 11, 2007 |

The budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs is officially late. Instead of working to get it passed, Congress is caught up in a furor over Rush Limbaugh’s latest comments and MoveOn.org’s most recent ad.

With the help of grassroots supporters, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America Action fund is running this ad to break through the clutter. If you’re interested in getting involved, whether you’re a veteran or a concerned civilian visit their web site.

As a recent report from the Government Accountability Office reveals, seven months have passed since the Walter Reed crisis and serious problems in veterans’ care remain.

As of October 1, the veterans’ budget is late. Until it is approved, the VA will be forced to ration care.

Now, it’s up to the President and Congress to approve the budget. Add your name to the statement, and demand they take action.

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Congress grills Petraeus on Iraq status; demands ‘no-nonsense’ answers

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 11, 2007 |

Inch the price up, a dollar here, a dollar there. Customers rarely notice. On the day of the big sale, “slash” prices and people will come, buy, plunk down dollars and pay what you would have gotten in the first place — and they’ll be happy that they think they got a deal.

That’s what unfolded this afternoon on the Senate floor before the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as General David Petraeus made a case for keeping the war in Iraq alive even as he concedes the next nine months of war will cost America “60 soldiers a day” and “nine billion dollars a month.”

Petraus tried to sell the prospect of drawdown in US troop levels that were in fact a pulling of troops who are part of the President’s highly touted 2007 “surge,” and would not likely affect the base number of troops — 130,000 — for another 9-12 months. «Read the rest of this article»

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U.S. Government must change, or may end up like Rome

August 14, 2007 |

An Excerpt from “Transforming Government to Meet the Demands of the 21st Century”, A presentation by the Honorable David M. Walker given to The Federal Midwest Human Resources Council and the Chicago Federal Executive Board in Chicago, Illinois on August 7, 2007. GAO-07-1188CG

Thank you, Mr Valiulis, for that kind introduction.

I’m sure I don’t need to tell any of you that the world has changed significantly in the past 20 years. But the truth is, we’re going to see even greater changes in the next 20 or 30 years. To avoid irrelevancy, businesses, nonprofit entities, and federal agencies will all need to adapt to this accelerating pace of change. Stated differently, we can’t just be concerned with today; we need to focus on the future.

To capitalize on our opportunities and minimize related risks, all organizations must be mindful of the big picture and the long view. Organizations that endure tend to periodically rethink their missions and operations. World-class organizations understand that innovation requires change. One must change in order to continuously improve. The simple truth is an organization that stands still today is going to get passed by and, ultimately, it may not survive. «Read the rest of this article»

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