we are not going to turn our backs on those veterans.

We think we are making some progress. We want to continue that progress.

We all understand the mental health needs that have arisen out of the wars.

Madam President, I appreciate the interest of Senator Vitter in this very important issue. Senator Landrieu of Louisiana shares his concern, as do Senators from many States in this country because, as Senator Vitter indicated, this bill…

We are all distressed and saddened by the number of suicides that we face.

I am a great believer in primary health care.

For the last several years, there has been a loud concern about the backlog.

General Shinseki, when you came into your position, you announced a very ambitious goal, and that goal was to process all claims in 125 days with 98 percent accuracy by 2015.

In other words, you have a nation bordering on the United States, two nations that are probably as close together in so many respects as any two nations in the world, a conservative prime minister, and yet there is no effort to move to an…

it is widely known in Canada that the public commitment to our single-payer Medicare system is so strong that for a prime minister of any political stripe to try to alter that and undermine it in any way would be political suicide.

If people end up in the hospital for conditions for which you should not have exacerbations, if you have access to primary care, that is called 'avoidable hospitalization.'

I am embarrassed to say, that we come out in the United States as 19, and the French come out as No. 1.

OK. We will get to that.

I think it is a popular program, but if you say Government should not be involved in healthcare, and Medicare is a Government healthcare program.

Thank you very much.

Is that something that we are proud of?

Thank you.

This is the United States of America. This is not a Third World developing country.