FederalDaily - January 23, 2006
Defense Travel Problems Continue
Development and performance issues have plagued the Defense Travel System
(DTS) on multiple occasions. Now the latest analysis by the Government Accountability
Office (GAO)—presented to Congress this past week—found further
testing and functionality problems. Specifically, problems remain with improper
premium-class travel purchases, unused tickets not being refunded and inaccuracies
of travel claims. GAO discovered that functionality problems that occurred
after the system’s deployment were the result of inadequate testing of
system interfaces. GAO’s recommendations to the Department of Defense
(DoD) were:
- ensuring proper testing of new or modified system interfaces,
- obtaining DTS utilization data, and
- streamlining DoD travel management practices.
For the full report, visit www.gao.gov/new.items/d0618.pdf.
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Veterans Like Their Health Care
Veterans continue to be more satisfied with their health care than the average
American, according to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).
The ACSI gave the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) inpatient care
a rating of 83 on a 100-point scale. That is 10 percentage points higher
than the 73 rating achieved for inpatient care by the private-sector health
care industry. VA’s rating of 80 for outpatient care was five percentage
points higher than the 75 rating for private-sector outpatient care and nine
percentage points higher than the average satisfaction rating for all federal
services. This is the sixth consecutive year VA’s health care system
has outranked the private sector for customer satisfaction.
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Shake-Up for State Department Employees
The State Department is undergoing a transition that includes repositioning
agency officials around the world, Secretary Condoleezza Rice announced last
week. Rice said we have nearly the same number of State Department personnel
in Germany, a country of 82 million people, as we do in India, a country of
over one billion people. To reallocate employees, she said in a multiyear process,
hundreds of positions will be moved to areas in Africa, South Asia, East Asia,
the Middle East and elsewhere. Beginning this year, Rice said 100 current positions
largely from Europe and Washington, D.C., will be moved. Furthermore, employee
training will be changed; more of the coursework for the Foreign Service Institute
will be available to diplomats overseas. Diplomats will also be facing new
criteria for promotion to senior ranks. They will be required to be expert
in at least two regions and fluent in two languages. More information is available
at www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/59339.htm.
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Diplomats, Military Should Work Together
The military has handled a disproportionate amount of post-war efforts in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and State Department diplomats must provide more support,
State Secretary Condoleezza Rice announced last week. Rice encouraged diplomats
to seek assignments working with the military in high-need areas. She said, “The
diplomacy of the 21st century requires better jointness...between our soldiers
and our civilians, and we are taking additional steps to achieve it.” She
stressed that cohesive, joint military-civilian efforts were needed to improve
the ability of the U.S. to help countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan stabilize
and become independent. Rice did say that military and civilian chains-of-command
would remain separate.
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