| Veterans
News Flash 
VA
Commission to Seek
New
Under Secretary for Benefits
Peake: Candidate Must Have Commitment to Newest
Combat Veterans
WASHINGTON – Secretary
of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake has announced
formation of a 10-member commission to recommend
candidates for the post of Under Secretary for
Benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA).
VA’s Under Secretary for Benefits directs
nearly 15,000 employees and administers a budget
of more than $45 billion dollars, mostly for disability
compensation and survivors’ benefits. The
under secretary is also responsible for VA’s
educational assistance, insurance program and pensions.
“I have asked Deputy Secretary Gordon Mansfield
to lead this important effort,” said Peake. “With
a new generation of combat veterans returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan, the search commission must
ensure we fill the under secretary’s job
with a person having the right skills, experience,
vision and commitment to our nation’s veterans.”
The new under secretary
will replace retired Navy Vice Adm. Daniel L.
Cooper, who announced his resignation recently
after six years on the job. Cooper has been the
longest-serving Under Secretary for Benefits
in VA’s history.
The Under Secretary for Benefits is a non political
appointment, subject to Senate confirmation, who
serves at the pleasure of the President. Candidates
must demonstrate ability both in fiscal management
and in the administration of programs of the Veterans
Benefits Administration or of similar content and
scope.
Under federal law, the search commission must
recommend at least three candidates to the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, who forwards the list to the
President along with any recommendations by the
Secretary.
Members of the commission, in addition to Deputy
Secretary Mansfield, include:
- Brian Chappelle, president of Potomac Partners
and former executive vice president of the Mortgage
Bankers Association;
- Charles Rowe, president of the National Association
of State Approving Agencies;
- Fran Hackett, from the Office of Servicemembers
Group Life Insurance;
- John F. Sommer, Jr., executive director of
the American Legion;
- Homer Townsend, acting executive director
of Paralyzed Veterans of America;
- James Bombard, chairman
of VA’s Veterans
Advisory Committee on Education;
- Tim S. McClain, former VA General Counsel;
- Guy McMichael, former VA acting under secretary
for benefits; and
- Daniel L. Cooper, VA under secretary for benefits.
- Willie Hensley,
VA’s deputy assistant secretary
for human resources management, will serve as the
commission’s executive secretary.
SOURCE:
US Department of Veterans Affair
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