Edward Angus "Ned" Powell Jr. (born April 1, 1948) is a former president of the United Service Organizations (USO), a volunteer organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the United States military worldwide. A native of Richmond, Virginia, he was nominated by President Bill Clinton to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Financial Management, and was then promoted to Acting Deputy Secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA. While at the VA, Powell was charged with managing 220,000 employees with an annual budget of $48 billion. Under his leadership, the VA received its first-ever clean audit opinion. As a result, he received the VA's Exceptional Service Award and was named Distinguished Federal Executive (for 2000) by the Association of Governme