Page 8A
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Big surge for military, cuts
elsewhere in Trump budget
big. It’s not like we have
a choice — our highways,
our bridges are unsafe, our
WASHINGTON
— tunnels,” the president told
President Donald Trump a group of governors at the
is proposing a huge $54 White House on Monday. He
billion surge in U.S. military added, “We’re going to do
spending for new aircraft, more with less and make the
government lean
ships and fighters
and accountable to
in his first federal
the people.”
budget
while
However,
slashing big chunks
Trump’s
final
from
domestic
version of the
programs
and
budget is sure to
foreign aid to make
leave large deficits
the government “do
intact — or even
more with less.”
add to them if he
The Trump blue- Donald Trump
follows
through
print, due in more
on his campaign
detail next month,
promise for a huge
would fulfill the
tax cut.
Republican pres-
His plan faces
ident’s campaign
strong opposition
pledge to boost
from Democrats,
Pentagon spending
who possess the
while targeting the
power to block it.
budgets of other
immediate
federal agencies. Mick Mulvaney The
reaction
from
The
“topline”
figures emerged Monday, Republicans was mixed, with
one day before Trump’s first prominent defense hawks
address to a joint session of like Sen. John McCain of
Congress, an opportunity to Arizona saying it would do
re-emphasize the economic too little to help the Pentagon
issues that were a centerpiece and fiscal conservatives and
supporters of domestic agen-
of his White House run.
Domestic programs and cies expressing caution.
The White House indi-
foreign aid would as a whole
absorb a 10 percent, $54 cated that the foreign aid cuts
billion cut from currently would be particularly large.
Asked about those plans,
projected levels — cuts that
would match the military top Senate Republican Mitch
increase. The cuts would McConnell of Kentucky
be felt far more deeply by would say only, “We’ll see
programs and agencies how it works out.”
A congressional show-
targeted by Trump and his
fellow Republicans, like the down is inevitable later this
Environmental
Protection year, and a government
Agency as well as foreign shutdown a real possibility.
White House Budget
aid. Veterans’ programs
would be exempted, as would Director Mick Mulvaney
border security, additional said the spike in Pentagon
law enforcement functions spending would bring the
total defense budget to a
and some other areas.
“We’re going to start record $603 billion — and
spending on infrastructure that’s before including tens
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press
AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma
Rabbi Joshua Bolton of the University of Pennsylvania’s Hillel center surveys dam-
aged headstones at Mount Carmel Cemetery on Monday in Philadelphia.
Jewish centers cope with
threats; graves vandalized
MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press
Jewish centers and schools across the
nation coped with another wave of bomb
threats Monday as officials in Philadelphia
made plans to repair and restore hundreds of
vandalized headstones at a Jewish cemetery.
Jewish Community Centers and day
schools in at least a dozen states received
threats, according to the JCC Association of
North America. No bombs were found. All
21 buildings — 13 community centers and
eight schools — were cleared by Monday
afternoon and had resumed normal opera-
tions, the association said.
It was the fifth round of bomb threats
against Jewish institutions since January,
prompting outrage and exasperation among
Jewish leaders as well as calls for an aggres-
sive federal response to put a stop to it.
“The Justice Department, Homeland
Security, the FBI, and the White House,
alongside Congress and local officials,
must speak out — and speak out forcefully
— against this scourge of anti-Semitism
impacting communities across the country,”
said David Posner, an official with JCC
Association of North America. “Members of
our community must see swift and concerted
action from federal officials to identify and
capture the perpetrator or perpetrators who
are trying to instill anxiety and fear in our
communities.”
The FBI and the Justice Department’s
Civil Rights Division are probing the threats.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the
vandalism and bomb threats serious, unac-
ceptable behavior and said the department
will “do what it can to assist in pushing back
... and prosecuting anybody that we can
prove to be a part of it.”
“We are a nation that is a diverse constit-
uency, and we don’t need these kind of
activities,” Sessions said.
In Philadelphia, police investigated what
they called an “abominable crime” after
several hundred headstones were damaged
during the weekend at Mount Carmel
Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery dating to the
late 1800s, said Steven Rosenberg, chief
marketing officer of the Jewish Federation
of Greater Philadelphia.
