Federal Daily - March 18, 2008

Lawmakers Urge Easing of Income Restrictions for Vet Health Benefits

A coalition of lawmakers is urging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to drop an “outdated” income restriction and re-open enrollment in the VA health care system to as many as 1.5 million “Priority 8” middle-income veterans who have been denied entry into the system. This Priority 8 group includes vets with no service-connected disabilities who exceed a certain income threshold—currently as low as $28,430 in some areas. Priority 8 vets were barred from the VA health care system under a 2003 administration directive. The ban was implemented due to cost constraints. But lawmakers seeking the change—including Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee—said that because Congress recently provided VA with the largest funding increase in the department’s history, it’s time for the ban to be dropped. “VA should be available to all veterans—whether they were fortunate enough to have escaped injury during their service or not,” Akaka said. In their March 14 letter to VA Secretary James Peake, the lawmakers noted that under current law, the VA secretary has the authority to redefine the income threshold at his discretion. To see more, go to: http://veterans.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?pageid=12&release_id=11611.

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TSA Employees to Work with Bomb-Sniffing Dogs

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on March 14 launched a new explosives detection program that deploys TSA employees as handlers of bomb-sniffing dogs. It is the first time the agency has trained its own employees as canine bomb-detection handlers, the agency said in a statement. The first TSA teams began training in January and graduated March 14 after a 10-week training course at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The teams are expected to be fully operational this summer. The agency will train and certify more than 400 explosives detection canine teams—each composed of one dog and one handler—during the next two years. Eighty-five of these teams will be led by TSA employees and will primarily search cargo bound for passenger-carrying aircraft. TSA handlers will be non-law enforcement employees. The 12 teams that just graduated will be deployed at Dulles, John F. Kennedy, Los Angeles and Miami International Airports, TSA said in a statement. To see more, go to: www.tsa.gov/press/releases/2008/0314.shtm.

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GSA Boosts Mileage Reimbursement Rate

The General Services Administration (GSA) has raised the federal mileage reimbursement rate to 50.5 cents per mile for feds using personal vehicles on official business. The new rate, up from 48.5 cents per mile, matches the rate authorized by the IRS for private-sector taxpayers who deduct mileage for business purposes. While the IRS rate became effective Jan. 1, GSA’s rate does not go into effect until March 19 for government employees. National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley called the increase “overdue,” and said while the increase will not fully cover rising costs, “it will help.” To see more, go to: www.nteu.org.

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