News & Opinion

Having been briefed already by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki regarding excessive spending on training conferences, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has more questions. In a letter sent the day of Shinseki’s briefing -- Aug. 10 -- the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee requested the spending details on two VA training conferences held in Orlando, Fla., in 2011, and an analysis of how the costs compare to similar VA conferences. She’s also asking if the planners of the two conferences plan other conferences. Read more »

The Veterans Affairs Department, rocked last week by a scandal concerning excessive conference spending, hopes to skirt the fate that befell the top leadership at the General Services Administration four months ago. Read more »

Spa treatments, concert tickets, and helicopter and stretch limo rides — the initial details in a Veterans Affairs' Office of the Inspector General investigation could overshadow the General Services Administration conference spending scandal Read more »

Veterans in Central Florida may see their long-awaited VA Medical Center open for patients in 2013 after all — only one year later than planned, according to testimony delivered at a congressional field hearing Monday in Orlando. Read more »

Vietnam Veterans of America has thrown support behind a congressional effort to loosen a rule that governs service-disabled veteran-owned businesses working for the Veterans Affairs Department. Read more »

The Veterans Affairs Department last year held two employee conferences at a combined cost of at least $5 million at which attendees received tens of thousands of dollars in promotional items. Read more »

The Veterans Affairs Department last year held two employee conferences at a combined cost of at least $5 million at which attendees received tens of thousands of dollars in promotional items. Read more »

A Republican lawmaker is raising questions about spending at training conferences held in Florida last year by the Veterans Affairs Department that have prompted an internal investigation at the agency. Read more »

The Department of Veterans Affairs spent $5 million—and set aside $4 million more — last year for two training conferences whose organizers are under investigation for breaking ethics rules by improperly accepting gifts, congressional committees and government sources said Monday. Read more »

A panel led by the US House Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing in Orlando Monday, demanding answers for ongoing delays to the construction of a new VA hospital. The contractor building the hospital blames poor communication for the delay. Read more »