FederalDaily - September 28, 2007

DHS Moves Closer to Consolidated HQ

The General Services Administration (GSA) has completed a draft environmental impact study and a draft master plan to transform the old St. Elizabeth’s Hospital complex in Washington, D.C., into a consolidated home for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Today DHS maintains offices at about 50 locations in the Washington, D.C., metro area, reflecting one of department’s greatest challenges—to provide a common infrastructure for the 22 agencies that were pulled together in 2003 to form the department. According to its plan, GSA would attempt to restore many of the 61 buildings on the St. Elizabeth’s campus, which was established in 1855, and is a National Historic Landmark. Locating DHS headquarters on this site to house up to 14,000 employees also would provide substantial economic benefits to the city’s Anacostia and Congress Heights neighborhoods, said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan. To see more, go to www.gsa.gov.

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USPS FY 2008 Budget Anticipates $600 Million Loss

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors on Sept. 26 approved a Fiscal Year 2008 budget which projects a $600 million loss next year despite increased income and reduced spending. The FY 2008 financial plan anticipates income of $78.2 billion and expenses of $78.8 billion. The plan for the budget year beginning Oct. 1 does not assume any increase in rates, though the Board of Governors has not taken a formal position on any price changes. Postal rates were last increased in May. The board also authorized funding of $107.2 million for site lease, design and construction of a new 478,800 square-foot mail processing facility in Miami to consolidate bundle and parcel processing for South Florida. South Florida currently is served by three processing and distribution centers, along with other leased processing space. To see more, go to: www.usps.com.

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VA Still Facing Huge Disability Claims Backlog

In an effort to reduce the massive disability claims backlog that has flooded the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), lawmakers have promised enough funding in the upcoming fiscal year to hire an additional 1,000 VA workers to address the problems. But additional staffing alone won’t solve things, said Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Veterans’ Disability Assistance subcommittee. The panel held a hearing Sept. 25 to examine ways to reduce the claims backlog and to look at how well the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) was handling its cases. Hall pointed out that there is a belief among veterans and their advocates that—given the variances in VA Regional Office-level decisions—an appeal to BVA is almost a necessity. But Hall noted that veterans don’t necessarily fare well at BVA. In 2006, of the 39,076 BVA decisions that involved an appeal on benefits, 71 percent were denied, Hall said. To see more, go to: http://veterans.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=129.

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