Federal Daily - April 4, 2008

GAO: DoD Should Tighten Rules on Physician Education Reimbursement

DoD needs to tighten up procedures for recouping physician education expenditures from participants who fail to complete their education or serve their active duty obligation, said a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released April 1. In some cases reviewed by GAO, it took more than five years from the time reimbursement was initiated until the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) established an official debt account and began collection efforts. Also, there was some confusion over how much money was owed to the government. GAO found that DFAS was pursuing about $6 million in medical education debt, while military service records identified about $8.5 million in debts. The good news is that only a fraction of participants in the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program and Financial Assistance Program have failed to complete their education or serve their active duty service obligation—about 171 of the 19,921 total participants for Fiscal Years 2003 through 2007. But GAO recommended DoD take steps to clarify the roles and responsibilities for initiating debt reimbursement, follow established debt collection procedures and improve communications. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/new.items/d08612r.pdf.

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Kerry Questions DHS on Reported Air Marshal Shortage

In the wake of reports that most airline flights are not protected by an air marshal, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., questioned the Department of Homeland Security about the number of flights actually covered by the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS). In an April 1 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Kerry noted published accounts had carried whistleblowers allegations that only 1 percent of U.S. flights are being guarded by an armed undercover officer. “Given the crucial function that these Air Marshals perform, these reports, if true, are unacceptable,” Kerry wrote. “While recognizing that certain facets of this program are classified, Congress must be kept informed as to the basic parameters of this program and how many flights are actually covered by FAMS.” Kerry noted that FAMS officials have said publicly that there are “many thousands” of air marshals around the globe. To see more, go to: http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=295385.

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Resignation Reports Premature, FEMA Head Says

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator R. David Paulison issued a press release April 2 saying that he has no plans to leave the agency anytime soon, clarifying his employment status following reports that his resignation was imminent. It all got started earlier on April 2 during a discussion with reporters at a National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Fla., when Paulison talked about leaving. When news circulated about a possible resignation, Paulison, a former Miami-Dade fire chief, issued a press release saying his comments had been misconstrued. “Let me be clear: I have no plans to leave at this time,” Paulison said in the statement. “It is a fact that I serve President Bush, and therefore my service will end when we move into the next administration. However, I can assure you that this announcement is not imminent. I have no job offers and have no plans to leave FEMA at this time.”  To see more, go to: www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=43112.

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