Police said the vandalism appeared to be
targeted at the Jewish community, though
they cautioned they had not confirmed the
motive. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney
said authorities were doing everything
possible to find those “who desecrated this
final resting place.”
of billions of dollars for over-
seas military operations.
The United States already
spends more on defense than
the next seven countries
combined, but military
leaders have complained
repeatedly that aircraft are
aging. Congress was told
recently that the average age
of Air Force aircraft is 27
years, and more than half of
the service’s inventory would
qualify for antique vehicle
license plates in Virginia.
“It is a true America
first budget. It will show
the president is keeping his
promises and will do exactly
what he said he was going
to do,” Mulvaney said. “It
prioritizes rebuilding our
military, including restoring
our nuclear capabilities,
protecting the nation and
securing the border, enforcing
the laws currently on the
books, taking care of vets and
increasing school choice.”
The border wall would
cost $2.9 billion in 2018,
according to draft docu-
ments for the Department of
Homeland Security, which
assume the agency would
hire 500 new members of the
Border Patrol and 1,000 new
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agents next
year. Detention beds for
apprehended
immigrants
would receive $2 billion
over current-year spending.
The Transportation Security
Administration ticket fee
would increase by $1 to $6.60
for each one-way flight.
Senate Democratic leader
Chuck Schumer of New
York said, “It is clear from
this budget blueprint that
President Trump fully intends
to break his promises to
working families by taking
a meat ax to programs that
benefit the middle class.”
VA pledges more inspections, drug tests to stem opioid theft
By HOPE YEN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
Department of Veterans
Affairs said Monday it
would boost employee drug
testing and inspections amid
rising cases of opioid theft
and missing prescriptions,
acknowledging gaps that
had allowed thousands of
doctors, nurses and other
staff to go unchecked for
signs of illicit drug use.
Testifying at a House
hearing, Carolyn Clancy, a
deputy VA undersecretary for
health, said the department
was moving aggressively to
stem VA drug crimes. She
said the VA was adding some
inspectors to help check drug
inventories across a network
of 160 medical centers and
1,000 clinics. Computer
systems also were being
fine-tuned to ensure that all
employees subject to drug
testing were flagged for
monitoring.
In the last week, she said,
the VA held a conference
call with hundreds of health
clinics to develop action
plans of improvement. The
department was also consid-
ering more internal audits
to make sure hospitals are
complying with VA policy.
“The use of illegal drugs by
VA employees is inconsistent
with the special trust placed
in such employees who care
for veterans,” Clancy told
the House Veterans Affairs
subcommittee on oversight.
“We actually need to up our
game.”
The panel held a hearing
Monday aimed at the VA’s
efforts to deter drug theft.
The Associated Press
reported last week on
government data showing a
sharp increase since 2009 in
opioid theft and drugs that
had simply disappeared at
the VA, amid rising opioid
abuse in the U.S.
Reported incidents of
drug losses or theft at federal
hospitals jumped from 272
in 2009 to 2,926 in 2015,
before dipping to 2,457 last
year, according to the Drug
Enforcement Administration.
“Federal hospitals” include
the VA’s facilities as well as
seven correctional hospitals
and roughly 20 hospitals
serving Indian tribes.
Out of those cases, only
a small fraction of VA
doctors, nurses or pharmacy
employees were disciplined.
About 372 VA employees
were dismissed, suspended
or reprimanded for a drug or
alcohol-related issue since
2010, according to VA data
obtained by AP. Roughly
translated, VA employees
were disciplined in 3 percent
of cases.
Adding to the problem
is that some VA hospitals
have been lax in tracking
drug supplies. Congressional
auditors said spot checks
found four VA hospitals
skipped monthly inspections
of drug stocks or missed
other requirements.
Pressed to estimate what
Flowers • Candles
Jewelry • Plants
Balloons & More!
e!
Put a smile on the heart with
the power of flowers.
wers.
HWY 395,
395 HERMI
HERMISTON
IST
S ON
541-567-4305
Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am
www.cottagefl owersonline.com
percentage of VA’s total
facilities likely had notable
problems with inspections,
Randall Williamson, health
care director at the Govern-
ment Accountability Office,
cited between 85 percent and
90 percent. He referred to
“not a great track record” of
accountability at the VA.
