Federal Daily - August 20, 2008
VA Opens New Centers to Study Rural Healthcare
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Aug. 18 said it will open three Veterans Rural Health Resource
Centers aimed at identifying challenges associated with rural health care. Administrative, clinical
and research staff at the resource centers, slated to open Oct. 1, will identify disparities in health
care for rural vets and develop practices and programs to improve delivery of care across the country.
The centers will serve as regional satellite offices for VA’s Office of Rural Health, and will
be located in the White River Junction VA Medical Center in Vermont, the Iowa City VA Medical Center
in Iowa, and the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center. “VA has always been committed to providing
quality care to rural veterans,” said Dr. Michael J. Kussman, VA undersecretary for health. “These
centers will allow us to better identify and meet the unique needs of our rural veterans as their population
continues to grow.” To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1548.
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CBP Recruits Ag Specialists at California State Fair
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is going to the fair. In what it called “an unprecedented
move,” CBP has opened a booth at the California State Fair to recruit new agricultural specialists,
the agency said. Agriculture specialists, agriculture canine specialists and operation specialists
from CBP’s San Francisco field office are manning the booth for about two weeks, through Sept.
1, to answer questions from potential recruits. “Attendance at California State Fairs averages
approximately 1 million visitors from all over California, thus making this a tremendous opportunity
to recruit much needed candidates for agriculture specialist positions,” said Rich Vigna, director
of field operations at the San Francisco field office. Agriculture specialists serve at more than 300
ports of entry located at airports, seaports and land borders. To see more, go to: www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/08152008_4.xml/.
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Union Leaders Issue Call to Action at APWU Convention
Two top postal union leaders this week warned assembled officials of the American Postal Workers Union
(APWU) of the difficult challenges postal workers can soon expect to face. In a speech at the APWU
19th Biennial National Convention in Las Vegas, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) President
Bill Young brought APWU members to their feet several times, according to an APWU news bulletin. At
one point, Young scoffed at an Economic Policy Institute study that identified three criteria of a “good
job”—including pay of at least $35,000 a year. “Can you imagine trying to raise a
family and sending kids to college on that salary?” asked Young, who urged the two unions to
negotiate against such a “standard of comparability.” After Young’s speech, APWU
William Burrus painted an even graver picture in his own state of the union address: “This year,
it is not the quality of our jobs that is at stake, but their very existence. In 2008, the future of
the Postal Service hangs in the balance.”
To see more, go to: http://apwu.org/news/nsb/2008/nsb-conv-2008-1-080819.htm.
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