http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3729253
What does not our government sub-contract out anymore?
How much money will this eat up from the Vets that they can't afford to lose!
The madness has to stop!
The soldiers lives are at stake!
This is not a contract for money to made off of!
How much more can you ask our Soldiers and Vets to put up with!
Enough is enough!
Pedigo tried to assure the subcommittee that no federal workers will lose their jobs as a result of turning to a contractor. “VA does not anticipate the loss of federal employment for any present employees associated with VA’s education programs,” he said. However, some people who have been involved in processing education benefits claims could be transferred to other jobs, he said.
Any claim for GI Bill benefits denied by the contractor will be reviewed by VA staff, he said, so some employees will be involved in reviewing the denied claims and others could be assigned to oversight duties.
With questions hanging over a Veterans Affairs Department decision to get a private contractor to run a new GI Bill educational benefits program, VA officials tried last week to convince lawmakers that no federal workers will lose their jobs as a result.
They were not completely convincing.
Keith Pedigo, the associate deputy undersecretary for policy and program management at the Veterans’ Benefits Administration, said Sept. 11 that a decision to turn to a private contractor to process claims and administer the Post-9/11 GI Bill is an effort to cut processing time of claims through the use of information technology. The goal is to process original claims within 10 days and supplemental claims within seven days. Additionally, 98 percent accuracy is expected for determining both eligibility and the rate of pay.
The contractor, which could be named by the end of September, is expected to handle both paper and electronic claims and check processing, Pedigo said.
