Federal Daily - January 9, 2009

VA Launches NGO Veterans Initiative

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Jan. 7 announced the launch of a new partnership to help non-governmental organizations (NGOs) streamline efforts to aid veterans, their families and survivors. Under the new NGO Gateway Initiative, VA will collaborate with the nonprofit Veterans Coalition Inc., which was formed about two years ago by several national veterans groups. Through the partnership, Veterans Coalition will help NGOs identify unmet needs of veterans, families and survivors, and work to minimize duplication of effort among NGOs. The program also will encourage feedback from NGOs on issues such as physical and mental health, employment and satisfaction with government-provided benefits and services. VA will provide a career federal employee to serve as ombudsman to help NGOs with their veterans’ programs, and VA’s deputy secretary will act as a non-voting advisory liaison to the group’s board of directors. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1639.

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Army Apologizes for ‘Dear John Doe’ Letters

The Army on Jan. 7 issued a formal apology to the families of slain servicemembers who had recently received a condolences letter from the Army that was mistakenly addressed to “Dear John Doe.” Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., sent a personal letter to the 7,000 families who received the improperly addressed correspondence. The letter, which was printed by a contractor and mailed in late December 2008, informed family members about private organizations offering assistance to families of soldiers who have died in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. However, the letter did not contain a specific salutation and address, but merely the placeholder greeting “Dear John Doe.” The Army did not offer an explanation for the mix-up. “There are no words to adequately apologize for this mistake or for the hurt it may have caused,” Brig. Gen. Reuben D. Jones, Army adjutant general, said in a statement. “It is important the original intent of the letter is not lost.” To see more, go to: www.army.mil/-newsreleases/2009/01/07/15594-army-issues-apology-for-letter-error.

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Officials Mark Opening of First FDA Branch in Latin America

Federal officials on Jan. 7 marked the opening of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) office in Costa Rica. The Costa Rican location, FDA’s first overseas office in Latin America, is part of the agency’s broader strategy to improve the safety of food and drug shipments headed to the United States. The agency will open new FDA branch offices around the globe in an attempt to improve product safety following a series of incidents in which tainted food and pharmaceuticals were imported into the United States. “The countries of Central America, along with Panama and the Dominican Republic, create the third-largest U.S. export market in Latin America, and, every year, the United States imports millions of dollars in goods from these important trade partners,” said HHS Mike Secretary Leavitt said. “An HHS/FDA presence in the region will improve collaboration.” The launch of the Costa Rican FDA office follows the opening of an FDA office in Brussels to spearhead regulatory collaboration on food, drugs and medical devices with the European Commission; the introduction of three FDA offices in China (in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou); and the announcement the department will open FDA offices in two cities in India. FDA also is pursuing options to open a location in the Middle East. To see more, go to: www.dhhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/01/20090107a.html.

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