GAO faults planning on health website
WASHINGTON – Management failures by the Obama administration set the stage for the computer woes that paralyzed the president’s new health-care program last fall, nonpartisan investigators said in testimony released Wednesday.
After a months-long investigation, the Government Accountability Office found that the administration lacked “effective planning or oversight practices” for the development of HealthCare.gov, the online portal to coverage for millions of uninsured Americans.
As a result the government incurred “significant cost increases, schedule slips and delayed functionality,” William Woods, a GAO contracting expert said in testimony prepared for a hearing today before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Investigators found that the administration kept changing the contractors’ marching orders for the HealthCare.gov website, creating widespread confusion and leading to tens of millions of dollars in additional costs.
House approves bill to repair VA system
WASHINGTON – The House overwhelmingly approved a landmark bill Wednesday to refurbish the Veterans Affairs Department and improve veterans’ health care.
The 420-5 vote sends the bill to the Senate, where approval is expected by Friday.
The $16.3 billion measure is intended to help veterans avoid long waits for health care, hire more doctors and nurses to treat them and make firing senior executives at the VA easier.
The measure includes $10 billion in emergency spending to help veterans who can’t get prompt appointments with VA doctors to obtain outside care; $5 billion to hire doctors, nurses and other medical staff and about $1.3 billion to lease 27 new clinics across the country.
Three Putin allies hit with new EU sanctions
BRUSSELS – The European Union targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle for the first time Wednesday for the Kremlin’s actions in Ukraine, subjecting three of his longtime associates to EU-wide asset freezes and travel bans.
Among the individuals was Arkady Rotenberg, Putin’s former judo partner and a major shareholder of the civil engineering company Giprotransmost.
Also targeted was Yuri Kovalchuk, a longtime Putin acquaintance, and Nikolai Shamalov.
U.S. bars travel for Venezuelan officials
CARACAS, Venezuela – Amid escalating tensions with Venezuela, the U.S. State Department on Wednesday announced a travel ban for officials of the socialist government it said committed human rights abuses during a crackdown on opposition protests.
In imposing the sanctions, the strongest U.S. action yet against the South American country, the State Department jumped ahead of Congress, which has been pondering a similar move since the height of the protests in March.
The action targets 24 high-ranking Venezuelan officials including Cabinet ministers, senior judges and high-ranking military.
Associated Press