Rep. Jack Bergman,
R-Mich., who chairs the
House panel, said he was
troubled by the reports,
coming after repeated audit
warnings dating back to at
least 2009 of gaps in VA’s
monitoring programs.
“Unfortunately, the news
has recently been filled
with story after story of
drug diversion within VA,”
Bergman said. “In case after
case, what we see are exam-
ples of drugs being diverted
for personal use or personal
gain, yet there does not seem
to be much progress being
made by VA.”
“We are in the midst of
an opioid epidemic, and it is
time for VA to start making
effective changes to avoid
putting veterans and the
employees who serve them
at risk.”
Rep. Ann Kuster of New
Hampshire, the panel’s top
Democrat, said she worried
that the VA may not be
receiving adequate resources
to stem drug theft. She
pointed to President Donald
Trump’s federal hiring
freeze.
“Without
adequate
support staff in place,
VA medical facilities will
struggle to comply with the
procedures and programs
they must follow to ensure
our veterans receive safe,
high quality care,” she said.
VA acknowledged it
has had spotty compliance
with drug inspections and
employee drug testing and
said most reform efforts
were already underway.
Among other problems,
the VA inspector general’s
office found the department
had failed to test 70 percent
— or 15,800 — prospective
employees over a 12-month
period who would serve in
sensitive VA positions such
as doctor, nurse or police
officer.
At the Atlanta medical
center, mandatory drug
testing for new hires did not
occur at all for a period of at
least 6 months between 2014
and 2015.
Clancy said the VA was
now committed to “100
percent testing” of new
hires in sensitive VA posi-
tions and would fix gaps
that had allowed nearly 1
in 10 employees subject to
random drug testing to avoid
being monitored at all. She
also cited strong policies,
such as 72-hour inventory
checks and “double lock
and key access” to drugs,
to keep VA drug crime in
check.
Keith Berge, a Mayo
Clinic anesthesiologist who
chairs its Medication Diver-
sion Prevention group, said
drug theft was serious and
patients could be seriously
harmed if deprived of medi-
cation. Conducting drug tests
before hiring at the VA was
critical, he said.
“It is not good enough to
merely have effective poli-
cies and procedures on the
books; they must actually be
rigorously followed.”
When they say “You need a hearing test!”
and you say “I have a hairy chest?”
Photo, Left to right:
Verna Taylor, HAS
Ric Jones, BC-HIS
Forrest Cahill, HAS
541-567-4063 • 405 N. 1st St., Suite #107, Hermiston
541-215-1888 • 246 SW Dorion, Pendleton
RAYMOND JAMES
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!
FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
FREE blood pressure checks at Hermiston and
Stanfield Senior Centers. One in three adults has
high blood pressure, we encourage everyone to
know their numbers. Open to everyone!
Member FINRA/SIPC
Serving Eastern Oregon & Washington for over 25 years
Chrissy Woollard
has joined John
Cimmiyotti as a new Financial Advisor
for Raymond James Financial Services
in the Pendleton offi ce. Chrissy has
been with Raymond James for 9 years
and currently she holds a series 7 &
66 and Life, Health, Variable insurance
licenses. Chrissy graduated from the
University of Wyoming with a BS in Science and a minor in Busi-
ness. Chrissy is a native of Pendleton and a Pendleton High
School graduate. Chrissy enjoys helping individuals, families
and businesses to attain their fi nancial goals. Chrissy can
be contacted by calling the local offi ce at 541-276-9184.
305 SW Dorion Ave. ~ Pendleton, OR 97801
8797 W. Gage Blvd., Ste. C-103 ~ Kennewick, WA 99336
541-276-9184 • 800-276-9184
Web Site: www.RaymondJames.com
11:00am - 12:00pm
Third Wednesday of each month
STANFIELD SENIOR CENTER
Fourth Thursday of each month
HERMISTON SENIOR CENTER
HEALTHY FRIDAYS
FREE health screenings & health coaching: Blood
pressure checks, weigh-ins, body mass
index, cholesterol and glucose.
First Friday of every month
8am-11am
GSMC Conference Center 7 (by Education Dept)
Information or to register
call (541) 667-3509
or email
healthinfo@gshealth.org
www.gshealth.org