FederalDaily - July 27, 2007
Panel Calls for Better Care, Coordination of Wounded GIs
A presidential commission on July 25 recommended a complete overhaul of the nation’s veterans
care system, including more benefits for family members helping the wounded, creation of an easy-to-use
Web site for medical records, and improvements to the disability pay system. The nine-member panel,
led by former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., and Donna Shalala, former Health and Human Services secretary
during the Clinton administration, also recommended that the government restructure the disability
pay system to give the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) more responsibility for awarding benefits.
They also called for more training programs in post-traumatic stress/traumatic brain injuries, as well
as stronger partnerships between the Pentagon and the private sector to boost treatment for traumatic
brain injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. “Our injured service members deserve a system
that serves their different needs, supports them and their families while they recover and simplifies
the delivery of care and services,” said Dole. President Bush created the commission in March,
about a month after reports appeared in The Washington Post describing substandard living
conditions, bureaucratic delays and inadequate benefits for seriously injured servicemembers at a Walter
Reed Army Medical Center rehabilitation program. To see more, go to: www.pccww.gov
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Senators Voice Alarm Over Muzzling of Second FDA Scientist
A senior Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official responsible for reviewing the GlaxoSmithKline
drug Avandia told Senate investigators about being sidelined after voicing concerns about the safety
of the diabetes pill—becoming the second scientist allegedly muzzled after highlighting Avandia
risks. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Max Baucus, D-Mont., on July 24 sent a letter to FDA Commissioner
Andrew C. von Eschenbach raising concerns about the treatment of those within the agency who sounded
an alarm about the drug. The senior official, who was not identified, was removed after being told
to stop participating in a review of potential cardiovascular safety problems associated with Avandia,
the senators said. The senior official, who had experience working with diabetes drugs, was replaced
by another employee who had no experience in the drug class, the senators said. The lawmakers also
questioned whether the agency had a sufficient proportion of drug-safety experts on an advisory panel
that is to meet next week to review questions over Avandia. To see more, go to: http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=5485&Month=7&Year=2007
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USPS Halts Consolidation Studies in Texas, Wisconsin
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has halted a pair of Area Mail Processing (AMP) consolidation studies—in
Waco, Texas, and Oshkosh, Wis.—the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) reported. On July 25,
APWU said it was notified that USPS had decided to reject a proposed consolidation of mail-processing
operations in Waco, and had halted an AMP study that suggested shifting some operations to both Fort
Worth and Austin. Approximately 250 jobs were at stake. A few days before, on July 20, APWU was notified
that USPS was halting a Wisconsin AMP study that proposed shifting mail-processing from Oshkosh to
Green Bay, about 50 miles away. Since April 2006, 35 AMP feasibility surveys have been terminated or
placed on hold, APWU said. To see more, go to: http://apwu.org/news/webart/2007/webart-0768-consold-oshkoshgb-072007.htm or http://apwu.org/news/webart/2007/webart-0769-consold-waco-072507.htm
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