It is a singular honor to serve on this committee, and to testify in front of you is humbling and an honor.

Our goal, and this is very, simple: uphold the promise we made to our veterans by ending the backlog and getting the benefits they earned.

Congress needs to do more to bolster VA's current efforts to modernize its operations and promote further improvements.

This issue of the claims backlog, it is corrosive, it is wrong. It wears at the soul of this country.

This piece of legislation, it is very simple. Our measure would simply allow local doctors to conduct disability medical examinations for veterans.

With the hard-earned experience of two major wars during the last 12 years, Americans have developed a renewed understanding of the need to support our service members in battle and throughout their active-duty service.

All they expect is that, in return for their service, our nation keeps its promises to them.

This is unacceptable, and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, a retired U.S. Army General who has dedicated his life to military service and taking care of our brave warriors, agrees.

We believe there are common sense measures Congress can undertake to bolster the VA's efforts to ensure our veterans are getting the care they need in a more-timely manner.

The Quicker Benefits Delivery Act provides substantial, innovative, results-oriented measures that work to bolster the VA's current efforts.

Congress needs to do more to bolster the VA's current efforts to modernize its operations.

We, along with Senator Franken, have introduced bipartisan measures in both the House and Senate that will remove several hurdles to getting claims processed quickly.

So, commissioner, if you, right now, had a stack on the table there of every email to, from or that copied Lois Lerner and all the 6103 information was redacted, would you have any problem just delivering all those emails to us immediately?

a lot of my constituents don't believe that the IRS has been forthright, and I think that is bad going forward generally.

So you have no idea, as you sit here, how many of these emails involving Lois Lerner even exist, correct?

if you have somebody that high-ranking that comes and they are being asked questions about their official conduct in office, what do you do if somebody invokes the Fifth Amendment?

I ask that you support the E-2D program as well as and additional fifth E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft.

a lot of my constituents look at that and they lose confidence in that official's ability to conduct their duties.