VA begins search for new benefits chief

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VA begins search for new benefits chief
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Mar 6, 2008 11:53:13 EST

A 10-member commission was appointed Thursday to screen candidates to become the next undersecretary of veterans affairs for benefits.

Retired Navy Vice Adm. Daniel Cooper, the Veterans Affairs Department’s current benefits chief, has announced he will step down April 1.

A screening commission is required by law to recommend appointments for VA’s top undersecretary positions that oversee health, administration and benefits, because those positions are considered nonpartisan even though the officeholder serves at the pleasure of a sitting president and can be asked to resign.

Deputy VA Secretary Gordon Mansfield will head the screening commission, which will pick three finalists. Other commission members include Cooper himself, plus representatives from the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance program, the Mortgage Bankers Association, The National Association of State Approving Agencies, VA’s advisory committee on veterans’ education, the American Legion and Paralyzed Veterans of America.

There is no firm timetable for the commission to complete its work, and a successor to Cooper is unlikely to be named by April 1, according to a senior VA official who asked not to be identified.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/03/military_vabenefitschief_030608w/