Reed named to VA management post

Rita Reed was named the principal deputy assistant secretary for management at the Department of Veterans Affairs effective Sept. 4.

A budget expert, Reed had been an asset to the department in dealing with many money issues, according to an e-mail sent departmentwide by Tim McClain, the general counsel and chief management officer at the VA.

Reed "has earned the respect and confidence of two Cabinet secretaries and the senior leadership of the department,” McClain said in his e-mail message. “Her expertise in budget formulation and execution is unsurpassed. Welcome, Rita, and congratulations on this significant career achievement.”

Reed began working for the VA in 1978, handling the budget for VA construction. For the last 11 years, she directed a budget that provided more than $25 billion annually in benefits to the disabled and needy, more than $2 billion in education benefits and $1 billion in support services.